Coates’ Cuttings The Chelmer Canal Trust’s Newsletter Registered Charity No 1086112. The Chelmsford Sea Cadets on the River Can: Providing boat trips for the Rivers Celebration Day Issue 50 February 2015 In this issue Pages 3 ...................................................................... Editor’s Column 4 .................................... Celebrating the Rivers of Chelmsford 6 .......................................... Book Review: Mammals of Essex 8 ................................... A Pod of Whales Visit the Blackwater 10 ............................................................ Treasure Hunting Fun! 12 ......................... Canal Side Recollections by David Williams 19 .......................... Illustrated Talk on the Village of Heybridge 22 ................................................. River Users’ Group Meetings 23 ................................................................ The Quagga Mussel 26 .................................................. Spotted along the Navigation 28 ............................................................ Useful phone numbers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We welcome these new members: Ian Benwith from Billericay. Kim Naish from Colchester. Maurice Austin from Chelmsford. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We welcome members’ photos, articles and other contributions to Coates’ Cuttings. Please e-mail them to [email protected] or post them to Windmill Pasture, Little Waltham Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 7TG. - 2 - Editor’s column. This being issue number 50 of our little newsletter, it must be something of a milestone. The very first two-page issue was back in September 1996. We have come a long way since those days, when conservation of both heritage and nature was still a major focus, but invasive species of any sort were yet to make an impact on our consciousness. In this edition we look with trepidation at the emerging threat of the Quagga Mussel, threatening to wreak untold impacts on our infrastructure and ecosystems at the point where the loathed American Pennywort is under control, though far from eradicated, and Himalayan Balsam is in stark evidence in a number of locations. The themes of changing ecology are also picked up in the review of the Mammals of Essex book by John Dobson and Darren Tansley, and the recollections of David Williams. It is interesting to read of the impact of the introduction of motor barges on the quality of the abstracted drinking water, in contrast with the boater’s view, expressed by the late John Marriage, that they “kept the canal in marvellous condition because they kept the weeds down”. It seems that it is all a matter of balance. The Navigation would not, after all, be special were it not for the boats. For many of us, the pleasures of being afloat on a beautiful waterway are incomparable, and it is easy to forget that for each boater floating by on the river, there are many on the shore enjoying the spectacle thus created. As a bunch of waterway enthusiasts, there is not much that we do with more alacrity than celebrating our rivers. We even had a special celebration day for Chelmsford’s waterways which looked very much to the future, which you can read all about in these pages. We anticipate that this will be the first of many. Also on the theme of enjoying the waterway and it’s environs, our treasure hunts in September were greatly enjoyed by all who took part, and there is a full report. Keeping things well rounded the historical perspective we were again reminded of Beryl Claydon’s detailed research on the history of Heybridge – a history inextricably entwined with that of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation itself. - 3 - Celebrating the Rivers of Chelmsford And ideas for the future. The River Celebration Day was a successful event forming a small part of the fascinating Chelmsford Ideas Festival. Having attended the launch of the Timber Stack (see last issue), the organisers were very keen to have a river based event this year. As waterway enthusiasts, we are constantly perturbed by the many people who are barely aware of the waterways in Chelmsford. “Oh yes. That’s the river.” they think. as they glance at the ribbon of water. We find this hopeless over-simplification maddening. How many have wrongly assumed that the River Chelmer, which gave Chelmsford its name, must clearly be that river flowing under the iconic stone bridge in the High Street? (It is actually the River Can!) So when we were approached to take part in the River Celebration Day, it really wasn’t an offer we could turn down. Numerous other organisations also provided stands with interesting water related information. There were activities for children and boat trips for anyone ready to see Chelmsford from a different perspective. It being part of the Ideas Festival, we decided to make the theme “Ideas for Enhancing the Rivers of Chelmsford”. This entailed putting together a display with entirely new material, highlighting the various benefits of Chelmsford’s waterways, and the added benefits that a