No 66 Spring 2016 A BRIDGE OVER ‘LITERARY’ WATERS In early 2016 we embarked on an interesting project with Friends of the Pentland Hills to improve access up Poet’s Glen. This small tributary of the Water of Leith joins the river in Currie and provides a walking link between the Pentland Hills and the walkway. However, the route was not that easy since one of the bridges was out of action. With funding from The Balerno Ramblers, Currie, Balerno & District Round Table, Currie Community Council and a generous private donation and man power from Alistair Dickson of Treeline Scotland and lots of volunteer help there is now a lovely new bridge in the glen. Poet’s Glen gets its name from the weaver poet Jamie Thompson. He used to live at the cottage at the top of the Glen and is remembered on the Poet’s Stone just upstream from the new bridge. The stone reads. “My waters refreshing and perhaps may inspire, an enraptured mind with poetical fire. I’m as wholesome and free to all whom here passes, as the fount from the side of the Grecian Parnassus. THE BALGREEN TRIAGLE A COMMUNITY GARDENING PROJECT WITH ‘BAGS OF HELP’ FROM TESCOS There is a corner of the walkway at Balgreen which has become rather neglected, trampled on, driven over, eaten (by rabbits) and generally abused for the last 10 years. With the addition of a bridge to Westfield Ave and construction works due to the trams and flood defences, the area known as the Balgreen Triangle has come to look more like a bombsite than a natural river corridor. But this is all about to change. In partnership with RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home project and with funding from TESCO’s Bag of Help Scheme we are beginning to transform the site. Initially, with the help of a team of young people from Fairbridge and the Hit Squad Volunteers we planted a mixed hedgerow which includes hawthorn, blackthorn, gueldar rose, dogwood and hazel. Over the coming months you should see the space transform with raised beds, seating areas, drystone wall and mill stone features, meadows, wildflower planting to help bees and much more. We plan to work with local groups including Balgreen Primary School, Health All Around, The Welcoming Group and Garvald, who all have premises locally, and residents of the area to make this a true community garden which can be enjoyed and looked after by local people as well as walkway users and wildlife. page 1 A WINTER WITH THE PERIGRINES OF TIPHERETH For the third winter running we have been delighted to work with a group of adults with learning difficulties called the Peregrines. The group comes to us from the Camphill Project called Tiphereth, located along the Torphin road just outside Colinton. With their leaders Thoren Ferguson and Alan Stewart, the volunteers include Paul Harper, Paul McKenzie, Jamie Morriston, Mark Beuses, Andrew Howard, Jonathan and Ruairi Mitchison. Every Wednesday for 16 weeks the group have been working with Charlotte along the whole of the river completing a huge variety of tasks including; resurfacing, path clearance and repair, tree planting, building a hand rail, meadow cutting and seeding, fence repair and, of course, river clean-ups. The highlight of the winter programme has been the creation of a beautiful willow fence along the walkway in St Marks Park. There is a rather gloomy section of the path which is plagued with muddy run off from the surrounding woodland. The willow fence has been designed to trap the runoff and leaf litter from encroaching on to the path – it also helps to define the space and looks lovely. Well done ‘Peregrines’ it look great and thank you for all your hard work this winter. PHASE 2 OF THE FLOOD PREVENTION SCHEME McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd have been appointed, by City of Edinburgh Council, as the contractors for the Water of Leith Flood Prevention Phase 2 works. This phase consists of the construction of 1.2km of flood defences along the Water of Leith at Murrayfield. These works will include structural walls and earth embankments, flood gates, pumping stations, drainage and the construction of two new bridges to replace the bridges at Baird Drive and Saughtonhall Avenue. Work started in January and so far they have set up their office base off Balgreen Road, commenced ground investigations, monitoring of water levels and locating existing services (gas, water, power, BT) which may impact the new flood wall. Visitors to the area will also notice that trees and vegetation along the river bank has been removed along with some trees in Roseburn Park. This was done prior to the bird nesting season and the appointed Ecologist