manchester legend becomes mersey basin week eco-warrior!

Legendary Manchester broadcaster and man of many parts Anthony H Wilson helped get Mersey Basin Week off to a fine start on saturday morning - his Talk of the Town Show concentrated on the environment and there was shameless plugging of the Campaign. AHW is not yet a fully signed up eco-warrior exactly but he is worried about the fumes belching from his car so it's a start! And he is supporting the Campaign by writing a chapter in our exciting book - "Mersey the river that changed the world"...look out for it next year - it's sure to be a bestseller.

New Nature Park Opened in Stockport

The Mersey Vale Nature Park was officially opened today by the Mayor of Stockport with help from pupils of Mersey Vale Primary School.

Until recently, the area along the River Mersey was neglected and seen as unsafe by the local residents. But with lots of hard work the Mersey Basin Campaign, Stockport Council and the local community have transformed the area into a green and pleasant park that can be enjoyed by people and wildlife.

Pupils from Mersey Vale Primary School worked community artist Mike Johnson to design the park's entrance sculpture. The sculpture is in the form of grass seeds, representing new life growing in the park. The sculpture also features the childrens' self-portraits and names.

Quackers!

'DUCK POND DAY 4 – The Big Pond Clean Up!’

Friends of Woodbank Park are calling for volunteers to ‘get down and dirty’ and help clean out the old duck pond in Woodbank Park in Offerton over the weekend of 7th & 8th October. The fun starts at 11am, so come along and help improve your park. Bring your wellies!

Free refreshments will be provided including a hearty soup for all the workers! For further details please contact Malcolm Topping on 07800 617641 or Iain Bate on 474 4829, iain.bate@stockport.gov.uk

The event is a partnership between the Friends and Stockport Council and is being supported with a grant from the MWH/Mersey Basin Campaign.

(Year) Five have fun in the river

On Wednesday we spent a happy day with St Leonard's Primary School Padiham on Pendle Water in Barrowford Park. The year five class came along to carry out some river studies and their excitement hardly waned all day. They calculated the speed of the river and plotted the profile of the riverbed. They now know the name of the watercourse and its route to the sea via the River Calder and the Ribble. They caught all manner of facinating creatures in their dipping nets proving that the river is in a really good state.

The best bit for them - they caught a fish! A bullhead about 8cm long.
The best bit for me - the fish set about eating the other creatures in the white tray and was a perfect example of how important it is to keep the river free from pollution. It helped the children understand that if the water wasn't clean the insects wouldn't be there and so neither would the fish.

A quick update from Rossendale

28th September2006

St Mary’s School in Rawtenstall – Pond Restoration
The pond has now been registered with the Pond Conservation trust. The local Disabled Adult Education Centre are keen to get involved with this project. We are at the stage where we need a small amount of funding in order to carry out an invertebrate survey and a plant survey.

Helmshore Park and Memorial Garden, Haslingden. The local Community group, CASH, are really keen to get this project off the ground. There’s a blog already posted about the clean-up event for the Memorial garden so I won’t say anymore about this project. The date for the clean-up is October 29th, so come along and join in, we need a much help as possible. There will aslo be a display of plans for the Park and Memorial garden, so you'll have the chance to comment on the ideas being put forward for the development.

Civic Pride
This is one of my main community action groups. Their Ash Tree Bash went really well on 9th September. With plenty of rubbish cleared up. Removing the Ash saplings for the stone river banking has opened up the whole section of the Limy Water and it looks superb now. A job well-done!

Mersey Basin Week at Yarrow Valley Country Park

The rangers at Yarrow Valley Country Park, Chorley are hosting a number of events organised by themselves and in partnership with Action Douglas and Yarrow.

Contact Sarah Leach on 01772 515922 or email to book a place or for more information. Meet at the visitor centre for all events, click here for directions.

