Enhancing the Valley for wildlife and informal recreation
The usual full programme of volunteering opportunities. Please note the booking arrangements in the programme if you wish to have a place in the Minibus.
No venues in the Valley as such, but close by there will be meadow raking at Cringleford Community Woods on the 10th and hedge trimming to improve bird habitat at Eaton Burial Ground on the 13th.
The full programme is here.
In past years St Andrew’s Eaton has regularly hosted successful Eco Fairs. This year they are having an Eco Weekend over Saturday and Sunday the 4th and 5th of October. On the Saturday there will be an Eco Market in the Church Hall from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm. Local Companies will have a range of stalls in the church hall selling ethically produced goods. Refreshments will be available. More details of the weekend are here.
This year there will not be the stands publicising the activities of voluntary environmental organisations, but it is hoped they will be present in future years.
In the past century or so, many of our rivers, the Yare included, were canalised and disconnected from their flood plains. Attempts are now being made in a number of places to restore rivers closer to their former character. This is seen as having a number of advantages. Letting a river return closer to its natural state can create valuable wetlands, give time for sediment to settle, and reduce flooding downstream.
If you have been walking on Marston Marsh recently you will have seen and heard the activity on Keswick Marsh on the other side of the river. Here work is being done under the direction of the Norfolk Rivers Trust, in partnership with, and with funding from, the Environmental Agency (EA), Norfolk Water Strategy Programme and Anglian Water to improve wetland habitat on the floodplain. It includes reconnecting the floodplain to the river, improving the wet ditches, and creating wetland scrapes.
The large equipment being used is rather alarming, but assurances have been given that any damage done in the course of the work will be “mitigated”. The end result can have a number of positives, such as:
It is encouraging to see the effort being made to promote nature in the river valley.
The University of East Anglia (UEA), like many universities has been facing serious financial restraints on their spending, and so when the UEA boardwalk needed replacing the university was unable to do this from its own funds. Recognising the importance of the boardwalk to the local community, UEA has provided instead strong staffing support to seek funds from elsewhere, including the Greater Norwich Growth Board and the National Lottery. At a meeting with the Yare Valley Society on Wednesday 28th August, ways in which bids can be carried forward with YVS, and other voluntary organisations, were explored.
The UEA team and the Yare Valley Society sends a big thank you for the generous donations and support, and UEA has issued an update on the progress made so far. If you have not already done so, there is still time to make your donation. It is pleasing to report that the amount of £1800 raised quoted in the update is already out of date. It is now well over £2000, please keep it rising. Being able to show strong community is essential if bids are to be successful.
Please read the update and see:
HOW TO GIVE
Please donate online at www.uea.ac.uk/dare-to-do-different. Or, to discuss your gift, please get in touch with the Development, Alumni and Campaigns Office.
Telephone: +44 (0) 7776 505172 Email: o.condra@uea.ac.uk
Development Office, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ
Thank you. Your donations bring the boardwalk closer.