Reg. Charity No. 1091000

At the beginning of June, the Year 7 girls of Burntwood School in Wandsworth were looking for a local environmental project - their Green SOS - to feature in a 3 - 5 minute DVD entry to a national competition for ‘Green-agers’ run by npower.  The girls involved unanimously decided that they wanted to highlight the challenges facing their local river and to do something to make a positive difference.  So, following a telephone call from teacher Sarah Brack, ten of the girls joined volunteers, Gideon, Diana and myself to help pull up Himalayan balsam from the banks of the Wandle at Trewint Street.

Having been fully briefed on the risks of working near water, they participated in a mini-workshop on the identification of invasive species and the reasons behind removing them. Then they donned waders and gloves and clambered over the railings onto the bank to begin work.  As well as filling a dozen or more bin bags with the remains of this ‘pesky’ plant, they were amused to find a tyre, several items of clothing and a mysterious bundle wrapped in a plastic bag, which revealed, on closer inspection, what they thought was some silver cutlery.  Having discussed putting it on a well-known auction site and making their fortunes, their teacher confirmed that it was only stainless steel and consigned it to the rubbish pile!

The girls will find out by 10th July whether their school project has been selected.  The winners will receive a £20,000 green fund which will be put towards the implementation of energy saving measures detailed in their school’s energy audit.  Fingers crossed!

(Image: caughtbytheriver.net)

Meticulously timed to hook up with the start of the new coarse-fishing season (we did kinda wonder why, since maybe half of the possible readership will be a long way from their bookshelves for at least the next month, but it’s a great bit of symbolism all the same) Caught by the River’s new printed “collection of words on water” was officially launched at Foyles on Monday evening last week.

With whistles whetted by bottles of Wandle ale (what else?) several contributors read their own pieces from the book, and we got to talk to many more, including Roy Wilkinson who wrote the Wandle’s chapter, as well as a personal account of Trout in the Classroom which appears in our current newsletter. 

Stoically propping up the anglers’ corner of the bar, we also met up with Charles Rangeley-Wilson, Keith Elliott and Chris Yates, author of literally countless modern angling classics… and we all marvelled at the artwork on the walls, including an impressionistic map of the Wandle by John Richardson:

(Image: caughtbytheriver.net)

In short, editor and music maestro Jeff Barrett’s newest compilation really does seem to be “a uniquely modern take on an age-old tradition - a rock ‘n’ roll nature book even”.

And best of all, Octopus Publishing Group are very kindly offering Wandle Trust supporters a 30% discount on Caught by the River until 31 August: just follow this link and quote promotion code wandle09 when you place your order.

We’ll also have one or two copies to give away, so keep an eye on this site and wandlepiscators.net for opportunities to win yourself a bonus volume!

The one with the Wandle Valley Festival and the…

We should have seen it coming: the idea of advertising our Wandle Valley Festival community cleanup as part of the Springwatch Dirty Weekend was just too much for the Weather Gods, who took revenge by sending us overnight thunderstorms, and yes, a big Dirty Spate down the mainstem of the Wandle.

So while Gideon and Bella were running our Trout in the Classroom display, and starting our public consultation on what local people want for their river, at Deen City Farm…

… and the Wands boys demonstrated Riverfly monitoring and fly-casting on the grass in Morden Hall Park …

… we’d luckily already scoped out the little Pickle Ditch where it runs around the ancient site of Merton Priory as an alternative cleanup location.

Chris uncovered a cache of ritual river-offerings…

… Steve collected several barrow loads of rather more secular rubbish…

… and we soon turned our attention to clearing invasive Himalayan balsam…

… which was generously collected by our friends from Groundwork, and carted away to be incinerated:

 At 1.30, Sally and Jo produced a full summer cream tea…

… which set the tone for a balmy afternoon watering Groundwork’s new plantings opposite Merton High Street, and Dirtily grubbing up more Himalayan balsam around the Sainsbury’s footbridge…

 … before heading off to visit other parts of the Wandle Valley Festival.

As ever, thanks to Gary and his team from Merton Council for clearing away all the rubbish we collected - and check back soon for more news of our Wandle-wide invasive species eradication programme.

In the meantime, if you do notice any invasive species along the river, including Himalayan balsam, floating pennywort or Japanese knotweed, especially if they’ve appeared where you haven’t seen them before, please let us know by downloading one of these forms, filling it in, and sending it back to us!

Thanks to all our volunteers: Andrew, Andy, Ann, Carol, Carolyn, Charlotte, Chris D, Chris E, Diana, Erica, Felix, Jack, Jo, Liz, Luko, Michelle, Mike, Nick, Peter, Phil, Richard, Rigby, Sally, Stephen, Steve, Theo and Zoe

When the government Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) asked us to arrange them a volunteer event that didn’t involve pulling rubbish from the river, it gave us the opportunity to set up another pulling activity for volunteers: removing Himalayan balsam!