Thursday 5th October: Try a Tramper
Be one of the first to try an off-road mobility scooter in the park. Booking is advised for this event which will follow a designated route around the park and by the River Yarrow
Time: 11am to 3pm

Sunday 8th October: River Life
See the watery wildlife up close and personal as microscopes and television screens bring the inhabitants of the River Yarrow to you! A drop in information session at the visitor centre.
Time: 11am to 3pm

Tuesday 24th October: Rock Art
A watery themed art event aimed at children with special needs. A mosaic made from rocks and pebbles will be created by children and exhibited in the park. Booking is essential as places are limited.
Time: 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to 3pm

Thursday 26th October: Fishing Taster Session
Fishing taster day for disabled children and children with special needs. Coaching is being provided by the Environment Agency and Level 2 qualified coaches. Each child will receive a special reward for taking part. Booking is essential as places are limited.
Time: 10am to 12noon and 1pm to 3pm

Helmshore Memorial Garden Clean-up

Community Action for Snig Hole (CASH) will be cleaning up the whole of the Memorial Gardens and make it look lovely, neat and tidy for the Remembrance Day Service on November 12th. The work will involve plenty of weeding, pruning of shrubs, removing lower branches of trees and also removal of fly-tipping debris. The river Ogden runs along side the Memorial garden and they aim to tidy up the river bank in order that people have a view of the river from the Memorial Clock.

This proejct will bring together the whole community in order to make this neglected area back into use and to make it a welcome site for the British Legion on Remembrance day.

The group are keen to devleop the whle site which also includes a playground into a community facility that everyone can use and has access to.

This clean-up event will bring together members of the British Legion, Age Concern, teenagers from Haslingden High School and so there will be an opporutnity for young and old to come together and share the work of the day.

Peace Day Celebration Event

We held our first Mersey Basin Week event in Rawtenstall last Thursday 21st september. The event was a Peace Day Celebration held to mark the start of Work on our Larkhill Rise Outdoor Classroom Project. It was a beautiful summers day. The Mayor and Mayoress of Rossendale attended together with representatives from the different faith groups in Rossendale. The event started with children from St Paul's Constable Lee Primary School and Alder Grange High school singing the World Peace Day song and other songs of Peace.

We then went out onto the project site where the myor and the former headmistress, Eileen Stubbs, cut the first sod, marking the official launch of the start of project implementation on site.

The event went really well and the children thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. The site had been cleared of rubbish earlier in the day and the weekend before, Burnley Probation services had been involved in clearing a huge amount of overgrown shrubbery and vegetation from the site in order that we had a path to walk along and a big clear space where the children and dignitaries could gather. A big thank you to all those people who have given their time and worked so hard to make this event such a success.

A special mention to Clare Foster and Catherine Grimshaw for organising the event, Civic Pride for their support and time in helping with Clean-ups. Pupils from Alder Grange and Constable Lee Schools, and all the other volunteers who have been involved in this project.

The project is funded by: Lancashire Environmental Fund, Lancashire County Council Capital funf, LCC Community Design, Awards for All, and the Two Schools.

Party hits Manchester

Manchester is a busy, busy place to be today as the Labour Party Conference has arrived in town. Anyone interested in finding out what's going on can check out the Conference Blog here.

mersey basin week in germany - on the ruhr

here is tom workman of liverpool sailing club and the mersey basin campaign on the ruhr this week...well, not exactly a mersey basin week event but an inspiration all the same...the little ferry boat carries people and lots of cyclists across the river ruhr...so what? you might say...but you'd be wrong - it is run almost entirely by volunteers who care about the river...it's wonderful for cycling and walking alone and of course for boating and canoeing too...the ferry volunteers have very rigorous training for safety reasons...there is no charge for crossing only a voluntary donations box and a lot of money is raised this way towards the upkeep of the ferry.

MerseyBasin Week on the Wirral

Rivacre Brook Clean-up: The Rangers and local community volunteers will be cleaning up a section of Rivacre Brook in Ellesmere Port on Tuesday 3rd October. This work is vital in maintaining the high wildlife value of the Brook and creating a clean safe area for everyone to enjoy. Anyone interested in joining in should contact the Rangers on 0151 357 1991.
Partners Day at Dibbinsdale Local Nature Reserve: Volunteers form Mersey Basin Campaign partner organisations will be carrying out important conservation work At Dibbinsdale LNR. The Rangers and I have organised a variety of Tasks at the SSSI Nature Reserve on the Wirral. The volunteer will be creating an Outdoor Education Area, Constructing a Weir, carrying out reed-bed management and willow removal. Any Partners who want to join in, call Paul Corner on: 0151 343 9869 or Bev Mitchell on: 0161 242 8212.

Mersey Basin Week events in the Etherow & Goyt area

There are lots of ways to get involved with Mersey Basin Week if you're in the Action Etherow and Goyt area.....

