Anne Miller, Author at Cam Valley Forum

Grantchester Meadows restoration project

Cam Valley Forum is pleased to be collaborating with the local Wildlife Trust and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group on an exciting pilot project to restore heavily eroded areas of the Grantchester Meadows river bank.

The project has been offered a total of nearly £10,000 in funding, so long as the community can match this, and so long as we can complete the work before the end of March 2022.

Do join us in supporting this project, using the “Donate” button here

Grantchester Meadows River Bank 3 - Ruth Hawksley — Grantchester Meadows – C. Ruth Hawksley

The Grantchester Meadows Riverbank Pilot will address some of the severe erosion to the banks of the River Cam at Grantchester Meadows. Use of the banks by cattle, people and dogs has led to bank erosion, removal of marginal vegetation and silt inputs to the river, which can impact on water quality. Areas of cattle trampling adjacent to footpath gates has also created safety issues, particularly noticeable in winter.

The project will create two new “cattle drinks” – gently sloping access points to the river with a hard stone base – so that cattle can get to the river safely while reducing erosion and siltation. Soil from the work will be used to repair banks next to the footpath, which will then be protected with a short stretch of fence. Marginal vegetation is expected to thrive in these areas, providing refuge for water vole, waterfowl and invertebrates. The aim is to trial ways to rebuild and protect the banks using natural materials, and to learn lessons which can be applied to other areas of Grantchester Meadows.

Please consider making a donation to support this vital work to protect the riverbanks and keep Grantchester Meadows special. This work is being conducted by the Wildlife Trust, in collaboration with Cam Valley Forum and FWAG East on behalf of the landowner.

New Cam Valley Forum report published

The Cam from Grantchester to Cambridge: A much loved river in need of our care.

This report is an appreciation of the River Cam from Grantchester to Cambridge, outlining the threats it faces and the context and importance of the river. It illustrates the entire 2.8 miles length of the “upper river”, from Byrons Pool to Kings Mill Weir in Cambridge, and may provide a better understanding of the river’s rich history and precious ecology. It is hoped that it may motivate more people to want to protect it from damage, now and in the future.

This is first of the documents that has been prepared as part of Cam Valley Forum’s “Cam Safer Swim Initiative” (CSSI) If you would like to commment on the report, or get involved in our work to make the Cam safer for swimming, contact cssi@camvalleyforum.uk

A National Chalk Stream Restoration Plan

Inspiring annual lecture by Charles Rangeley-Wilson at our AGM on A National Chalk Stream Restoration Plan: the next steps to save our rivers

Watch it here:

Charles Rangely-Wilson’s work and advocacy on behalf of Chalk streams is without equal. A well-known river environmentalist, author and Wild Trout enthusiast Charles Rangely-Wilson is Chairman of the National Chalk Stream Restoration Group. His writing has been described as ‘capturing the essence of time and place in ways that open your eyes to what you are missing’.

Cam Safer Swim Initiative

The Cam Valley Forum recently consulted about designating part of the River Cam as a “Bathing Water”. This would benefit river users by prompting work to improve the quality of the water. Our proposals are here:

cvf_swimming_proposal_informal_consultation

We were delighted to receive 75 responses and have distilled these in a response document:

Responses-to-CVF-Bathing-Water-Proposal

We are now forming a steering group to take forward a ‘Cam Safer Swim Initiative’. Action areas include:

Making local improvements at bathing locations
Gathering data on recreational use of the river
Monitoring water quality
Pressing for better wastewater treatment and an end to combined sewer overflows
Reducing diffuse pollution from fields and roads
Pursuing dialogue with a wide range of interests

If you would be interested in helping in any of these areas, or have any comments and suggestions, please get in touch cssi@camvalleyforum.uk.

AGM 2021 and Annual Talk, 7:30pm-9pm Thursday 25 March

Cam Valley Forum AGM at 7.30 pm, followed by the annual lecture by Charles Rangeley-Wilson at 8pm on A National Chalk Stream Restoration Plan: the next steps to save our rivers

Do join us, participate in our AGM, hear from Charles Rangeley-Wilson and help us all guarantee a future for our chalk streams.

