Community action kicks off Mending the Upper Mole

Community action kicks off Mending the Upper Mole

Engaging people with their local rivers is pivotal to the South East Rivers Trust’s mission to improve the health of our waterways. Communities that play a role in caring for their river are vital both in monitoring the river for signs of problems and for getting stuck in to help us fix them. Lewis Campbell, our Catchment Manager for the River Mole, reviews our recent community engagement events for the Mending the Upper Mole project and looks ahead to what we have lined up for 2024.

Lewis Campbell with volunteers at Horley
SERT’s Lewis Campbell with volunteers at Horley

Managing the amount of litter that ends up in our urban rivers is incredibly important. The presence of unwanted rubbish not only spoils the aesthetics of our waterways but also has significant ecological implications for the health of our rivers, streams and even our oceans.

For example, discarded plastic can cause problems if it is ingested by wildlife, or it can break down into microplastics and pose a significant pollution risk.

As part of our Mending the Upper Mole project, we have recently been out and about with our wonderful volunteers removing litter from two tributaries of the River Mole.

On 24th September, which just happened to be World Rivers Day, we set up our gazebo on Riverside Gardens in Horley and invited the local community to join us in a bankside cleanup along the bank of the Gatwick Stream. We were joined by our friends from River Mole River Watch and Horley Town Council.

Scout group members at our event
Local scout group members loved our event, from making crafts to taking part in the cleanup

Alongside individual volunteers from the local community, we also welcomed a local scout group, whose members not only enjoyed making crafts on our stand but set about gathering up the litter with tremendous energy.

After a few hours of work, we had removed a huge amount of rubbish from the landscape. Items mainly consisted of plastic bottles, drinks cans and food packaging. A shopping trolley and car tyre were among larger items.

Following the success of our Horley event, on 11th October we went south and hosted a group of enthusiastic volunteers for a clean-up along the Stanford Brook and its banks in Crawley. This time we were able to get into the river itself.

Looking in from the riverbank, the waterway looked relatively clean. Once we entered the water, however, the scale of the litter problem became clear: there was a lot of rubbish on the river bed which had clearly been there a long time. We collected large amounts of food wrappers and drinks cans and bottles. We also picked out three more shopping trolleys and the base of a vacuum cleaner.

Half a vacuum cleaner, found on the Upper Mole
The bottom half of a vacuum cleaner was found, among other items of rubbish

I’d like to extend a massive thank you to all who came and helped out at both events. To those who took part, the experience really emphasised the scale of the issue affecting our waterways: we can’t always see the extent of the damage being caused to our rivers, because much of it sinks to the bottom. Creatures in the river will try to feed on items such as plastic, while the larger items that we can see are an eyesore on cherished public spaces.

Besides tidying up our rivers, these events are also a great opportunity to engage with local people about our plans to improve the health of the waterways of the Upper Mole, around Horley, Crawley and neighbouring areas.

Back in 2017, a pollution event significantly impacted the health of the Upper Mole catchment. The South East Rivers Trust was given funding to deliver an ambitious suite of projects in order to improve the ability of the catchment to cope with such events in the future. These delivery projects will include removing barriers to fish passage, like the projects we have delivered on the Darent and Loddon, improving the quality of the river habitat, such as we have done on the Wandle, and creating wildlife refuges.

We will also work with schools and community groups in the Upper Mole to raise awareness of local rivers and to encourage engagement. Another aspect is to conduct citizen science to better understand how poor water quality is impacting the rivers and their wildlife, to help us form action plans to improve the river’s health. All of these projects come together to form what we have called the Mending the Upper Mole project.

We hope that 2024 will be the year when much of this work kicks off in earnest. A great appetite has already been shown not only by the volunteers who have turned up at our events, but by community leaders and conservation groups who are all keen to help.

There will be ample opportunities to get involved, whether you want to come and help us pick litter, clear overgrown river banks, take water samples, or all of the above. You can keep in touch with opportunities by bookmarking our events page, by signing up to SERT’s mailing list to receive our monthly newsletter or for direct enquiries email info@southeastriverstrust.org.

To learn about our Key Stage 1 and 2 sessions for primary schools on the Gatwick Stream at Grattons Park, visit our education page and read the Our River Our Water section.

The final haul at our Crawley cleanup
Volunteers with the final haul at our Crawley cleanup on World Rivers Day

 

Loddon Rivers Week puts focus on the long term

Volunteers came out in large numbers during this year’s Loddon Rivers Week, held in September, to enhance river habitats in various ways, such as by adding gravels and installing deflectors.

