Environment section.qxp_Layout 1 19/08/2021 15:24 Page 6
MENDIP TIMES
Winscombe’s new garden
FoUr friends have created the Winscombe railway Garden on a piece of derelict land in the village for their silver Duke of Edinburgh award. Churchill Academy students, louis Green, Alasdair Armour, Jacob Griffiths and Alastair McWhinney first approached Winscombe and sandford Parish Council in 2019 about renovating a plot of land by the railway bridge. the boys then presented a plan and costs at a parish council meeting which gained unanimous approval. After months of work, with support from their parents, the official opening was carried out by parish council chairman, Archie Forbes, attended by the boys’ families, friends, teachers and local councillors.
The garden is open
Clearing weeds (l to r) Alasdair, Jacob, Alastair and Louis
Before the work
Boost for River Chew
Bristol Avon rivers trust has received a grant of £97,700 from the government’s Green recovery Challenge Fund, which will support improvements on the river Chew. it hopes the river Chew reconnected project will act as a stimulus for further support, to create a healthier river for wildlife and people to enjoy. the project will deliver two river habitat enhancement schemes that will improve aquatic, marginal and terrestrial habitat. this will include planting about 2,000 riparian trees and shrubs and the creation of several seasonal ponds across two sites to reduce surface water run-off from agricultural fields and increase floodplain habitat diversity. the trust says: “restoration of habitats will help them function more naturally once again, unlocking natural processes and maximising transitional and in-stream habitat. At a local scale, the river will become more resilient to pressures such as climate change and form more coherent
one of the parents said: "it was a great afternoon, fantastic for the boys to receive the praise they deserve and the boys feel very proud that their hard work has sparked a lot of interest in the village."
River Chew at Pensford
priority habitats, as building blocks of the Nature recovery Network.” the trust is also launching a sustainable Water Usage project that will encourage local communities and schools to also take action to protect our rivers.
Details: info@bristolavonriverstust.org
PAGE 6 • MENDIP TIMES • SEPTEMBER 2021