Bathing Water designation for part of Cam

The Cam Valley Forum is consulting about getting part of the River Cam designated as “Bathing Water”. This should benefit a wide range of river users by improving the cleanliness of the water and providing warnings if the water quality is unsafe for swimming.

See our informal consultation document here

cvf_swimming_proposal_informal_consultation

If you have any comments, please let us know before 21 February 2021

We have been overwhelmed by the level of support for this idea, but have also had a few thoughtful ideas for improvements and will be using these to refine the proposals after our deadline of 21 February

CVF respond to DEFRA consultation

Cam Valley Forum calls for support for river flows and habitats under Environmental Land Management schemes

The Forum’s response to the recent Defra policy discussion paper on future support for Environmental Land Management (ELM) calls for:

DEFRA to work with local people and local river groups to inform and help achieve national objectives
A ‘managed aquifer recharge’ option to be added to the menu of land management options for farmers.
Much greater support for ELM investments on riverine margins – ‘Riverscape Opportunity Areas’ as we’ve termed them. In intensively managed landscapes such as the Cam Valley, river corridors offer perhaps the best opportunity to reinstate extensive contiguous areas of improved habitat, while also protecting and enhancing Chalk streams.
ELM agreements to support ‘nature-based’ options to manage flood risk.
Plenty of expert advice, local tailoring of objectives and actions, valuing environmental services effectively.

The full CVF response can be downloaded here.

CVF-response-to-Defra-ELM-paper-31-07-20 Download

Letter to minister

We are delighted that Anthony Browne MP for South Cambridge is joining us in calling on Defra to establish a ‘Chalk Streams Task Force’ to develop a Strategy to restore natural flows to Chalk streams. We have worked with Water Resources East to draw up an eight-point plan to kick-start the Task Force’s work. We are working to build a strong coalition of support for this initiative, which recognises that national policy on managing our water resources has to change.

You can download Mr Browne’s letter to the DEFRA Minister, Rebecca Pow, and our initial plan below

Anthony Browne MP letter to minister Download

Diary of the fight against Floating Pennywort on Shelford Stream

The email extracts below give the flavour of how persistent dedicated volunteers, with support from agencies and councils can take on the eradication the invasive weed, Floating Pennywort. This is the (ongoing) story of the fight.

We had previously suceessfully eradicated Floating Pennywort from the Upper Cam (see blog posts from 2017-19) so we were very concerned when we were notified on 11 March 2020 by the Environment Agency that they’d received a new report of Floating Pennywort on Shelford Stream; a small chalk stream watercourse that flows into Hobsons Conduit, then the Cambridge Botanic Garden and the Cam. ….
Continue reading Diary of the fight against Floating Pennywort on Shelford Stream

Blanket Herbicide Spraying by the Environment Agency

Cam between Littlebury and Little Chesterford, 19 Oct 2019 (c) Mike Foley

We are horified to discover that the Environment Agency is proposing, once again, to blanket spray herbicide along large stretches of our precious rivers and streams. We object strongly to this, and urge the EA to put their money and resources to better use.

You can see a summary of our progress (or not) below, and a full log here of the reports that we have received of damage caused by blanket herbicide spraying

Update 26 June 2020

We understand that discussions are ongoing in the Environment Agency and hope for a positive outcome. In the meantime we would welcome any further views and evidence from river users to help us press our concerns home and ensure that the funds earmarked for spraying are instead used for positive work to enhance our rivers.

Update 4 June 2020

In early June, we were horrified to discover that the Environment Agency is proposing, once again, to blanket spray herbicide along large stretches of our precious rivers and streams. They say this is “to maintain sinuosity within the channel to help reduce flood risk”

You can see the full list of sites here:EA herbicide proposals 2020

They sent this out for consultation to selected key conservation organisations a few weeks ago, with a deadline for responses of 5 June. However, as many staff are on furlough, it has only just come to our attention.

You can read our formal consultation response here