Tributary of the Week: River Deerness

TV fame for Deerness river project – BBC Countryfile

A NORTH-East river project will feature on the BBC’s Countryfile this weekend (Sunday, March 30).

A film crew spent a day at Lion Mouth Rural Centre, near Esh Winning, County Durham, learning about the Wear Rivers Trust’s River Deerness Restoration Project.

The three-year project includes new fish easements, monitoring and community involvement.

Project officer Steve Hudson said: “Having a TV crew interviewing us about the project is a great advert for all the hard work the trust and all of our partners have put in over the past three years.”

The piece will be included in the BBC One programme on Sunday, March 30, at 7pm.

via TV fame for Deerness river project (From The Northern Echo).

Deerness fish passes opened From The Northern Echo

 

TWO new fish passes have been opened, marking the half-way point of a three-year project to breathe life back into a river.

The Wear Rivers Trust has been working on the River Deerness, which flows past Esh Winning, Ushaw Moor and Langley Moor before joining the River Browney near Durham City.

Opening events were held last weekend in Ushaw Moor and Lion Mouth Rural Centre, near Esh Winning.

At Lion Mouth, Kevin Summerson, from the Environment Agency, said: “The Wear Rivers Trust has done a great job in building this fish pass across the bridge apron, which previously was a major barrier to migrating fish.”

via Deerness fish passes opened From The Northern Echo.

River Wear Preservation Group – R Deerness Improvements – Open Day Oct 26th

 

A GROUP whose aim is to look after the River Wear and all its tributaries has been given a vote of confidence by a water chief.

Jerry Gallop, the national manager for the DEFRA Catchment Restoration Fund at the Environment Agency said he was very impressed with the work being done by the Wear Rivers Trust, who have been appointed the official custodians of the River Wear catchment, which includes all the waterways that flow into the river.

The trust is now working on a three year project to remove a number of barriers restricting fish movement throughout the River Deerness sub-catchment which will help to increase fish populations and benefit the wider environment.

Durham University have surveyed baseline fish populations and will measure improvements.

During his visit Mr Gallop was able to see some of the improvements that have been delivered on the River Deerness during the last 12 months and discuss the planned activity for the next year.

He said “The trust is looking at the whole picture along the river which is exactly what the catchment restoration fund and catchment based approach is looking for.

“The genuine desire to get the environmental outcomes is more than apparent.”

Partner organisations include the Environment Agency, Durham County Council, Northumbrian Water, Ground Work North East, Durham Wildlife Trust, Durham University, North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and Natural England.

The trust will hold an open day starting at Ushaw Moor Bridge at 10am on Saturday, October 26, followed by another information event at Lion Mouth Rural Centre in Esh Winning at noon.

via River Wear preservation group gets support from Environment boss From The Northern Echo.

River Deerness Restoration Project | Wear Rivers Trust

The ongoing River Deerness Restoration Project aims to restore habitat connectivity for fish species by creating and monitoring fish passage solutions at a series of manmade barriers on a tributary of the River Wear.

As a result of the Deerness feasibility studies, a successful application was made to Defra’s Catchment Restoration Fund in order to carry out a three-year River Deerness Restoration Project. In partnership with Durham County Council and Durham University, this project will address the fish passage barriers identified during the feasibility studies and, equally importantly, will assess the impact that the easement solutions have.

This assessment will be achieved by ‘before and after’ surveys and monitoring at each easement site, carried out by a PhD student from Durham University’s Biology Department. Electro-fishing and fish-tagging, habitat surveys and invertebrate samples will all be carried out upstream and downstream of each site both before and after easement work. It is expected that the abundance of migratory fish passing the barriers will increase and the PhD work will be used to confirm whether this is the case. The study of fish populations and movements through a series of long culverts in the Old Durham Beck catchment is also part of the three year programme.

The barrier at Cornsay Colliery, the furthest upstream, has now had a fish easement installed and more details are available on the Cornsay project page. By the end of the project we hope to see the whole course of the River Deerness opened up to all local fish species.

via River Deerness Restoration Project | Wear Rivers Trust.

Ushaw Moor Community Garden | Updated INFO from Ushaw Moor Action Group

The development was made possible after land was released by Durham County Council and The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and with grant funding from The Big Lottery Community Spaces fund, The County Durham Environmental Trust (CDENT) and Durham County Councillor John Wilkinson’s Neighbourhood Budget. The project was managed by Groundwork North East, designed by Guy Rowlinson Landscape Architecture and developed by Trevor Atkinson Landscapes.

Our aim is to develop a totally inclusive facility and we are delighted to support the Durham Agency Against Crime HAGGRID Project, which is a positive youth diversion programme based around horticulture and agriculture for young people – as well as their aims to build stronger communities through intergenerational activities.

Launch Event 9th June

The Mayor and Lady Mayoress officially open the garden. Many thanks to those who turned out for the activities and a special thanks to the Bearpark and Esh Colliery Band.

via Ushaw Moor Community Garden | making a difference together.

Residents urged to join the Big Spring Clean

Residents, community groups and schools are being urged to sign up for this year’s Big Spring Clean campaign.

It is hoped the campaign will see hundreds of volunteers in County Durham and Darlington stepping forward to tidy up their local areas.

