.png)
As we begin a new year, we take a look back at the projects and achievements in 2024 in the Alt Crossens catchment. Issue 3 of the Alt Crossens newsletter can be found below:
Mersey Rivers Trust’s annual “Mersey Rivers Week” returns this coming week running from Sunday 30 June to Saturday 6 July across Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
The week-long event celebrates the environment, wildlife and recreational benefits of the rivers that form the River Mersey. From the Peak District to the Mersey Estuary, there are over 1,000km of river which are home to a wide range of wildlife, including fish, insects and birds. Local communities can also enjoy access to these rivers for recreation, health and well-being. Our FREE events are listed below:
Full details are available on our website (merseyrivers.org). Some events require pre-booking.
John Sanders, co-Director at the Mersey Rivers Trust commented: “Our Mersey Rivers Week highlights how community volunteers are supporting us to improve the health of their local rivers for people and wildlife. This work is helping to increase the number of fish, insects, birds and other wildlife in our rivers, but there is much more we still need to do to further improve the river environment.
“One of our key aims is to work with local communities to enhance public access to rivers so more people can enjoy the recreation, health and well-being benefits of spending time next to a river. On Saturday 6th July, we are encouraging the public to go for a walk or ride along their local river and posting a photograph or two on social media – tagging Mersey Rivers Trust and #MerseyRiversWeek”.
On your marks... Less than 48 hours until the return of the national #BigRiverWatch!
Help your local river by heading outside to gather data this Bank Holiday weekend...
Download the free survey app
From Friday, take a stroll along your nearby river
Fill out the quick survey, tell us what you see
The Big River Watch | The Rivers Trust
Come along to our local #BigRiverWatch events:
Sat 4 May Reddish Vale, River Tame 10am-2pm
Sun 5 May Macon Meadows, Valley Brook, Crewe 10am-1pm
In April, Mersey Rivers Trust hosted two Free Pie & Pint farm engagement events. These events were hosted by Mersey Rivers Farm Advisors with funding received from both the Better Rivers Better North West Fund and the Upper Weaver Water-Friendly Farming project funded by DEFRA and United Utilities. These two events were aimed at farmers in both the River Duckow, Darley, and Ash Brook Catchments to inform on water-friendly farming practices and other management practices and schemes which are beneficial to both business and the environment.
In addition to the delightful pies and pints which were enjoyed by all those who attended. Mersey Rivers Trust Farm Advisors spoke on water-friendly farming. This talk included ways in which farmers could get involved via free water management plans and the possibility of small amounts of funding to carry out water-friendly farming interventions. The importance of invasive non-native species control and methods to do so were highlighted to farmers in the Darley and Ash Brook catchments. Also, during the Duckow catchment event the upcoming work to remove a disused gas house weir and the potential effects of the removal was discussed.
During these events guest speakers from Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) and Soil Sense shared insights into other farming subjects. CWAC discussed Biodiversity Net Gain and local nature recovery strategy plans for the area that are currently out for consultation, emphasizing how aligning with agri-environment schemes can benefit farmers. Soil Sense discussed how to manage nutrients in soil so as to optimise land use, benefitting crop yields and livestock. How soil testing is vitally important and the part different methods of soil aeration, shattering and sward lifting have to play in land management regimes.
The evening was a great success and across both events just over 35 farmers attended. Feedback was positive with all farmers saying they would recommend this type of event to others.
Mersey Rivers Trust will continue to host these types of events throughout this year and next year, and if you would like to know more about what we do, and what grants and workshops are available to farmers please email us here to be added on to the Farm Newsletter mailing list. You can read the latest newsletter here.
You can access the presentations from Mersey Rivers Trust, Darley and Ashbrook Presentation and River Duckow Presentation and there is more information available on Mersey Rivers Water Friendly Farming Hub here.
On April 24th, to celebrate the 1st birthday of the Bentley Environmental Foundation, volunteers from Bentley and members of Mersey Rivers Trust and The Rivers Trust, united to conduct a litter pick along Valley Brook, a river in Crewe, Cheshire.
Over a mere 0.5-mile stretch, the team collected 25 bags of rubbish, including a discarded trolley retrieved from the river.
This litter pick represents just one of many events facilitated by the Bentley Environmental Foundation project in collaboration with Mersey Rivers Trust and the Rivers Trust.
Justine Lord, Project Manager from Mersey Rivers Trust, said,” The litter pick with Bentley was a great success. We had 12 members of staff come down to the litter pick. Everyone was getting stuck in, it was lovely to see the team working together to help clean up our rivers! Keep your eyes peeled for information on future events in Crewe with Mersey Rivers Trust and Bentley.”