No 61 Summer 2014

LICENSED TO KILL – INVASIVE NON NATIVE SPECIES

Himalayan Balsam in flower – photo by Charles Everitt Jonathon’s Angels – Jonathon from FINNS, Emily and Charlotte are kitted out ready for attack Non-native species are those that have been introduced - deliberately or accidentally - by humans. There are many non-native species in , although only a small number of these cause damage to the environment, the economy, our health and the way we live. These are called Invasive Non Native Species. Along the Water of we have problems with the following: Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam and the North American Mink. The Trust has been working with The River Forth Fisheries Trust on their Forth Invasive and ‘Non Native Species Programme’ (FINNS), targeting these species along the Catchment. Back in February Charlotte and Emily were formally trained and gained qualifications in the safe use of pesticides. Volunteers and staff have beenout surveying the river for these target plant species and we are tackling the spraying of Giant Hogweed with herbicide from (the uppermost site where the plants appears) to . From Lanark Road downstream is being sprayed by City of Council. Japanese Knotweed will be dealt with by stem injection in the autumn. Himalayan Balsam however requires a manual approach and during June and July we will be organising a number of ‘Balsam Blitz’ work-parties where volunteers will join us to pull out this shallow rooted invader before each plant releases, in explosive style, its 800+ seeds. For details of this work please register as a volunteer. We are also continuing to monitor the mink population on the river. We held a Mink Workshop at the Centre and have been loaned a ‘mink raft’ by the FINNS programme to see if we can discover where the mink hotspots are. For more details about the FINNS project visit www.fishforth.co.uk/inns/

page 1 JOHN MUIR WAY OPENS On the anniversary of John Muirs birth we hosted the Edinburgh Launch of the John Muir Way on 21st April. The main celebrations were in Dunbar at the beginning of the trail but at the Water of Leith Centre we joined forces with City of Edinburgh Council Natural Heritage Service to host an event to mark the route’s journey through the city and along the . We were joined by Cllr Lesley Hinds and staff from Edinburgh’s Natural Heritage Service. After the formal ‘garland’ cutting visitors enjoyed either a walk along the way to Tower or joined us for hands on fun and games. The John Muir Way stretches 134 miles or 215 km across Scotland’s heartland, running between Helensburgh in the west through to Dunbar on the east coast and Muir’s birthplace. For more info about the John Muir Way please follow this link www.johnmuirway.org Benches, Bike Racks and Boards

We have been the grateful recipients of Neighbourhood Partnership Funding of late and we have been able to make many improvements to the infrastructure on the Walkway. In the Dells and Slateford we have two comfy new benches at spots where you can enjoy the river views and a new 10 capacity bike rack at the Visitor Centre. At the beginning of The Walkway in we have a wonderful new interpretation and noticeboard, which gives walkway users information about the river, its wildlife and the history of Balerno. We also have a new orientation board outside the Visitor Centre with a map of the river and walkway. It also provides information about who we are and what we do. We hope these new items will enhance user’s experiences on the river and they follow on from last year’s exciting Audio Trail project to which you can listen by visiting www.waterofleith.org.uk/audio-trail

page 2 Penny Mile Challenge Day – What’s On th Sunday 22nd June Sunday 20 July – Guided Walk We hope you have been collecting pennies for our Village Follow in the foot steps of Robert Louis Stevenson BIG CHALLENGE. Remember we need over 80,000 and James Gillespie on this guided walk through so rake through those pockets and down the couch the village of Colinton discovering its history and bring them along either before the 22nd or on the and wild places. £4.00 (members £2) BOOKING day to help us create a mile of pennies or 2ps from ESSENTIAL. Meet at 2.00pm in the Car park under the Visitor Centre to . Gillespie bridge in Colinton Sunday 31st August – Guided Walk to Stockbridge A guided walk through the river heartland; discover the woodlands of the beautiful Bell’s Mill area and learn the history of £4 (members £2) BOOKING ESSENTIAL. Meet at 2.00pm at the Entrance to walkway on Roseburn Cliff off Corstorphine Road nr

Sunday 21st September – DUCK RACE Adopt a duck for just £1 and compete for fantastic prize. Family Funday at the Visitor Centre from 1pm with the Races at 2pm

