Trench Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) off Higher Coach Road next to Load Pit Beck and not far from Shipley Glen. The site contains 4.7 hectares of lowland meadow – a nationally rare habitat. The grasses in the neutral grassland on the site include red fescue, sweet vernal and crested dog’s-tail; wildflowers include herb black knapweed and bird’s-foot trefoil. Devil’s Bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) also indicates the importance of this species-rich grassland. The land adjacent to the meadow is designated as a wet woodland with common alder being the dominant tree species.
The site is owned by the City of Bradford District Council and managed by The Countryside Service, with support from the Aire Rivers Trust. Aire Rivers Trust volunteers have carried out several tasks on both the meadow and in the wet woodland including Himalayan balsam removal, scrub clearance and hedgerow maintenance.
Volunteers make a difference
To date, Aire Rivers Trust volunteers have contributed 335 volunteer hours. 540m2 of scrub has been cleared, which otherwise would have resulted in the meadow becoming woodland. 900m2 of Himalayan balsam have been pulled across the site. The holly hedgerow on Coach Road Bridleway has been improved to provide habitat and act as a stock-proof barrier. Aire Rivers Trust works in partnership with several organisations. West Yorkshire Combined Authority, WSP and Keighley College have all contributed volunteer time to carry out practical environmental tasks.
A local farmer grazes the site, with cattle selectively grazing scrub, keeping down bramble encroachment and providing soil improvements. Bradford Council Countryside service has also undertaken willow thinning on-site to prevent woodland succession.
The site has permissive access for the public and visitors are encouraged to stick to the path and keep their dogs on the lead to prevent disturbance of wildlife and prevent dog fouling. The Trust will continue to carry out management works on-site. To find out more please visit our volunteer website: Volunteer with Us – Aire Rivers Trust
In the next blog from the wonderful Lucy Johnson, one of our volunteers, we learn about birdwatching on the ings (riverside wetlands) at St Aidan’s.
For many of us, when we think of our rivers it is fish and invertebrates, or maybe even aquatic plants, that come to mind. For others, they are a magnificent habitat for birds of many species. In this blog from one of our volunteers, Lucy Johnson, we read about birding on the long-disused coal mines at St Aidan’s just a short way below Leeds. St Aidan’s is a 355 hectare (877 acres) nature park located between Leeds and Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. The land was formerly an opencast coal mining area that was flooded in 1988, after the riverbank collapsed.
In the Embrace of the Aire, Birding at St Aidan’s
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, perfect conditions for a birding walk at the beautiful St Aidan’s Nature Park near Leeds. I carefully reloaded my camera with different batteries before setting off…they were also flat. In the absence of my capacity to provide good quality bird pictures, you can drink your fill over at “St Aidan’s Nature Park” on Facebook, where many beautiful shots of the park’s birds, both visitors and residents, are frequently posted. St Aidan’s is a former opencast mining site owned by Leeds City Council and managed by the RSPB. It reopened in 2017 as an RSPB site. There is currently a small footprint of café, information stand and toilets between the car park and Oddball.
A Park For Everyone
I was greeted by Peggy, a smart, vibrant young woman in much demand between the café, RSPB stall and visitors. Peggy is one of 16 permanent staff across St Aidan’s and its sister site, Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve. In addition to the permanent staff, the sites benefit from 230 regular volunteers, who may act as Rangers, perform regular bird surveys, undertake tasks such as creating dead hedges and litter picking. St Aidan’s is designated a park because it is meant to form a space for leisure activities for people as well as the birds. Ranger Jerry who led the talk along with three other volunteers emphasised that all are welcome, from horses to cyclists and runners, and that the birds are accustomed to their presence. The just under 900 acre site also plays a vital role protecting Castleford from flooding. The lakes fill up counter-clockwise, leaving the most precious reedbed habitat for last.
Key Species
The park is important for its role in providing a home for six key species – black neck grebes, black headed gulls, lapwings, bitterns, kestrels, and little owls. Jerry has personally spotted at least eleven raptors in the last two years, including red kite, buzzards, marsh harrier, ring tail hawk, osprey, little owl (who like Oddball), barn owl, tawny owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl, and of course peregrine.