This non-native invasive plant species was brought to Britain from the Himalayan region in the early 19^th century as an ornamental garden plant but, not being part of the natural ecosystem, it had no predators and started to spread unchecked. 

It loves to grow on disturbed ground such as river banks and quickly shades out our native flora, resulting in a monoculture, which dies back in winter, leaving banks bare so that soil gets washed into the river in rainwater, suffocating spawning gravels and invertebrate habitat with silt.

In short, the only way to get rid of Himalayan balsam is to pull it up repeatedly before it has flowered. And to do this over such a wide area needs people power. 

So, during the UK’s national Volunteers Week (1st to 7th June) we arranged a day of pulling for the CLG which was a great success - not least because we were once again fuelled by Jo’s delicious home made delights. 

Our volunteers managed to meticulously remove all the Himalayan balsam we could find from around 100m of river bank in Beddington Park. 

We even managed to be filmed by BBC London who were reporting on the wildlife improvements being made to the river - although we unfortunately got bumped from being broadcast that evening by Mayor Boris falling into Lewisham’s River Pool whilst also pulling HB (taking Debbie Leach of Thames 21 with him, though luckily she’s also a top class oarswoman, so a little river water didn’t bother her!)  So the piece eventually went out yesterday evening instead.

We’d like to thank Carl and all his CLG colleagues who did such a great job kick-starting our invasives removal programme, whilst getting to know the Wandle (and each other!) better at the same time. 

And we’re also very grateful to Sandra and her team at Sutton Council who took our pulled-up Himalayan balsam to the borough’s composter where it will be turned into useful fertiliser to encourage native plants to grow.

If you’d like to talk to us about organising an environmental team-building or corporate event for your organisation on the Wandle, why not get in touch?

Under the cloudless skies of last week’s fine weather, the Wandle Trust hosted a corporate team-building river cleanup for staff of the Environment Agency. 

Our location was the stretch of the Wandle in SW18 which flows from Penwith Road under Duntshill Mill and round in front of the almost-refurbished Sawmill building in Flock Mill Place.

Approximately 25 enthusiastic volunteers - some descending a ladder into the river, whilst others lowered buckets on ropes to haul the rubbish up to the street - enjoyed the sunshine and the discovery of extraordinary items the river proffered. 

In the haul were a garden chair, a cash register, a knife, an air rifle, a lorry tyre, a road sign and numerous cans and bottles (including a full bottle of Merlot!)

Our thanks as ever to Joanna Shearer and Michael Singham of Wandsworth Council and the boys of the Waste Management Team who turned up on cue to cart the rubbish away!

(Images: Lois Lau)

On other rivers around the UK, under the auspices of the Trout in the Town project, we’re delighted to see other local ecologists and anglers starting out on the road we at the Wandle Trust began to travel all those years ago.

And with the onward march of technology, they’re using t’interweb to launch awareness of their efforts too.

On South Yorkshire’s urban River Don, Sheffield’s Partnership for Rivers in Town Environments (SPRITE) has just run its first community cleanup - complete with YouTube coverage and so-laid-back-it’s-horizontal voiceover from the Wild Trout Trust’s Paul Gaskell…

… whilst over in East Lancashire Colne Water Angling Club and the Friends of Greenfield are starting their own progamme of river cleanups and education.

Quite brings a reminiscent tear to our eye, so it does!

A big well done to everyone else involved with Trout in the Town so far, and long may their successes continue.

This time last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of WWF’s new Rivers on the Edge initiative: a significant new project that aims to focus public and political attention on the plight of Britain’s globally-rare, and increasingly threatened, chalk streams.

During 2008 our very own little Wandle spent at least a few days being assessed as a candidate River on the Edge: a basket-case for WWF to show to politicians and other opinion-formers as an example of what not to do to a river, and generate ideas about how to improve prospects for many more chalk streams in the future.

But in the end - and we’re shocked for all of these, rather than disappointed for the Wandle - this dubious accolade went to the Kennet, Itchen and dried-out upper tributaries of the Lee.

Fittingly, one of the evening’s key speakers was writer-broadcaster-conservationist (and friend of the Wandle) Charles Rangeley-Wilson.

Now he’s blogged his own speech here we’re feeling no anxiety about stealing his thunder - and if you’ve got time for another long, interesting read, check out the Hansard report on the Parliamentary debate that followed the launch next day (scroll down the page to Column 256WH).

So… kudos to Oliver Heald, Martin Salter and all those other MPs demonstrating leadership on a globally-important issue… kudos to WWF for starting to show everyone how much damage water can do, just by coming out of our taps instead of the ground… and kudos to the HSBC Climate Partnership for underwriting this campaign of public awareness.

For the Kennet, Itchen, Beane, Mimram, Wandle and all our other precious chalk rivers, will we look back one day and think: This was the turning-point?

You’ve heard of Springwatch, Crimewatch …

… and now we’re proud to present the Wandle Trust’s new and revolutionary CoirRollWatch, where we bring you updates on those 13 rolls of coconut fibre hammered into the Hackbridge stretch of the river by our keen volunteers earlier this year.

