Our Latest News

There was a fantastic turnout for the nest box workshop, held in Torver on February 22nd. Thirty one boxes were made in the session attended by around forty adults and children, helped by our excellent volunteers Les, Molly & Diana. The birds of the catchment (and beyond) will have some new homes this spring. It certainly shows how interested people are in helping the wildlife around them.   The Eco-Group at Penny Bridge Academy also made six boxes so with…

Come along to our final nest box workshop on Saturday 22nd February, between 10.30am and 12.30pm at Torver Schoolroom (the Village Hall) in Torver. All materials and tools provided so make one for the project and one to take home for your garden. Suitable for adults and children, all children must be accompanied by an adult.  

Shrew success! Following surveys carried out by Envirotech Ecology consultants we are pleased to report that there is firm evidence of water shrews in the catchment. Britain’s largest shrew is semi-aquatic and is under monitored. Water shrews are active all year round so they do not hibernate. They have thicker fur than of other shrews, efficiently insulating them against wet and cold. They are particularly vulnerable to pollutants in water and river bank modifications. Water shrews have a high metabolism…

This year the project worked with a farmer to reduce sediment and phosphate inputs into the River Crake by formalising a ditch system with a Farm Constructed Wetland. Results show the wetland has  made a reduction in phosphates by 76% in the water that reaches the River Crake!   Read more on this on the activity section https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/farm-constructed-wetlands-2019/

New channel connected! The new section of beck is now connected to the main beck, whilst still allowing water to flow along the old leat. The newly restored weir looks splendid. We were particularly amazed to see the gravels that have been exposed, once the water settled down. For more on this go to the activities section https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/river-restoration-bypassing-barriers-part-2/

Work has now begun on an exciting restoration project which will allow salmon to reach further upstream of a beck for better spawning conditions. It has taken a lot of planning and negotiation over many months to help the beck follow  its natural course. Part 1 saw the new channel being dug out. Part 2 will see the new section being connected  to the existing beck and then finally tree planting will be carried out this winter to further improve…

It’s amazing to think that we’ve already reached the end of the second year of the project and are now into the final year. So far we’ve put up (or agreed to) 13kms of fencing, creating enhanced buffer strips. Volunteers have contributed twice as many days to the project and we’ve engaged with more than 850 adults and children through working with our village schools and community groups, organising a variety of events and activities and having a stand at…

Lots of freshwater fun at Hoathwaite Campsite for the Family Activity Day. Jointly hosted with the National Trust we had dipping for freshwater minibeasts, learning about water quality & testing, pebble painting and badge making. To celebrate International Year of the Salmon we made willow fish and played the Salmon Run game. Read all about the day https://ccc.scrt.co.uk/family-activity-day/   

We are looking for volunteers to help us on a variety of activities across the catchment over the next few months. Due to the nature of the work and being mostly weather dependent, dates can be advertised at short notice and be subject to last minute changes. We’re looking to build up a register of people that we can contact as required. You don’t have to volunteer for everything either. If you are interested in helping out from coppicing &…

The work around buffer strips is continuing with volunteers recently undergoing some training with Butterfly Conservation and the Becks to Bay Partnership to carry out basic wildlife surveys. The aim of buffer strips is to protect and enhance becks and riparian habitats but we want to check that they do this. We now have a small team of trained volunteers carrying out surveys at 5 sites across the catchment and results are already coming in! Geoff & Lorna Cooper took…