No tasks in the Yare Valley this month, but a chance to see some other beautiful hidden riversides while balsam pulling. At some locations, where facilities are limited, there will be the opportunity to try out a portable loo that is being trialled. The full programme is here.
AGM and UEA Campus Ecology
At a well-attended Yare Valley AGM, following the business matters, Tom Everett, the UEA Landscape Manager, gave a talk explaining how the Ecology of the UEA was being managed.
The large number of questions from the audience revealed the interest there was in what he had to say. A sign of how managing the ecology had changed, was his own career progression at UEA. From an early job on a tractor close mowing the Campus grass areas, to now overseeing, as Landscape Manger, the same areas being transformed, with the help of volunteers, to wildflower meadows. It demonstrated how the UEA management of the Campus has been evolving in line with the increasing concerns of biodiversity decline. He also made the important point that, for biodiversity to improve, some of our green space needs to be protected from human and dog intrusion. This was well illustrated by the increase in wildlife, such as of water voles, that were observed to occur after a section of duplicated riverside path was closed. The university campus is on both sides of the river, and forms a significant section of the Yare Valley Green Infrastructure Corridor. It was re-assuring to hear of the efforts being made to improve the ecology of the campus. Walking trails on campus enable you to see what is being achieved.
AGM and Talk on managing the ecology of the UEA Campus
All who value the green space of the Yare Valley are welcome to come along to the Yare Valley Society AGM and Talk:
The AGM will be held first, and take about 30 minutes. Papers for the AGM will be in the next YVS Newsletter, due out early June. The AGM will be followed by the talk by Tom Everett, the UEA Landscape Manager.
Many will already be familiar with the environmental attractions of the UEA Campus with its nature trails, tree trails and Dutch silent garden.
The UEA Landscape Team, supported by volunteers, seeks continually to improve the ecology of of the Campus’s meadows, woodland, and wetlands.
All the papers for the AGM are at the end of the June Newsletter to be found here.
Act now on a “licence to destroy” nature
Referring to the Planning & Infrastructure Bill now before parliament, Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts says:
“The so-called Nature Recovery part of the Bill is a Trojan horse – it’s a misnomer because, in reality, it is a licence to destroy. It replaces vital nature protections with a weaker substitute, … [and so] … it puts irreplaceable habitats and threatened species at risk.”
Craig is not alone, Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, says:
“… the Bill in its current form will rip the heart out of environmental protections and risks sending nature further into freefall. … The evidence clearly shows nature isn’t a blocker to growth. The government has identified the wrong obstacle to the problem it’s trying to overcome, and that has led it to the wrong solutions.”
Beccy’s claim that nature is not a “blocker to growth” is backed by the recent report, Planning & Development: nature isn’t the problem.
Even the government’s own body, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), has warned that the Planning & Infrastructure Bill will cause “environmental regression”.
The Yare Valley Society believes the Planning & Infrastructure Bill threatens the community’s ability to protect the green space corridor of the Yare Valley. The Bill weakens the present requirement that a development should deliver a “net biodiversity gain”. It allows developers of small and medium developments (the majority) to transfer measures to mitigate environmental damage away from the development site to elsewhere. This means it reduces the likelihood of new developments near the Valley having green spaces that could serve as stepping stones, to link the corridor with the wider green ecology network. One final aspect is that it reduces the protections to globally rare chalk streams, of which the River Yare is one.
For an overview of what environmental groups are pressing for in the Bill, go to Wildlife and Countryside Link .
Please act now by writing to your MP.
Go to the Wildlife Trusts website to do this easily. It strengthens your message if you can tell your MP why Green Space and Wildlife are important to you personally, ideally by mentioning the Yare Valley.
Conservation Volunteers June Programme
Mike Webster writes:
Some MUCH needed rain is falling as I write this, but we won’t let that dampen our spirits as summer ends and spring begins, or so it seems!
Many thanks to all who worked so hard on the construction projects* over the last couple of months: the waymarking trail and handrail at Queen’s Hills are things everyone can all be proud of. I am also glad so many of our volunteers were able to enjoy the jolly trips in May (and we’ve already got ideas for next year lined up!)