fully integrated approach could bring. From a navigational point of view, Chelmsford has always had two sets of delightful but separate waterways. These can be described in shorthand as “The Navigation” – linking Chelmsford’s Springfield Basin to the sea, and “The Town Rivers” – the rivers Chelmer and Can, which flow either side of The Meadows shopping centre, just before reaching their confluence. Both have boats of different types creating a spectacle for passers by to enjoy. - 4 - For many years, waterway enthusiasts have observed that the water in Springfield Basin is at the same level as the Town Rivers, and that it is particularly tantalising that they are only 165 metres apart. A major theme of our exhibition explored the benefits to both waterways of linking these two bodies of water with the long- advocated navigable cut. With Chelmsford changing rapidly, could now be the time to grasp the nettle and actually bring this scheme to fruition? We set up our stand near the River Can, where the Sea Cadets were running boat trips up the river to Central Park and the model boats. We shared our gazebo with The Susan Trust, and just along the riverside walk, Essex and Suffolk Water’s Teresa Meadows had an impressive display with educational games for the children. Meanwhile on the other side of The Meadows, the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust had a very popular river simulation display, which was keeping the kids entertained for hours, although it was in fact a serious piece of scientific research equipment on loan for the day! Our own display seemed to generate a lot of interest and engagement, even to the point where we were asked to bring it to other related events in the ideas festival as well. This was useful as in addition to giving the Chelmer Canal Trust wider exposure, it enabled us to encounter experts in other community projects and gain insights into how our ideas might be pushed forward in practical ways. William Marriage. - 5 - Book Review Darren Tansley of the Essex Wildlife Trust has just published, in co- operation with John Dobson, an updated survey of Essex mammals. You will remember that Darren has given talks to the Trust and has helped in our crusade against invasive species. His special mission with the Wildlife Trust is to bolster the declining vole population by - 6 - controlling the spread of mink. His achievements in this regard are included in his book. The authors have enlarged and updated previous surveys which have allowed them to make interesting comparisons between “then and now”. Some species are now extinct and have been replaced by more recent arrivals. The foundation of all the collected data starts with Henry Laver’s book of 1898 followed 101 years later by The Mammals of Essex in 1999. This new book should reflect the present state of things although the recent spotting of a pod of pilot whales in the Blackwater estuary shows how quickly things can change. In fact one of the authors' conclusions is that the rate of change in mammal populations is alarming. The survey’s findings are divided into various groups: Visible species: hedgehog, mole, rabbit, brown hare, grey squirrel, brown rat, all carnivores and deer. Small mammals: shrews, voles and mice. Bats and Marine animals. The data from current fieldwork combined with past records informs us that 63 species of mammal have been recorded in Essex in the last 200 years. 80% of these have occurred since 1980. The status of all of our mammals is shown on a chart where they are subdivided into three categories: increasing, stable and declining. It is thought where populations are declining the reasons are often due to changes in agricultural practices and land management; something similar has been reported amongst bird populations. The removal of hedgerows by landowners reduces cover for all wildlife and removes valuable linear routes for safe passage as well as depleting a stable food source. Rough grassland inhabited by field voles, shrews and harvest mice can be ploughed up, or cut too short. Roadside swards and footpaths can suffer a similar fate. Some overzealous cutting along the banks and towpath of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation has been a feature which the Chelmer Canal Trust has campaigned against. Recently the environment secretary has encouraged us not to mow our lawns as the long straggly grass helps our bee population. - 7 - In similar vein one of our celebrated poets implores us: “What would the world be, once bereft Of wet and wilderness? Let them be left O let them be left, wilderness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.” A large section of the book is devoted to descriptions of the various wildlife habitats, their location and their occupants. The habitats: coastal, seawalls, rivers, freshwater rivers, farmland (crops and bare land grassland, woodland and other land) woodland and urban. The inhabitants: rodents, insectivores, bats, carnivores, seals, deer, whales, porpoise and dolphins, and exotics (you can take a guess at what these might be!) The distribution of each species is clearly mapped.