Sunday 5th October – The Mills of the Water of Leith - Currie to Colinton Blooming Marvellous Meet at the Kirkgate in Currie and walk to Spylaw Plant Sale Park in Colinton, discovering the relics of the rivers industrial past. £4 (members £2) BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Meet at the Kirkgate in Currie and finish at Spylaw Park in Colinton

CHILDREN’S EVENTS at the Visitor Centre £3.50 per child & start at 2.00pm until 3.30pm. [email protected] Thursday 3rd July – River Dipping Join us IN the river for this favourite activity. Tuesday 8th July – Minibeast Magic Be magnified by the micro world of bugs th The Plant Sale on the 10 May was a huge success. Thursday 10th July – River Dipping The first hour was so busy that we raised around £750 in under 55 minutes!!. In all the day raised Tuesday 15th July – Wild at Art Join us as we get creative with nature, inspired by a record £1,100. We must thank all the wonderful Andy Goldsworthy members and volunteers who grew plants, baked cakes and helped with all the set up and selling on Thursday 17th July – River Dipping the day. Tuesday 22nd July – River Dipping Thursday 24th July - Wilderness Survival Skills BEQUEST OR LEGACY Hone those survival skills along the Water of Leith Will you help conserve our ‘ribbon of green’? Thanks to the work of the 150 volunteers of the Tuesday 29th July – River Dipping Water of Leith Conservation Trust, this charity Thursday 31st July – Scrapheap Art strives to clean and improve the river, its banks and Join us as we get creative with rubbish, including walkway, while promoting education and recreation our famous scrapheap boat race though the Visitor Centre. Our continued existence Tuesday 5th August – Wilderness Survival Skills depends on funding and a bequest or legacy to the Hone those survival skills along the Water of Leith Trust would be a wonderful way of helping in years th to come to preserve our heritage. Thursday 7 August – River Dipping

page 3 Community Volunteering and the Hit Squad Last summer we were awarded the Clydesdale Banks ‘Spirit of the Community Award’ along with a donation of £10,000 to support our community and volunteer development programme. We employed Emily, to work alongside Charlotte and this area of our work has gone from strength to strength. In just six months the programme has facilitated an additional 1085 volunteer and community participation hours. Volunteer activity includes: • river clean-ups • path/access improvements • drainage construction We really do find all kinds of weird and wonderful things • habitat creation in the river – pictured is Stephen with a blow-up doll • gabion management found during the Stockbridge clean-up! • vegetation/tree management • Biodiversity Boost Site maintenance We were also able to establish the ‘Hit Squad’, a River News Roundup...... small volunteer team which regularly meets on • Path closures – Sadly the section of path above Tuesday afternoons to tackle jobs on the river. Emily Dean Village is still subject to diversion with no has also been focused on engaging young people immediate resolution to the landslide issue in in practical work on the river and she has delivered sight. All other sections of path are open for the over 500 hours with a dozen different groups. summer and many sections have been upgraded We must also thank the 16 community groups and including to , Balerno, our team of Volunteers who helped with this years Redbraes and the Dells. Annual Spring Clean-up of the Water of Leith – I • Fishing Season is open – again due to a lack hope you will agree the river is looking cleaner and greener than ever of funding there has been no stocking of brown trout. You need a permit to fish, but they are free and available from the Visitor Centre. It is strictly catch and release

• Flood Works update – we have attended a number of meetings regarding Phase 2 of the Floodworks around Murrayfield. There is a revised plan available to view from CEC Flood Team, however due to a significant funding shortfall we do not expect the diggers to move in Pentland Scouts on a clean-up in Balerno anytime soon.

If you have an article, letter or photo for the next edition of Under the Bridge please send it to: Water of Leith Conservation Trust, 24 Lanark Road, Edinburgh, EH14 1TQ [email protected] How to join the Trust Please enrol me/us as a Friend of the Water of Leith Conservation Trust. I enclose the following payment: Individual membership £16 per year Family £30 per year Concessionary rate (retired or unemployed; students) £10 per year Group (schools annd voluntary bodies) £32 per year Life membership £150 single payment Name...... Date ...... Address...... Tel No ...... Please post form and payment to: Trust Administrator, Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road, Edinburgh EH14 1TQ www.waterofleith.org.uk [email protected] 0131 455 7367 Registered Charity No. SC000015

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