Newsletter Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust Autumn 2017
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TheNewsletter Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust Autumn 2017 Dedicated to the environmental protection of the Sussex River Ouse and River Adur An EPIC project in Sompting The Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust (OART) was formed in 2011 from the amalgamation of the Sussex Ouse Conservation Society and the River Adur Conservation Society. For more information on our work visit: www.oart.org.uk Chairman: Dr Hew Prendergast The River Adur as it flows south from Upper Beeding [email protected] Vice Chairman: Sam St. Pierre As regular readers will be aware, particularly focused on peoples’ for OART and there is work to be [email protected] OART was granted funding gardens), photography and art, done to ensure that OART has all by the Heritage Lottery Fund schools activities, soundscape the relevant systems in place to Welcome Membership: Neil Pringle to develop a project to restore recordings, archaeological undertake the project and is ready [email protected] from the Chairman the Broadwater Brook tributary investigations, ecological for the opportunities it will provide It was tempting to watch a recent television series about a journalist of the Teville Stream. This will monitoring and a whole host of through and beyond the funded Project Officer: Peter King see it de-culverted and passed other exciting activities. period. We then need to form the ( journeying down a river a bit longer (at 2,500 km) than ‘our’ own – the 07881 458 134 through a series of sediment structure of a post project legacy [email protected] Ganges. It appears to be as polluted as it is holy, as much a life-giver to millions as a bearer of cremated human remains and with an importance traps to remove polluted Whilst the core elements of the group who will be responsible Project Officer: Rachel Paget and relevance covering virtually every sphere of economic and spiritual sediment from the system. The project are nearly finalised there for ongoing management, ( 07789 442 687 activity. result will be a new, 1km long is still a fair way to go to be in maintenance and monitoring of [email protected] open section of stream which a position to submit the final the scheme once it is finished. All a bit unlike the Adur and Ouse. No religious significance here, no will be complemented by public bid to HLF. As such, we have Finally, all of this needs to be Field Officer:Jim Smith commerce any more – navigation and dependence on natural resources access to this currently private delayed our submission, originally compiled into a second stage bid ( 01825 750366 like fish have long gone - although we do have, at least with the Ouse and landholding. programmed for November 2017, and submitted to HLF. somewhat modestly, links to a cultural life as expressed in Virginia Woolf’s to be ready for Spring 2018. If Task Force enquiries: sad end, and by Olivia Laing’s recent descent of its course described in To To date we have received planning successful, this will still allow So a lot to do, but we are confident [email protected] the River (2011). The rivers’ traversing of the various Sussex landscapes, consent and are in the process the project to begin in 2018 with we will end up with a project which from High Weald to coast, also helps to define them although, as I have of finalising the construction the preparation work required to is beneficial to both people and written before, they can easily slip under roads, through fields, and by towns drawings to go to tender, enabling deliver the river works in 2019. wildlife and can be used as an www.facebook.com/ and villages without a notice to draw them to our attention. The worry is an accurate cost to be determined Whilst this is a little disappointing example of urban river restoration OuseAndAdurRiversTrust that this in turn can lead to a lack of awareness. There’s an analogy with prior to submitting the second- it is not surprising as the project which other organisations can wildlife: the first thing we want to know about a species we’re looking at is round application. In addition, is complex and we want to be learn from. We will keep you The Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust Ltd is what it is. Here I quote from a Robert Macfarlane article in a recent issue of we have been developing a wide offering the best range of activities informed of progress on the bid a Registered Charity (No. 1082447) Plant Life (the journal of the eponymous charity) in which he in turn quotes range of community activities alongside the most appropriate and in the meantime have a great and member of the Rivers Trust. which span the proposed three- river design and we all agree it is festive period and I look forward to Registered address: Oakwood author-naturalist Tim Dee: “without a name made in our mouths, an animal House, Bridgelands, Barcombe or a place struggles to find any purchase in our minds or our hearts.” year delivery phase of the project. better to take a bit longer and get catching up with you on the river. Cross, Lewes, BN8 5BW. The These activities are nearly finalised it right. opinions expressed in this newsletter The many tributaries of the Adur and Ouse are in fact named but they can and will be taken to community Peter King are not necessarily those of the Ouse be difficult to find - except on OART’S website. Were every parishioner to consultation in December to The next steps will see the & Adur Rivers Trust or of the Trustees get feedback and refinement evaluation and monitoring plan for and responsibility cannot be accepted know which of them – the evocatively named Black Sewer Steam, Pook for opinions herein. Bourne or Shell Brook among them - trickled through their ‘patch’, to know from local people. Our ideas the project completed, outstanding of their inhabitants, their specialities, their threats both chronic and acute include practical conservation, consents from the Environment (and the EA helpline to report them), it is difficult not to wonder that it would water quality testing, awareness Agency and Local Council applied be a great step towards watching over and improving them. raising campaigns and events, for, designs tendered and the urban wildlife projects (looking community consulted on the whole Hew Prendergast at connecting the greenspace scheme. Of course, a project of with the urban environment and this magnitude is a step-change Cover image: Students from Downlands Community School in Hassocks building a rain garden 2 3 Daubenton’s and Nathusias Sompting pipistrelle (a migratory bat to the OART UK with only c.1200 records held mammal nationally so a great find). POLO An early start on Sunday morning weekend saw us checking the small mammal SHIRTS traps set the previous evening. Again, this survey was set up to be Buy an OART polo shirt repeatable over the coming years and help raise our profile and we had some great results, and much needed money capturing wood mice, field voles for our river work and harvest mice, another difficult to capture and under-recorded species. Everyone got a chance to open a trap and identify, sex and age each capture, a real hands on experience thoroughly enjoyed by all participants. The tracking tunnels revealed no hedgehog (although we are aware they are on site) but we did get signs of brown rat and weasel (and a toad). During this period we also checked wet areas of mud OART polos come in deep navy About the size of for tracks and discovered both fox with an embroidered logo. The a tennis ball, this and badger. 37 species were recorded by price of £20 includes postage and harvest mouse volunteers over the weekend the following sizes are available: nest is made Our final activity was a harvest from grasses Small 35-37” chest mouse nest search in the local and reeds Medium 38-40” chest wildlife site of Cokeham Brooks Large 41-43” chest which sits on the south east side of XLarge 44-46” chest Aided by local experts Dr Rowenna As part of the development the project area. Again success as 2XLarge 47-49” chest Baker and Lucy Groves, our 18 phase of the current Heritage our eagle eyed volunteers spotted volunteers started our weekend Lottery Fund project we are two nests within the reedbed area by setting small mammal traps trying to understand the current meaning this species is on both Name: ....................................... and hedgehog tracking tunnels condition of the site and what sides of the project area. wildlife is currently utilising across the site. This was followed Address: .................................... by a bat walk on Saturday night. the area. Through the planning Overall we discovered 12 species The route started at the location .................................................... application process we of mammals and a total of 37 of the new channel and ended at collected a wealth of information species were recorded across the site entrance in Loose Lane, .................................................... from multiple groups of species the two days, a really satisfying taking us through arable fields and but these surveys, by their very result and a great time was had .................................................... past hedgerows. Every 100m we nature, are focused on protected by all. These records will be kept stopped for five minutes to record species rather than a general and submitted to the Sussex Phone: ....................................... bats foraging using hand-held bat overview of what is there. This is Biodiversity Record Centre, to be detectors. The route and method particularly so for our mammal used to compare with post-project Email: .......................................