What To Wear
I would advise attendees of the walk to wear sturdy, comfortable footwear and to bring binoculars if they have them, although I was perfectly happy watching the birds hover with just the aid of my specs. Jerry shared a wealth of information about the site and was not outmanouevred by any question no matter how varied or specific. His deep familiarity with the site made for a very enjoyable and informative tour, taking in everything from kestrels’ scrying mammals’ urine through ultra-violet vision, to Oddball and Big Bob’s history, to vulpine predators.
The Local Residents Show Off
As for the birds, a kestrel kicked proceedings off by sweeping in dramatically to its exposed nest on Oddball at the top of the site, tearing into lunch. The walk was not an aerobic challenge by any means. We simply meandered along one of the main paths at the park’s perimeter, ending at the reed beds to listen to the bitterns boom, accompanied for the most part by swooping kestrels and lazily hovering buzzards, with the occasional dart of the kestrel, asserting territory to an unwary buzzard. Near the end of the talk a sharp-eyed attendee spotted a peregrine moving swiftly in, and a red kite with its distinctive V tail was also spotted. Unfortunately the little owls which have a fondness for Oddball were elsewhere at the time of the walk. Do take the time to look both above and below Oddball for kestrels and little owls if you visit.
How to “Cheat” at Birdwatching
I would have appreciated a quick rundown of each bird’s characteristics and perhaps a factsheet or two, but it was equally valuable seeing a smaller number of species in the wild and taking a detailed dive into where they spend their time and why. There was a reassuring lack of pretension about the whole affair. Jerry cheerfully admitted to “cheating” by using the excellent Merlin app for identification, and Steph, one of the volunteers, was very democratic in her thoughts about developing as a birdwatcher.
Gordon Denison
Another birdwatcher passionate about making access to the hobby more open was the legendary Gordon Denison of Halifax Birdwatchers Club, who recently passed at the age of 90 after a lifetime spent supporting and encouraging others. Not only a much loved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Gordon was a key member of Halifax Birdwatchers Club and took part in many projects over the years. His projects included establishing a trophy for the member who spotted the most species over the year, and creating detailed sighting maps. He particularly enjoyed birdwatching at Fly Flatts Reservoir, his favourite bird was a grey wagtail, and he had a distinctive whistle imitating a curlew to communicate with daughter Jayne, who was also on the walk with her partner Graham.
Throughout the talk I chatted with Jayne and Graham, who had kindly offered to rescue me from West Yorkshire public transport hell (three buses to travel a total of eight miles). Jayne was bright-eyed and warm, carefully clutching a pair of binoculars much older than those round the necks of other attendees. She described her father as “a smart and helpful gentleman to everyone and dedicated to his family.” Gordon had a good sense of humour, although it took him a little while to warm to Graham’s bird jokes. It was a poignant reminder that while life flows on, there are many people who came before us who made our experiences and knowledge possible. If Gordon had been able to atend, he would have been extremely smartly attired, delighted to have the day out with Jayne and Graham and to meet newcomers to birdwatching, who he always encouraged. All in all, a lovely afternoon, and Gordon’s binoculars sighted a few kestrels more.
Salmon Safari
River Worth Improvement Plan
Current projects
Practical Conservation update January 2024
Project Officer Gareth Muir gives us an update about what the volunteers have been up to last month.
Tool maintenance
After returning from the Christmas and New Year break, the practical volunteers got stuck into a spot of tool maintenance. Volunteers joined staff at our office in Greengates to sort, clean, sharpen and oil the tools used by the volunteers to carry out practical environmental conservation tasks. Without these tools, we could not carry out the work, so they must be in top condition! Staff and volunteers had the (un)enviable task of going through the Trust’s protective equipment (PPE), ensuring it was safe, working and effective. Thankfully, everything was ship shape and Bristol fashion!
