Nature River Mel
You may not be aware of the fact, but the last Sunday in September was World Rivers Day. World Rivers Day is a day that has grown out of the United Nations’ Water for Life initiative, which helps to create a greater awareness of the world’s waterways. Rivers in every country face an array of threats, and World Rivers Day promotes the active involvement of local communities to ensure the health of their rivers in the years ahead. The River Mel Restoration Group decided to mark this day at their September working party by undertaking an in-river litter pick, followed by a celebratory cake at coffee time. Over the last few years the amount of litter in the Melbourn stretch of the Mel has decreased significantly but, unfortunately, plastic carrier bags, bottles, cans and doggie “poo” bags are still found by volunteers when working in the river. This litter is not just unsightly but causes direct harm to our wildlife and is a hazard to our volunteers. There are bins on the Recreation Ground for both rubbish and doggie “poo” bags, so why throw them in the river? Plastic bags do not biodegrade, they photo-degrade – breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic pieces that contaminate the river and eventually the wildlife that depends on it. To help prevent this, we carry out twice yearly dedicated in-river litter picking sessions, one in the autumn and one in the spring. Litter is a direct result of human activity and it is sad and rather ironic to think that we need to mark World Rivers Day with a session to remove it from our river. By the time you receive this magazine the RMRG will have stopped working in the river for the winter season and will be concentrating on improving bank habitat. The reason we stop working in the river at this time is to ensure that trout can spawn, undisturbed, in the gravel riffles that you can see along the River Mel. Trout lay their eggs between December and March, and its important that we do not disturb the silt during these months, otherwise it will settle on the riffles and stifle out the oxygen that sustains the eggs and young trout. This year there have been increased sightings of trout in the River Mel, so we need to protect their breeding grounds during these vital winter months. A very different activity for the group is the dressing of a Christmas tree as part of Holy Trinity Church’s Christmas Tree Festival in Meldreth. This is an enjoyable way of preparing for the festive season and helps all of us who attend to get into the festive mood. We wish all of you a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. For further details about volunteering or the dates of future working parties please telephone Maureen Brierley on 01763 262752 melbournmagazine
17