Special thanks to all our Easton students this month, it’s been great having them all with us. I know many of you will be leaving us shortly as you courses come to an end, but I understand that some of you might stay for the summer, and some of you may be back next autumn. If you are heading off to new challenges, we all wish you the best of luck for your future careers.
So, looking forward now, it’s that invasive species time of year, as we race against time to stop bracken and Himalayan Balsam from smothering everything in sight (or should that be that everything on site) which gives us the chance to visit some beautiful areas in their prime: balsam is growing all along the lovely Wensum Valley from its upper tributaries to the centre of Norwich, and it’s up to us to stop it from invading the Broads downstream. No less than THREE new sites to explore this month where we will be both hunting balsam and cutting back along pathways so that more people can enjoy these sites (even if they are walking arm-in-arm in flip-flops). Meanwhile bracken is growing all over fascinating heathlands like East Ruston and Mousehold… so keep sending people our way please folks.
The full June Programme is here.
Yare Valley Parkway in new Green Strategy
In the past year or so, representatives from the Yare Valley Society have participated in consultations and workshops to guide the formulation of a new updated Green Infrastructure Strategy for Greater Norwich for up to 2038. The Greater Norwich Growth Board has now approved the Strategy and this month YVS representatives attended its official launch at the Sainsbury Centre at UEA.
The Strategy focuses on “delivering multiple benefits: nature-rich places, active and healthy communities, thriving economies, improved water management, and resilient climate-positive environments. … [It is] … a significant milestone, which paves the way for a greener, more connected Greater Norwich.”
For an overall view of the entire Strategy go to Greater Norwich Green Infrastructure Strategy Story Map.
You can explore the hoped for outcomes of the Strategy by going to the Strategy Documents and selecting the Strategic Delivery Plan 2025-2030 and look at the Proposed Strategic Green Infrastructure Initiatives in its Delivery Programme.
This news item will focus on the initiatives that relate to the key role the Yare Valley has in the Strategy as a Strategic Green Infrastructure (GI) Corridor.
The Yare Valley Society has long pressed for the Valley Corridor to be regarded as a single entity in planning, and this long held vision is promoted in the “Southern Norwich Yare Valley Parkway” initiative. The initiative will “encourage projects that support development of a major linear park connecting a potential new country park at Bawburgh and Colney Lakes west of Norwich with Whitlingham Country Park to the east, including completion of the Yare Valley Walk and improved links to the city centre, as well as potential links to the Wensum Corridor in Norwich and to the west, and restoration of floodplain fen habitats and riparian woodland along the river corridor”
Other initiatives indicate how the Parkway is to be embedded in the wider green infrastructure.
The Parkway will be linked to the “Norwich Green Grid Corridors” initiative. The initiative will “encourage projects that support enhancement of Green Grid Corridors within the densely built-up Norwich Urban Area, creating a strong and multifunctional green network connecting Norwich to the wider strategic GI network – through access improvements, including new/enhanced green spaces and waterside access, urban greening, food growing spaces, protecting and enhancing wildlife sites, and enhancing the City’s landscape setting (including wooded valley sides and ridgelines in particular)”
The Parkway will also link via green corridors to the Wensum Valley, to the surrounding country towards Wymondham and towards the Waveney Valley Strategic Green infrastructure corridor.
The “South Norwich to the Waveney Valley” initiative will “encourage projects that support enhancement of the Boudicca Way between Norwich and Diss including as access improvements and creating new circular walks linked to the Norfolk Trails network to align with the Norfolk Access Improvement Plan 2019–2029, and improved connectivity and enhancement of hedgerows and woodland habitats.”
The South-West Norwich to Wymondham will “encourage projects that support enhancement of the Strategic GI Corridor linking South-West Norwich with Wymondham including new and improved accessible greenspace, public rights of way network improvements and new greenways, pond restoration/creation, and expanding, strengthening and linking woodland, grassland and hedgerows”
These corridors are also intended to connect the Parkway to the existing Country Park of Ladybelt and to a potential new country park southeast of Norwich. The Parkway itself would provide a link between the existing Whitlingham Country Park and the proposed Bawburgh/Colney Lakes Country Park.
