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August 2022 News

  • Date published

    Thursday, 25 August 2022
The River Stour at Keyneston Mill
The River Stour at Keyneston Mill


You may have heard already that Caitlin will soon be moving on from her role as the Catchment Partnerships’ Support Officer. We will be sad to see her go as her skills and enthusiasm have helped massively across the partnerships’ work; the new website is a particular credit to her, and I don’t think it’s a secret that I am hugely grateful for her mapping skills which have been so useful. Whilst I am sad to lose Caitlin from partnership land, I’m pleased to say she’s not going far (literally one desk over)! From September, she will be joining the Biodiversity and Wetlands team at Wessex Water, so I’m sure many of you will still be in contact with her in her new role. Lee and I wish her the very best as she takes this step forward in her career, and I look forward to working with her as an Environmental Scientist very soon.

Partners please note- Caitlin’s last day with the Catchment Partnership team is next Wednesday (31st August). We will be recruiting very soon for a Catchment Partnership Officer, so please look out for a separate email with more details. If you know of anyone who would potentially be interested and would like an informal chat about the role, please encourage them to get in touch. 

Natalie

Wider news

Extreme weather events, such as the prolonged dry period we've been experiencing, are predicted to become more frequent and unpredictable due to climate change. To improve the resilience of our catchments to these future scenarios, the Partnership continues to advocate and support the use of nature-based, multi-benefit solutions that slow the flow, increase the water storage capacity of landscapes and maintain habitat quality. Read more on page 23 of our Catchment Strategy.

Stories of Poole Harbour
Poole Museum is looking for local people with stories about Poole Harbour to help create a new oral history archive, as part of the National Heritage Lottery Fund project 'Our Museum', which will redevelop the museum’s maritime galleries.

Working with Nature
The Environment Agency's Working with Nature report highlights the need for significant landscape-scale interventions and the use of nature-based solutions to help wildlife recover and for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Wessex Water Environment Fund
The Wessex Water Foundation Environment Fund has provided the Lower Char Community Project with a grant to help monitor the lower River Char and identify sources of pollution, while also investigating and implementing nature-based treatment solutions.

Assessment of Salmon Stocks
The Environment Agency released their 'Assessment of Salmon Stocks and Fisheries in England and Wales in 2021', finding that 80% of principal salmon rivers are 'at risk'.

Fish Rescues on the Tarrant
The annual fish rescues carried out by the Environment Agency on the River Tarrant had to begin earlier than usual this year and additional sections of the river had to be included due to the low summer flows following the prolonged dry weather. Around 1000 fish were removed and released downstream, in the hope that some will continue up the Tarrant again when flows increase.

Events

Planet Purbeck Festival
Coming up soon from Friday 16th - Sunday 25th of September, with many of our partners contributing to the activities list:

  • Dorset Peat Partnership & Urban Heaths Partnership's Peaty Pockets of Purbeck Guided Walk Thursday 18th September
  • The Preventing Plastic Pollution team's BIG River Refresh Sunday 25th September
  • Dorset Wildlife Trust's Kimmeridge Strandline Safari Sunday 25th September & Snorkel Trail every day
  • Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust's Reptile Ramble at Creech Heath Saturday 20th September

Flood Warden Training Event
The Environment Agency Flood Resilience Team are holding a Flood Warden Training day on Tuesday 18th October at Salt House in West Bay. The event will cover procedures and planning for Flood Wardens and Community Emergency Volunteers, understanding flooding and the role of the Flood Warden, flood risk awareness, dynamic risk assessments and how to stay safe.

Dorset Coast Forum Annual Conference
DCF will be holding a conference at Kingston Maurward College on Tuesday 20th September, which will include talks from Wessex Water and Litter Free Dorset, and BCP and Dorset Council’s Flood and coastal risk management teams.

CaBA Data & Evidence Forum
The 2022 Catchment Data & Evidence Forum will run as a hybrid event on 20th - 22nd September at Durham University and online. The main forum will run on Wednesday 21st September, and a SCIMAP User Group meeting and a programme of supporting workshops will take place on Tuesday 20th September and Thursday 22nd September. The Forum is free and open to anyone who is involved or interested in using data & evidence to support catchment management, nature recovery, and engagement with communities.



Read on