The campaign is being organised by LitterFree Durham and backed by both Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council.

This is the second year the campaign has been run. Last year 72 groups, made up of almost 1,300 volunteers took part. Between them they carried out 82 litter picks and collected just over 1,500 bags of litter.

Now LitterFree Durham is urging people to sign up for this year’s campaign, which will be launched tomorrow (March 10).

Litter picks will be held to mark the launch at South Park, Darlington; the village hall at Heighington Village and The Bridge, at Whorlton, County Durham.

All of the events will take place at 10am and organisers are calling on people to join in and sign up for the Big Spring Clean.

The Big Spring Clean itself will take place between April 16 and May 11 and local community groups, organisations and schools are being urged to register.

Gerald Lee, chair of LitterFree Durham said: “Once again we are working in partnership with Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council to organise our Big Spring Clean campaign to remove litter from the highways and byways of County Durham and Darlington.

“We’re calling on local people to help us to help them make a difference to their community by joining us for the 2012 Big Spring Clean.”

Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships at Durham County Council, said: “Last year was a brilliant example of people coming together to make their local areas clean and tidy.

“We are inviting those groups and others to join us again and help to make this year’s Big Spring Clean campaign even bigger and better.”

And Cllr Nick Wallis, Cabinet member for leisure and local environment at Darlington Borough Council, said: “The majority of us take great pride in our area and don’t drop litter.

“The Big Spring Clean is a great way for local people to come together and help clean up after the minority who feel it is OK to drop litter in our town.”

Groups are invited to register for the campaign from Saturday (March 10).

To sign up in County Durham email litterfreedurham@durham.gov.uk or ring 01388 728 826.

To sign up in Darlington email litterfreedurham@darlington.gov.uk or ring 01325 347 434.

Further information about the Big Spring Clean campaign can be found at http://www.litterfreedurham.org.uk

via Press Release-Durham County Council.

Community Garden Takes Shape (Photos) – Ushaw Moor Action Group

Work started  on the development of the Ushaw Moor Community Garden on Wednesday 11th January 2012 and is expected to take one month to complete.

The aim of the project is to:

• provide a quality community open space which will benefit people of all ages regardless of where they live in the village.
• establish a learning resource for children and schools in the village, raising awareness of green and environmental issues.
• promote the development of a “Pride of Place”
• develop community cohesion and enhance community spirit.

The garden will provide:

• space to grow
• space for events and play
• space for quiet reflection
• space for wildlife
• space to learn

Check out more PHOTOS, by following the link below.

Community Garden – Ushaw Moor Action Group.

Jubilee Woods Community Tree Planting Day – Bearpark

Jubilee Woods Community Tree Planting Day

Starts:

10/03/2012

Finishes:

10/03/2012

Time:

11am to 1pm

Location:

The planting site is located near Bear Park Colliery Road in Bear Park, Durham

Online Info:

Click here for further information

Price:

Donations welcome

Description:

Sat 10th March

11am-1pm

Bearpark, Durham

Help us mark Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s 2012 Diamond Jubilee by creating a living legacy that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Join the celebrations by planting a tree in your local Jubilee Wood.

This event is free and trees will be provided.

Please bring suitable footwear, warm waterproof clothing and a spade if you have one.

Children should be accompanied

by a responsible adult.

via Event Information-Durham County Council.

Community garden takes shape in Ushaw Moor

A GARDEN aimed at creating a learning resource for children while helping strengthen links between the generations in a north Durham community is starting to take shape.

Ushaw Moor Action Group has got the keys to Ushaw Moor Community Garden in the village near Durham City, following preparatory construction work on the site – allowing Friends of the Garden to begin planting.

Action group chairman John Booth: “Our group is extremely grateful for all the support we have had from residents and partners in developing this fabulous facility which will serve the needs of the community well into the future. “The garden will provide a quality community open space which will benefit people of all ages regardless of where they live in the village.

“Our aim is to develop a totally inclusive facility and we are delighted to support the Durham Agency Against Crime HAGGRID Project, which is a positive youth diversion programme based around horticulture and agriculture for young people – as well as their aims to build stronger communities through intergenerational activities.”

During the planning of the project the group engaged with the wider community through a series of consultation events to come up with a final design and to meet the aspirations of residents.

Mr Booth added, the project managed Groundwork North East would help improve people’s health and mental well-being by providing enjoyable outdoor physical activity, social contact and learning opportunities and a space for quiet reflection.

Christine Corker, senior project officer with Groundwork North East, said: “This community garden is a perfect example of what communities can achieve through working in partnership.

“Ushaw Moor Action Group is active group with drive and passion to improve the area in which they live and worked very hard to involve the wider community in this project. As a result of this success the group are now planning their next project”. The development was made possible after land was released by Durham County Council and The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and with grant funding from The Big Lottery Community Spaces fund, The County Durham Environmental Trust (CDENT) and Durham county councillor John Wilkinson’s Neighbourhood Budget.

Opportunities for volunteering will be created create in the on-going planned activities. For example food growing, garden maintenance, play, celebration and fundraising events.

via Community garden takes shape in Ushaw Moor (From The Northern Echo).