The Potential New Country Parks initiative will “encourage projects for the creation of new country parks potentially located to the west of Norwich at Bawburgh/Colney Lakes, to the south east of Norwich in the Caistor St Edmund area (focused around High Ash Farm/Venta Icenorum Roman Settlement) and to the north-east of Norwich.
These new county parks would provide additional larger-scale accessible greenspace to meet the needs of a growing population. They would also provide Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace to address recreational impacts from visitor pressures of new development on wildlife sites protected under the Habitat Regulations in line with the Norfolk Green Infrastructure & Recreational Impact Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy”
Finally blue space has not been forgotten, of particular relevance to Bawburgh Lakes is the Blue Spaces initiative which will “encourage projects for the creation and enhancement of blue spaces, such as the restoration of gravel pits within river valleys to provide nature-rich wetland habitats and opportunities for access and water-focused leisure activities”
So far so good, and the Yare Valley Society welcomes the new Green Strategy as providing a clear vision for the future. Its success as a Strategy will depend partly on the funding available and partly on how much it becomes an integral part of the thinking for the planning and the policies of all the local authorities of the Greater Norwich Growth Board area.
Marston Marshes Ornithological Update
Last year when Tim Hill reported in March on the birdlife he had seen on the marsh it was after the marsh had been under flood water for longer than is usual. This resulted in some new, or rare, wildfowl sightings and some common water birds appearing in larger numbers. Less flooding this year, and so there have been some changes. Tim Hill reports:
“The number of species seen each month, January to May, has been around 50. With winter visitors departing, and summer visitors arriving, a total of 73 different species has been seen so far this year. This is slightly lower at this stage than last year due to the flooding that occurred in February 2024 bringing in additional visitors that year.
Unusually for this species here, a chiffchaff overwintered along Marston Lane and was seen throughout January and February. It started singing in early March. They are now calling all round the perimeter of the marsh. Cetti’s warblers have been here continuously from March 2023 after disappearing for several years.
Another species seen more regularly during winter and spring is the greylag goose. For the second year a brood has hatched at the east end of the marsh, and they can often be seen on the south bank of the river with mum and dad standing guard as they feed.
The swans that previously nested where the river Yare joins the mill stream did not return to that nest site this year. There were issues for them last year caused by flooding. At the east end the pair that successfully raised a family last year has produced a brood of 6 cygnets this year.
The warblers are back in good numbers. Sedge warblers are setting up territories and displaying across the marsh. The scratchy song of whitethroats can be heard in most areas with bramble or nettle patches. There is a single reed warbler around the stile on Marston Lane. It has lately favoured calling near the new seat. A garden warbler has returned to the woods along the riverbank and is usually heard in the central area. There was a brief appearance of a grasshopper warbler, with its mechanical whirring, to the west of the central path from the lane to the river. Blackcaps are widespread and very vocal too. The first was heard at the end of March.
The parakeets seem to favour the eastern end of the marsh a bit more. They may be making use of the many holes in the trees at that end. They do still tend to roost, some evenings, in the poplars near the riverbank where they first appeared. A barn owl was seen regularly patrolling the whole marsh in January. It was out at almost any time during daylight hours, but I have not seen it since the beginning of February. A rare visitor to the marsh was a male marsh harrier in March. It patrolled quite low, on three occasions, showing its wonderful upper wing markings. Another rare visitor for the marsh was a great white egret. One pops in occasionally and is quite spectacular standing in the water at the edge of the river, with its long neck vertical, as it looks for food.
At the time of writing sand martins and swifts have been seen but house martins and swallows are yet to appear. Two other long-distance migrants have also arrived with a cuckoo seen near the boardwalk and a common tern hovering and diving along the river.”
Finally that oft seen sight on the look out for food:
All photos by Tim Hill.