was on site daily doing checks to ensure that no wildlife was present before any felling took place and to ensure that the proper mitigation measures were established prior to the works commencing. The main construction works are not due to start until the end of May, in the meantime, site hoarding will be put in place to accommodate the first phase of the works. The first phase will start along the fence line where Murrayfield Stadium joins Roseburn Park and the river bank across from Riversdale Crescent. The works will consist of a concrete flood wall and earth embankment. There may be some traffic management required in the construction of the flood wall and any effected residents will be informed in advance of the works. page 2 Water of Leith Saturday 7th May – PLANT SALE Audio Trail Visit our now famous annual plant sale and – there’s an app pick up a bargain. Doors open at 10.00am for that!! at the Water of Leith Visitor Centre. 50p Three years ago we launched admission donation. our Audio Trail along the Save the Date!!! Walkway – with 20 ‘tracks’ th allowing you to listen to a commentary about the Sunday 11 Sept is river, its history and wildlife as you explore it. As Duck Race Day technology has moved on so has the Audio Trail as you can now download an ‘app’ for free. Simply visit Guided River Walks - Google Play Store or Apple App Store - and search This year we have devised some new guided walks to for Water of Leith and it should pop up - look out for encourage members and the public to learn more about the this image. rivers hidden treats. Places on these walks will be limited Once you have downloaded it onto your phone so please call / email to reserve your space. £4 (members or tablet you can listen whenever and where ever £2) 0131 455 7367. Dates and details are below. you want. There is even an easy to use map and Sunday 12th June – Meadows and Mills Walk ‘locator’ function to show where on the river you are Part 1 , Colinton to Slateford and what ‘track’ you should be listening to. The app Join us to discover the beauty and heritage of Colinton was kindly created for us by Roger Hyam from the and Craiglockhart Dells. Meet at 2.00pm in the car park Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh - to showcase under Gillespie bridge in Colinton, off Bridge Road. the potential of using apps to provide audio guides Sunday 24th July – Meadows and Mills Walk for people to use in their gardens. We hope you Part 2, Roseburn to The Dean Village enjoy it. Join us to discover the beauty and heritage of this popular part of the river. Meet at 2.00pm at the Entrance to walkway on Roseburn Cliff off Corstorphine Road Sun 24th Sept - Hidden Industry Part 1, The Dean Village to Canonmills The hidden past of the river is revealed as we seek out signs of its industrial life. Meet at 2.00pm on the old bridge in Dean Village, on Bells Brae off Dean Bridge, Queensferry Rd Sun 23rd October - Hidden Industry Part 2, Bonnington to Leith The hidden past of the river is revealed as we seek out signs of its industrial life. Meet at 2.00pm at Newhaven Road, on the bridge by the Walkway Our Otter gets a taste for frogs Since January we have had almost weekly sightings of our otter. He / She is very bold at the moment and is Workshops for Adults treating visitors to some wonderful views. Sightings have th Sunday 15 May - Fungi under the microscope been all along the river from Balerno to Bonnington. We (Botanical Workshop) 10.00am to 4.00pm have also has sightings of it feasting on frogs in peoples An all day workshop with the Botanical Society of ponds in Currie, Roseburn and Stockbridge. This risky Scotland following on from the successful bryophytes strategy of crossing roads to visit gardens is most likely workshop we hosted last year. The event will include driven by the annual mating migration of frogs to breed a lecture on the life cycle biology of the major fungal in ponds. This image was taken by Graham Jones at groups, concentrating on the microscopic characteristics Warriston – see the distinctive nose markings which are often needed to confirm ID, using material collected around the centre. FREE but booking essential, Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd July – Water – Nature – Paint (Art Workshop) 10.00am to 4.00pm Led by artist Helen Jackson we are hosting a special weekend art workshop providing an exciting opportunity to discover the diverse beauty of the Water of Leith. Participants will be drawing and exploring the river, trees, rocks and plant life – gathering enough visual information to create a studio based painting using acrylic or gouache paints.