Sat 30/09, Sun 01/10, Mon 02/10
Water Walk
2pm Whaley Bridge Canal Basin
Come and discover Whaley Bridge's wonderful water features... on route we'll visit Whaley Bridge Canal Basin and Class II* Transfer Shed, Brookfield Pond Local Nature Reserve, Todbrook Reservoir, Randall Carr Brook & the River Goyt

Weds 04/10, Fri 06/10
Canalside Walk
2pm Whaley Bridge Canal Basin
Come and walk alongside the Peak Forest Canal to Bugsworth Basin (and back)...passing through Whaley Bridge Canal Basin and Class II* Transfer Shed, Picnic Area, Horse Tunnel (Grade II Listed Building), Bugsworth Arm, Nature Reserve, Black Brook, Bugsworth Basin

Sat 07/10, Sun 08/10
Clean up of Randall Carr Brook / River Goyt
10-12 in the Horwich End and Bridge Street areas
Help to remove rubbish thrown in the brook and river. Whaley Hotpot will be served afterwards on Sunday 8th October at 12 noon in the Goyt Inn. Open to registered helpers only (to comply with insurance requirements

ALSO: Why not volunteer and help out with improvements to Etherow's valuable wetlands? Mystery improvement project will take place on Sunday 8th October. You'll need wellies and a packed dinner.

For further information about any of the above activities, please contact Denise Patfield, Action Etherow and Goyt, on 0161 449 9017 or email Denise on d.patfield@merseybasin.org.uk

Don't forget to bring your cameras or camera phones along so that you can enter our Mersey Basin Week photo competition. Maybe you'll be the lucky recipient of the i-Pod?

WIN AN iPOD!

Your chance to win a brand-new iPod, and all you need to do is attend your local event for Mersey Basin Week and take a picture....

We need your help to brighten up the Mersey Basin Week Blog. We want you to send us your best photograph of a Mersey Basin Week 2006 event. It could be a picture of you, your friends or your group taking part in a clean up, something you've spotted on a guided walk, or even a photo of the enormous heap of litter you've cleaned up.

We're looking for lively and entertaining images that give us a taste of what the event was like, rather than arty shots of the riverbank.

Email your photos to info@merseybasin.org.uk, and we'll post them up here. We'll be awarding a brand-new shiny iPod to the person who takes our favourite shot, so make sure you take your camera or camera phone along to a Mersey Basin Week event.

Your photos need to arrive with us no later than 5pm on Friday 20th October 2006, and we'll choose the winner by the end of the month.

We will assume that you're happy for us to use your photo on our website in connection with the competition, unless you tell us you're not.

Mersey Basin Campaign employees - I'm afraid you can't take part in the competition, but we still really wanna see those pictures. There'll be an in-house reward for the best staff photo.

Get snapping!

Seed Collection Sunday

Nantwich is the venue for a Seed Hunt as part of BBC2's Autumnwatch. We are looking for children of all ages to join us collecting seeds in the Riverside area on Sunday 8th October. When you have collected your seeds, you can put them in pots and grow them until next Autumn, when the young trees will be planted out in another event.

Come down at any time from 11 am-1pm, to collect your free seed hunting bag and join in the hunt. The meeting point will be at the grassed area by the airman's grave, off Shrewbridge Road. Light refreshments will be provided.

Click here to visit the Autumnwatch website.

For more information, please contact Izzy Gascoigne on 01270 537071.

Is it a monster?

An intrepid group of 8-10 year olds braved the wilds of Harehills Park in Glossop recently, and uncovered a wide variety of previously unknown ‘litter monsters’ inhabiting the banks of Glossop Brook.

The children cleaned up the area as part of their ‘Monster Fun’ event. They also investigated the mini-monsters that live in the brook, and checked that the water was clean enough to provide a safe habitat for them. Luckily the brook passed its test, and to prove it the explorers even managed to find some mayfly nymphs, which can only survive in clean water.

Afterwards everyone grabbed some of the clean litter that had been collected, and used it to recreate the water creatures, as well as some scary species that are probably unique to Harehills Park!

The activity was part of the Glossop Brook interpretation project, but don't worry if monster-hunting isn't for you, there are other ways you can get involved with the project if you're in the area....click here to become a heritage detective, or here to take part in an observation project.

get your skates on...

Hurry up folks! Time is running out to register your event for Mersey Basin Week. The deadline for registrations is MONDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2006.

You can download a registration form, and find out more by clicking here. If you'd like to speak to a real person, you can call Bev Mitchell on 0161 242 8212, or you could email her - she loves to get emails about Mersey Basin Week.