Progressing the UEA Boardwalk Replacement
In common with many UK universities UEA have been grappling with budgetary challenges and are not able to provide the cost of a replacement boardwalk. Instead UEA is making its contribution towards a replacement by providing the services of its staff to seek funding from other sources.
UEA ‘s success in securing funding for the cost of the design of the boardwalk has already been announced. A fully costed design is a necessary first step in preparing a bid for further funding to finance the removal of the old boardwalk and the construction of the new.
At the recent UEA meetings with the Yare Valley Society and other stakeholders on the design of the boardwalk, there seemed to be a general consensus on many of the features the design might include viz.:
- Follow roughly the same route as the existing boardwalk
- Be about 1.2 m wide with some wider passing places
- Be wheelchair friendly
- Be constructed of recycled plastic for longevity and low maintenance
- Have a reliable non-slip surface -not chicken wiring
Other features raised in the discussions included signposting and the provision of dog poo bins.
How you can help
The UEA is calling upon local communities to show their commitment to replacing the boardwalk by raising an initial amount of £2 000. This will enable UEA to seek further construction monies from various funding sources.
A big thank you to all who have contributed
towards the £1 100 raised to date
More than halfway there!
Designing a new riverside boardwalk
UEA is moving forward with the support of the Yare Valley Society and other organizations to secure funding for the construction of a new boardwalk to replace the old worn out one.
Funding has now been obtained through the Norwich City Council for the design stage. UEA can now commission the boardwalk design and, if the City Council agrees the full project application is worth putting forward to the Greater Norwich Growth Board Infrastructure Investment Fund, UEA will submit the application in July 2025
Ahead of the design commissioning process, UEA are running two consultation sessions to hear from local organisations, community groups and schools about how the boardwalk could be restored and replaced in a way that makes the facility a more inclusive, welcoming and enjoyable space. The design will be community-informed, and so these consultations are an excellent opportunity to make suggestions and share ideas.
The consultations will take place on
Friday 9th May 9:30-11:30 [Venue: Roy Snelling Lecture Theatre, Bob Champion Building, NNUH. Free parking available.]
and
Tuesday 13th May 18:00-20:00 [Venue: Willow Centre, Round House Park. Free parking available.]
Yare Valley Society representatives will be at the Tuesday consultation.
Conservation Volunteers May Programme
Nothing scheduled for the Yare Valley this month, but plenty of opportunities to volunteer elsewhere with the first shots being fired in the Himalayan Balsam campaign.
Mark Webster writes:
“Well the May blossom (hawthorn flowers) is already out, and now so is your May programme! Given the already-VERY-warm-and-dry weather you may well have cast your clout* already, but there are usually spare waterproofs on the minibus just in case!
Some of you may be surprised (delighted?) by the relative absence of Himalayan Balsam pulling this month, but don’t worry, there will be more of that in June, now that the funding to control this invasive weed has been confirmed for another year: hooray! It’s a job that keeps us off the streets – and onto some lovely stretches of riverside. Instead this month we have waymarker posts to install ( a good task for those of your who want to leave your mark on the landscape, as the recycled plaswood posts are likely to be pretty much eternal). We have also got a lovely long trip to lovely quiet Barmer (a good one for fans of Norfolk’s famous round tower churches), the chance to discover hidden garden heritage in Lowestoft, a free café lunch at the always interesting Blue Boar Lane, plus continuing our stately progress across the superb hidden wetland at Flordon, and a brand new site at Poringland Woods (although some of you may remember it from such courses as our woodland training day a couple of years back).
Oh, and not forgetting our ever-popular Jolly Trips for Volunteers – 5 fun days out as a reward for everyone’s hard work! People don’t have to have been out with us every week to attend, but please don’t make these the first time that anyone comes out with us! Booking is required for these days, either by emailing mark.webster@tcv.org.uk or texting 07740 899 691.
I do hope to some of your clients this coming month.
Mark.
*Ne’er cast your clout till may is out = don’t leave your winter clothes off until the Hawthorn (aka the May Tree) is in bloom.
Join us whenever you can, we do not require any regular commitment to attend.“
The full May Programme is here.