The Trust has had another busy quarter: again demonstrating its diversity of abilities and knowledge sets. Meetings have been held with academics, local authorities and businesses covering topics related to mining, archaeology, wetlands, grass types, mercury and heavy metal decontamination, silviculture, ecology, energy sources and much besides rivers and water quality. Such are the set of topics that have been covered it has been fruitful with exchanges of ideas and understandings of need. The Derbyshire Tar Pits have also taxed our stamina and brains, often not the site itself or the project but those that would rather we were not there. The Trust’s involvement with river catchment groups in several areas has been of interest.
The remarkable development of catchment groups has created notable new methods of environmental policy development and engagement with the public and sources of pollution. These groups have allowed a new informality of regulation that involves stakeholders and to some degree moral pressure on those responsible for many point source pollution issues. The catchment partnerships have developed networks of expertise and have directed public enthusiasm and interest towards the rivers of the UK.
The Trusts Tar Pit project continues and I can report that the majority of willows have survived the summer and its drought. Some replanting is taking place shortly. Due to various reasons our access to the site has had hiccups over recent weeks. These have been resolved. The Trust has increased its involvement on the site to the other pits both filled with tar and water. A series of research and amelioration projects are being developed at the present time. The Trust is investigating and recording the site using a photographic drone.
The Trust is talking with a major international chemical company about the use of wetlands and other passive remediation methods. We are at an early stage of the negotiations at present.
Our work with the Newark archaeologists is now going to Newark and Sherwood District Council. The future discussions were planned to take the area forward as a future World Heritage Site. This is now not at all certain as the government has announced that Britain is giving up its membership of UNESCO the governing body of such designations. The Trust has supplied a drone and pilot to the project.
The Director of the Trust has been invited to become a Fellow of the European Ecological Federation. It is pleasing to be asked to take our work and knowledge to another setting.
The Trust has continued its interest in water and energy potential at Swaffham Prior in Cambridgeshire. On similar lines we hope that a project with the University of Nottingham might move on using water from the old Radford Colliery. Other similar projects with Newark and Sherwood District Council are soon to be discussed.
We are working with the Environment Agency in Crich, Derbyshire to locate the source of arsenic pollution that is leaving old soughs in the area. This has required the Trust in studying the hydrogeological conditions within the long closed lead mines and their likely relationship with old quarries and landfill sites that are numerous in the area, even within the village centre.
The Devon lead/barites mine at Wheal Augusta which nearly drowned the Trust’s Director three years ago is now starting to be remediated. Its surface pollution issues, arsenic, cadmium included, with the establishment of willows and other trees and groundcover. The tailings lagoons are to be discussed with the owner shortly.
The last week has seen the Annual Report and Accounts taking shape. It is very heartening to see an income that is more commensurate to the volume of activity undertaken this year. The report will be mailed out prior to the meeting on the 6thDecember.
Harvey Wood.