In the 2 months since then, it’s clear that germination and photosynthesis have been matching their efforts and working overtime.

Already, here’s the result upstream of the bridge, filling gaps in the older riparian fringe (it’s also worth remembering that this is a stretch we rescued from Himalayan Balsam last year - this year? not a trace so far):

Downstream alongside the concrete path, the effect is even more impressive, with lots of new sedge and flag iris already helping to mask that sterile vertical wall:

Best of all, growing season has only just started… so watch this space for more pictures in another couple of months!

The one with Yorick and the shotgun…

When Michael and Jo at Wandsworth Council asked us to join London’s official Capital Cleanup Campaign, it was an invitation we couldn’t refuse…

… so we threw this month’s 65 volunteers a challenge: Ravensbury Terrace, the monthly Riverfly Monitoring stretch of the Wandle just below Earlsfield railway bridge and Trewint Street’s fly-tipping blackspot. 

Those who’d hoped for a big one warmed up with a waterlogged retro-futuristic armchair:

… and the human chain swung into action along the bank:

Felix found the final traces of a ram-raided hole-in-the-wall we’d retrieved upstream, years ago…

 … while one of our younger volunteers pulled out most of a safe-cracker’s toolkit, drills, saws and all…

 … and CSI Gill demonstrated (yet again, before taking another unscheduled swim with the fishes) her flawless instinct for discarded gangland weaponry!

Most macabrely, alongside some amazingly heavy fishing tackle…

… a sinister rubber Shakespearean (or was it just Hallowe’en?) prop also appeared…

… perfectly on cue to horrify our friends from Project Dirt: Mark and Nick, who’d arrived with cameraman Jack to interview Bella in her natural environment…

… before Wandsworth Council’s cage lorry came to take the rubbish away…

 … and leave our kind neighbours Richard and Tricia Sinclair in peace to enjoy the rest of their afternoon beside a newly-sparkling stretch of river: big thanks to them for letting us use their facilities, and for the generous supply of biscuits and hot water!

Thanks to all our volunteers: Abi, Agnes, Andy B, Andy P, Ann, Barry, Ben, Billy, Brin, Bruce, Chris, Coco, Debbie, Diana, Douglas, Duncan, Eddie, Elspeth, Erica, Estelle, Felix, G Jerkovic, Gideon, Gill, Helene, Ian, Itake, James, Jack, Jamilia, Jane, Jasone, Jessica, Jo H, Jo L, John, Keith, Ken, Les, Liz, Luko, Madhu, Maggie, Mike, Natasha, Nichola, Nicola, Nick G, Nick M, Nick S, Paul, Peter, Phil, Rigby, Rob, Rory, Rufus, Sally, Stephen, Steve, Steve C, Steve K, Sue, Theo and Tom

Here on the Wandle, amidst the daily muck and bullets of urban river restoration, it’s safe to say that the glamour moments don’t happen often.

So when the years you’ve been putting into this poor little river are suddenly up there in the global limelight with the work of organisations like Orri Vigfusson’s North Atlantic Salmon Fund… that’s a cause for celebration!

Sage is one of the most conservation-minded fishing tackle manufacturers in the world, sponsoring many heavy-hitting river restoration efforts including the Wild Trout Trust. (And so every tackle-maker should be, because when all the habitats have been permanently trashed, and the fish are gone, even the world’s most beautiful fishing rods and reels suddenly won’t seem so useful or desirable any more!)

In this sort of context, it’s an amazing honour for me to add to last year’s Bernard Venables Award from the Wild Trout Trust, and join fellow Trustees Gideon with his Wandsworth Green Guardian Award, and Gill with her Change the World Award…

… by being hailed by Sage as one of their 6 worldwide Conservation Heroes for 2009.

Here’s what Sage say about our favourite river and its ongoing recovery in their website and catalogue, written in time for last autumn’s trade shows:

South London’s River Wandle, historically revered for its crystalline, trout-filled waters and quite probably the birthplace of the dry fly, did not survive modern times.  By the 1970s, its polluted, toxic streambed was officially classified as “open sewer.”

Today, Theo Pike, Chairman of the Wandle Trust, is working to restore this classic English chalkstream to its former glory and inspire people everywhere to invest in their local, urban watersheds. Together with the Wild Trout Trust, the Wandle Trust runs educational “Trout in the Classroom” programs, rebuilds habitat and partners with local councils and the water company in their restoration efforts.

And at least once a month, Theo and a band of brave volunteers don waders to remove shopping carts, sofas, motorbikes and the occasional firearm from the Wandle.   These efforts are not without their rewards.

“Last New Year’s Eve,” Theo reports, “we saw trout spawning here for the first time in nearly 100 years.”

With my deepest thanks to Sage, what else can I say but this: it’s an honour just to be seen in such committed company. 

And it’s a downright source of pride to be working with everyone here on the Wandle.

 Now, when’s our next cleanup?