Britain's Tastiest Festival

Food lovers everywhere will enjoy a visit to Nantwich this September for three days of gourmet food and drink at Britain's tastiest festival.

Nantwich Riverside is one of the focal points of the festival, with several events taking place on Mill Island. Bring your children along to learn about healthy eating with top food writer and author Amanda Grant, or test your knowledge of fine wine and spirits with unlimited sampling and tutored tastings for only £15. Mill Island is also hosting the Gourmet Food Marquee, Cookery Theatres and the Taste of Cheshire Marquee, which is a new feature for 2006.

Elsewhere in Nantwich you will find the famous Farmers' Market and the 5th Annual CAMRA beer festival. There is something for everyone, so to find out more and book your tickets, just click here .

Fungal Foray

Are you interested in fungi, or do you simply fancy a nice walk around Brereton Heath Local Nature Reserve? If so, come and join us for the Fungal Foray. This will be a short walk around the nature reserve with Chris Turner, looking at the amazing variety of fungi at this time of year. Booking is essential, and bring your walking boots.

Date: Monday 2nd October 2006
Venue: Brereton Heath Local Nature Reserve (near Congleton)
Contact: The Rangers, 01477 534115
For more information about the Local Nature Reserve, click here.

Calling Ribble lovers

Anyone who loves the River Ribble and wants to know about projects and issues that will affect its future is invited to the fourth annual Ribble Forum on Thursady September 14th in Preston.

There will be presentations and also the chance to raise questions and issues that are close to your heart.

Talks will cover a range of topics, rather than specifically the Riverworks proposals, but you can raise any subject you want.

Presentations will include one on the innovative Sustainable Catchment Management Plan, which aims to improve water quality in the Ribble catchment and give a major boost to local wildlife at the same time. It is being carried out by United Utilities on land it owns throughout the Northwest, including in Lancashire, with the help of the RSPB.

The half-day forum is free and open to all. It is being held at the Gujurat Hindu Society, South Meadow Lane in Preston (curry for lunch is on offer) and presentations start at 9.30.

To book a place, contact Bev Mitchell at the Mersey Basin Campaign on 0161 242 8212 or b.mitchell@merseybasin.org.uk

For more information see http://www.merseybasin.org.uk/event.asp?action=view&id=1133

Hanging about for the ITV Big Clean Up

On Thursday 24th August we gave Fred ‘the weatherman’ Talbot another opportunity to hang out in Manchester when we invited him to join specialist contractors Up and Under to abseil into the River Medlock and remove litter and debris as part of ITV’s Big Clean Up.














A very nervous looking Fred lowered himself into the River from the balcony of the Joshua Brooks pub in Manchester City Centre before we headed to Canal Street to view the work of the litter boat on the Rochdale Canal.

Do your bit on the Ribble

There are pleanty of chances to help clean-up the River Ribble and the estuary beaches in September. So if you fancy some fresh air and something useful to do then why not pop along and help.

16 September
Clean up your world
Events like this are happening all over the world this weekend. Meet at the information board, Lifeboat Rd car park. 2.00-3.30pm.
Sefton Coast &Countryside Service. Tel: 0151 934 2967


16 & 17 September
National Trust Maga Beach Clean
Join the Formby wardens and make Formby’s beach sparkle! 10.30am – 3.30pm
Tel: 01704 878591


17 September
ITV Big Clean-up Fishwick Bottoms, Preston. Come and help clean-up this spot on the Ribble. Meet 10am at carpark near to athletics track on London Road.
300 volunteers are the target for this huge clean-up event. And if you come along you might find yourself on TV.
Contact Sabiha Rachid 01772 380960 & 07804 916 911 srashid@csv.org.uk
or register @ http://www2.angliatv.com/volunteerform

frequently asked questions about mersey basin week

Q: As a swan, can I join in Mersey Basin Week - i feel very strongly about the water environment and I would like to help in some way?
A: Yes, swans, ugly ducklings and indeed human beings all have a part to play.
Q: As a cuddly toy, what about me?
A: This is more difficult, but we're sure we can find something you can do - perhaps you could be given to given as a thank you to a boy or girl who joined in.
Q: And me, I am public art, what can I do:
A: You may be one of a hundred but you are important to us. In your case just being yourself is thrilling enough and definitely improving the environment.
Q: This is all very well, but who do I speak to now, blogging is fine but I want to speak to a person?
A: Of course - Bev Mitchell at the Mersey Basin Campaign - call her on 0161 242 8200 and she will sort you out