Some of the 80+ volunteers across half a dozen sites, who clocked up more than 300 volunteer hours, were part of established groups which regularly look after sections of this river network.

However, this year’s focus week on the Loddon, co-ordinated by the South East Rivers Trust, was also a launchpad for future action to enhance this river network, which stretches across Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire.

Many people became involved in caring the river for the first time, including families keen to get involved in volunteer work parties or learning to assess river health through carrying out Riverfly monitoring for invertebrates, which they can do regularly in the coming months.

Our Loddon Catchment Officer Lou Sykes reports.

The Fish: improving habitats

Volunteers prepare to install gravel into the River Whitewater
Volunteers prepare to install gravel into the River Whitewater

Volunteers installed 21 tonnes of gravel into the River Whitewater at Bassetts Mead, Hook, to establish deep pools and shallow riffles, creating a rollercoaster of newly improved habitat for fish and invertebrates. Fresh gravels allow fish to spawn.

Over the past three years, in partnership with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, 81 tonnes of gravel have been added to the river, improving a 200 metre section of the river.

During this year’s Loddon Rivers Week activities, volunteers also built a willow dead hedge, protecting the new riffles from dogs and children passing by on the footpath.

The new dead hedge at Bassetts Mead protecting the river
The new dead hedge at Bassetts Mead, protecting the river

The sun: bringing light to the Petty’s Brook

Petty's Brook cutting back trees to bring light to the river
Vegetation at the Petty’s Brook was cut back to bring light to the river

In Chineham, near Basingstoke, volunteers ‘daylighted’ a section of the Petty’s Brook. The stream in this section is largely overshaded, has a concrete lined bed and banks, and acts more like a small canal than river environment.

Overshading of a river can be one of the reasons that prevents the river from reaching good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive.

Trees are a vital element of the ecology of a river environment: they help to reduce water temperatures in summer months and to maintain oxygen levels in the water. Aquatic plants and algae are also an important component of a healthy stream, and excessive shading and reduced light prevents these from growing. We must create the right balance when restoring rivers, creating dappled shade to get the best of both worlds.

With the Chineham Volunteer Group, a relatively new group, we removed vegetation that was causing the river to be enclosed in a tunnel of trees and shrub, giving the stream encouragement to grow some aquatic plants.

Sticklebacks – a torpedo shaped small fish – moved in quickly post-clearance, giving young children at the event the opportunity to catch and inspect them in a net before setting them free back into their revamped environment.

The bugs: training communities to identify invertebrates

A riverfly sample from the upper Loddon
Families learnt to identify invertebrates in a Riverfly sample taken from the upper Loddon

Water quality is the hot topic in the Loddon catchment this year, with projects starting to accurately monitor the state of the water on our patch.

Riverfly monitoring, in part measuring which invertebrates are in rivers, is a nationally important citizen science initiative used to monitor the health of rivers and to detect pollution events.

This year, we included a riverfly ‘show and tell’ for a keen group of residents in and around Basingstoke who will soon be donning wellies or waders to start monitoring the upper stretches in our catchment.

We introduced the basics and set them up to get them identifying the invertebrates in the samples. The four bullhead fish that made it into the invertebrates sample were a happy addition to the , freshwater shrimps, mayflies, snails and leeches also found.

Revisiting the past to see the difference

In addition to all the new activities this year, we also revisited on old project at Arborfield near Reading – a novel nature-like bypass channel facilitating fish migration around four permanent weirs, which impound and restrict rivers: 11 years on, a quick fish survey showed brown trout, chub, barbel, perch and pike all living in the established channel.

As part of this event, the Wild Trout Trust demonstrated some habitat improvement techniques, installing a woody deflector and willow ledge, to improve habitat in the new channel.

Our video shows the water flowing over the new deflector.

Thank you to partners and funders

Loddon Rivers Week, which has been running since 2017, does not happen without an enormous amount of collective effort from partners, and a special thank you must go to the Environment Agency and Network Rail for funding the coordination of the week.

We would also like to thank the partners involved in the week, including Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Loddon Fisheries and Conservation Consultative, Wokingham Borough Council, Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council, Chineham Volunteer Group, Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership, SOLVE (Save Our Loddon Valley Environment), Hook Parish Council and Rushmoor Borough Council.

We’ll be back next year to repeat the progress made this year! Meanwhile, read our River Loddon storymap to find out the issues faced by this network, learn about what the catchment partnership, comprised of dozens of organisations, has achieved already and how you can become involved. Or keep an eye on our events page for volunteering opportunities.

 

Crawley River Clean-up-Maidenbower

Volunteering is a great way to connect with and care for your local river, while enjoying the outdoors with others.

