June 2024

News from the team

Welcome to our June newsletter. In this edition, there’s the usual round-up of partnership, local and national news for you to enjoy.

The DCP team has been busy as usual, helping partners develop, deliver and report on projects across our catchments. Particular thanks to those of you who have provided information for Sally to complete our annual return to the CaBA national steering group. This is a real showcase of the action being delivered for our rivers. I am though, very conscious of all the hard work that goes on across our catchments to bring these projects together, to bring in the money and people to make them happen. The CaBA return doesn’t capture this well and it is often difficult to resource, but I would like to acknowledge it and thank you all- without this work, the ‘km enhanced’ and ‘ha habitat created’ just wouldn’t happen.

As always, there’s a lot of delivery going on and lots more planned for the coming autumn/winter season, but for now, I’m content to enjoy the sunshine and revel in the beauty of the catchments you are all working so hard for; I hope you find time to do the same.

Happy reading
Natalie

Wider news

Boosting agriculture and nature
Defra has announced the launch of a new advisory group to make the most of research and development project spending. This could help to support initiatives in the agri-tech and environmental sectors.
 
“It’s not all about sewage”
GWCT led a panel discussion at the 2024 UK River Summit about the range of issues affecting our rivers and Salmon. The talk focussed on how the negative impacts of sediment and nutrients are being exacerbated by climate change.
 
CaBA Monitoring and Evaluation Report
The 2022/23 CaBA Monitoring & Evaluation Report has been released, containing information that was self-reported by 103 Catchment Partnerships.

River Brit funding success
The Dorset National Landscape team has been successful in passing the first stage of the Natural Flood Management Programme funding bid. The funding would be used to finance natural flood solutions in the River Brit catchment, such as creating leaky dams and reconnecting floodplains.
 
Office for Environmental Protection Report
The OEP has published a report on how the Water Framework Directive Regulations are being implemented. The report finds that the laws are not being implemented effectively, meaning the Government and EA are not currently on track to meet the Environmental objectives. 15 recommendations have been made to strengthen the legislative framework and its governance.
 
New sensing systems to monitor waterways
Nerc, Defra, and Innovate UK are providing £12 million in funding for The Innovation in Environmental Monitoring program. This will support projects developing new monitoring approaches.
 
General Election 2024
With the General Election on the 4^th July, several organisations have created resources to encourage politicians to take action to restore nature. The Rivers Trust is sending a message to #VoteForRivers, and the Wildlife Trust has launched its priorities for the next government. Plantlife is joining forces with 100 other conservation charities in the Nature 2030 Campaign to call on politicians to take action to restore nature.

Regenerative farming financial and climate impacts
SOS-UK has used funding from NEIRF to commission the Farm Carbon Toolkit, which can be used to support discussions about carbon insetting. Their report identifies the best ways to support land managers to move to more regenerative farming practices.
 
Farmers partner with Rothamsted to raise water quality
The Environmental Farmers Group (EFG), a co-operative setup to help farmers generate and trade their natural capital, has formed a new partnership with Rothamsted Research, to monitor water quality and demonstrate any net gains. To help establish environmental baseline assessments, eight water-testing labs will be set up in the Dorset Stour, the Hampshire Avon, and the Test and Itchen catchments.

Tackling pollution threats in the Lake District
UKCEH has presented results on the state of 20 lake basins in the Lake District. There have been improvements in some basins; showing how it is possible to tackle pollution threats in the lakes. It is vital to continue reducing nutrient pollution in the lakes to counteract the impact of climate change.

Local news 

‘Our journey to net zero’ photo exhibition
Dorset Council has created a new photo exhibition to celebrate the climate change achievements of local organisations. The exhibition will be touring venues across Dorset from the 5^th July.
 
Church Cliff Beach bathing water designation
After 2 years of campaigning, Church Cliff Beach in Lyme Regis has been given bathing water status in the Government’s largest rollout of 27 new designated sites. The EA will regularly monitor water quality at these sites.

Wild Purbeck Wilder Forests
Forestry England is helping nature transform forests covering over 8,000ha of land. This includes the restoration of Wild Purbeck by restoring lost wetland areas, removing invasive species such as rhododendrons, and planting trees.

Funding

Nutrient management funding boost
Innovate UK, in partnership with Defra, has announced the £15 million ‘farming futures research and development fund nutrient management’ competition. The funding will be available for projects developing nutrient management technologies that can be readily adopted by English Farmers and growers. 

£11 million Water Restoration Fund
The new Water Restoration Fund is channeling money from water company fines and penalties into projects improving and preventing the deterioration of the water environment in specified areas. This could include removing non-native species, or managing sources of water pollution.

£11.5 million funding to boost water quality
The Government has announced £11.5 million of extra funding for the Water Environment Improvement Fund. This will boost tree planting, habitat restoration, and flood management.

Events and webinars

Swift Awareness Week - Swifts are on the UK Red List due to their declining numbers. Swift Awareness Week is happening from the 29^th June to 7^th July. There will be several walks, talks, and events to learn about swifts and the steps we can take to help them.

Celebrate Chase & Chalk - The Chase & Chalk Landscape Partnership Scheme is hosting a celebration on Wednesday 24^th July at Larmer Tree Gardens. There will be opportunities to learn about the achievements of the scheme from experts and volunteers. There will be experiences such as butterfly walks and dusk bird spotting in the evening.

Agroecology course - The Agroecological Way is running an agroecology course at Tamarisk farm in Dorset from the 5^th to 9^th  July. This includes an introduction to soil microbiology, key ecological principles, and animal husbandry. There will also be extra activities such as Barn Owl scouting, a wildflower walk, and a sourdough workshop!

Sea Watch - The Dorset Wildlife Trust, in partnership with the Sea Watch Foundation, is running a free survey on the 10^th July to collect information and distribution of dolphins and other marine mammals. The survey will take place at Portland Bill.

Solitary Bee Week - Buglife has provided resources to get involved with Solitary Bee Week from the 1^st to 7^th July. There are over 240 species of solitary bees in the UK, making up 90% of our bee species. Buglife is encouraging you to #EarnYourStripes to raise awareness of these bees.

Athelhampton Eco Fair - Athelhampton’s Summer Pop-Up Market is taking place on the Saturday 29^th June, with a focus on learning how to decrease your carbon footprint and become more eco-friendly.

Jobs 

• The NFU is looking to hire a Group Secretary to work in Salisbury. The application deadline is the 26^th June.
• Forestry Commission are hiring two Wildlife Rangers. Apply by the 30^th June.
• The Pesticide Action Network UK are advertising a vacancy for a Communications Assistant. Applications close on the 30^th June.
• The RSPB is looking to hire a Philanthropy Manager. The application deadline is the 30^th June.
• Somerset Wildlife Trust are looking for a Ecologist and a Project Coordinator to work on the “Bogs and Bitterns” Somerset Wetland Restoration. Applications close on the 30^th June.
• Basingstoke and Dean Borough council are advertising a vacancy for a Principal Biodiversity/Ecology Officer. The deadline for applications is the 2^nd July.
• Wessex Water are hiring a Science Team Manager to manage the western waste operations science team. Applications close on the 5^th July.
• The Sustainability Centre are looking for a CEO Centre Manager. Apply by the 21^st July.