Join us for a morning of litter picking on the bankside and surrounding area as well as an in-river channel clean-up along the Stanford Brook in Maidenbower, Crawley.

Meeting Point: Maindenbower Community Centre, Crawley RH10 7QG.  (in square). MAP

Facilities: There are facilities available by the Community Centre. We will provide hot drinks and snacks, but please bring your own mug and reusable water bottle.

What to bring: Please dress appropriately for the weather on the day, wear sturdy shoes, long sleeved top and trousers, and bring water to stay hydrated and food to eat. We will provide all tools, equipment and PPE including gloves and waders to take part in the activity.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL –please sign-up by clicking ‘going’ and completing the form below to secure your spot. If the event is already fully booked, then please sign up to the waiting list and we’ll be in touch if a space becomes available (please note, confirmation email may go to junk mail).

Booking for this event will close at 12pm on 10/10/2023.

Please email volunteering@southeastriverstrust.org to:

  • Find out more information
  • Inform us of any medical conditions or additional needs we need to be aware of
  • Cancel your space if you can no longer make it

To read our Privacy Policy and see how we use and look after the information you provide when booking your spot at our events please click HERE.

To read our Health and Safety Guidelines for this event please click HERE.

Carshalton River Clean-up-River wandle

Volunteering is a great way to connect with and care for your local river, while enjoying the outdoors with others.

Join us during Wandle Fortnight for a morning of litter picking on the bankside and surrounding area as well as in the river channel clean-up along the River Wandle in Carshalton.

Meeting Point: Ecology Centre Classroom, Stonecourt, 2 North Street, Carshalton, SM5 2HU.  (in The Grove Park). MAP

Facilities: There are facilities available within Ecology Centre Classroom. We will provide hot drinks and snacks, but please bring your own mug and reusable water bottle.

What to bring: Please dress appropriately for the weather on the day, wear sturdy shoes, long sleeved top and trousers, and bring water to stay hydrated and food to eat. We will provide all tools, equipment and PPE including gloves and waders to take part in the activity.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL –please sign-up by clicking ‘going’ and completing the form below to secure your spot. If the event is already fully booked, then please sign up to the waiting list and we’ll be in touch if a space becomes available (please note, confirmation email may go to junk mail).

Booking for this event will close at 12pm on 11/09/2023.

Please email volunteering@southeastriverstrust.org to:

  • Find out more information
  • Inform us of any medical conditions or additional needs we need to be aware of
  • Cancel your space if you can no longer make it

To read our Privacy Policy and see how we use and look after the information you provide when booking your spot at our events please click HERE.

To read our Health and Safety Guidelines for this event please click HERE.

Invasive Non Native Species Training- River Wandle

Volunteering is a great way to connect with and care for your local river, while enjoying the outdoors with others.

Join us for an evening of Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) training for the River Wandle, at The Grove Classroom in Carshalton.

We’ll teach you how to identify Himalayan Balsam, floating pennywort, signal crayfish, mitten crab, parrots feather and giant hogweed, and how to record and submit findings.

You will be trained as a citizen scientist volunteer to go out and survey the Wandle during Wandle Fortnight in your own time between 9th-24th September. This means that the Wandle Catchment Partnership can gain a clear picture of the challenges posed by these species and form an action plan to reduce their impact, helping our river to thrive again.

Meeting Point: Ecology Centre Classroom, Stonecourt, 2 North Street, Carshalton, SM5 2HU.  (in The Grove Park).

Facilities: There are toilets available and we will provide hot drinks and snacks.

What to bring: We will provide a copy of the training power point, but bring a pen and notepad if you enjoy taking notes!

BOOKING ESSENTIAL –please sign-up by clicking ‘going’ and completing the form below to secure your spot. If the event is already fully booked, then please sign up to the waiting list and we’ll be in touch if a space becomes available (please note, confirmation email may go to junk mail).

Booking for this event will close at 12pm on the 7th September.

Please email volunteering@southeastriverstrust.org to:

  • Find out more information
  • Inform us of any medical conditions or additional needs we need to be aware of
  • Cancel your space if you can no longer make it

To read our Privacy Policy and see how we use and look after the information you provide when booking your spot at our events please click HERE.

 

Sign up for our Plastic-Free Community Action Plan

The South East Rivers Trust has launched a new scheme to encourage groups to protect rivers from plastic, by cutting their reliance on single-use items. It is called the Community Action Plan and is part of our Preventing Plastic Pollution project. Below, Hannah Dry, our Plastics Project Officer, outlines the concept and how you can get involved.