Coppicing at Druid’s Altar, St Ives, Bingley
Volunteers undertook some coppicing at Druid’s Altar hazel coppice on St Ives Estate, Bingley. Coppicing is a traditional form of woodland management with roots going back hundreds if not thousands of years. Using hand tools including; loppers, bowsaws and the iconic billhook, volunteers cut hazel ‘stools’ to harvest ‘rods’ of various diameters for a range of uses. The main use was to produce hazel hedging stakes. These stakes were later used on sites within the catchment to lay hedges. In the process of producing these stakes, volunteers realised the perfect length for a stake was an ‘Olivia’ (our River Conservation Assistant) of 1.5 metres! Over the course of three work days, volunteers coppiced 21 stools and produced 112 stakes, some may say the stakes were…’high’. Why not visit the National Coppicing association to find out more about this fascinating traditional craft?
The volunteers were busy trimming the holly hedgerow at Trench Meadow. A hedgerow, which in the past had been neglected was in need of some tender loving care. The volunteers provided this by cutting back the encroaching greenery onto the footpath, allowing footpath users to path through unmolested by errant pickily leaves! The volunteers also took the opportunity to remove encroaching bramble on the meadow, thus preventing it’s natural succession into woodland. Trench Meadow is a Site of Special Scientific interest (SSSI) containing a variety of flora, which the Trust aims to safeguard for the future. To find out about Trench Meadow, why not visit this interesting blog post by ‘The Nature Guy’ who contacted the Trust in summer 2023:
Hedge-laying continues to be a firm favourite with the Trust’s practical conservation volunteers. This month volunteers worked had to lay a predominantly hazel hedge at Ryeloaf Meadows, Bingley; a fantastically untouched site beneath the Bingley Relief Road. Accessed via Dowley Gap Waste centre, the site is managed by Bradford Council’s Countryside and Rights of Way team with the Aire Rivers Trust carrying out environmental conservation tasks onsite on their behalf. The traditional countryside management craft of hedge laying is enjoying some what of a resurgence of late and as an organisation the Trust is keen to keep these traditional skills alive and use them to improve habitat in the catchment and beyond. If you’d like to find out more about hedge laying, why not visit the National Hedge laying Society website:
Willow clearance on the riverside at Ryeloaf Meadows continues, with volunteers removing dense patches of willow near the water’s edge. Large stands of willow deflect the flow of the river away from the site, which acts as a flood water overflow. The cut willow is stacked into dense brash piles, which will in time become a new habitat for invertebrates and potentially laying up spots for male otters in the summertime. The composition of the woodland at Ryeloaf Meadow is ‘wet’ woodland (predominantly common alder and crack willow), which is an under represented habitat in the Bradford area. Woodland management often includes thinning tree numbers and producing deadwood, so that multiple layers of habitat are present with a ‘mosaic’ of canopy, understory, shrub and herb layer.
January was a busy month with a variety of tasks. The ‘nature’ (pardon the pun) of practical conservation dictates that the tasks performed by volunteers vary greatly. Moving ahead into the end of winter the volunteers will be continuing hedge laying, tree planting and gearing up to the river clean ups, once the flood waters have subsided.
Footpath works pave the way for better becks in Bradford
Sometimes the path to healthier streams and rivers lies alongside and not in the water. Local environmental charity, the Aire Rivers Trust has been hard at work improving a Bradford footpath to reduce soil running into the stream – boosting water quality and encouraging wildlife to flourish.
The work is the first ecological improvements brought about by “Better Becks,” an exciting partnership between the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the Wild Trout Trust and the Aire Rivers Trust. Through the project experts from the trusts walked over 60 kilometres of streams looking for ways landowners could make changes to the way streamside land in Bradford is managed to produce improvements to water quality.
“We’re delighted another important part of the Better Becks partnership project is underway, boosting water quality and enhancing habitats so that wildlife can thrive. We’re looking forward to working further with our partners in the coming months to turn opportunities identified during this project into ecological improvements in watercourses in and around Bradford.”
Ineke Jackson, Environment Agency Project Manager
Locating water quality issues
The streamside path is Shipley Glen. A popular area with local dog walkers. Loadpit Beck flows down a narrow valley in Shipley Glen through the village of Eldwick and into the River Aire near Saltaire. It is named after the nearby small Late Bronze Age iron ore (or lode) workings which once forged the axes used to clear the land for agriculture. The project noted with concern that the increasing number of visitors since 2020 had caused a footpath that crossed the stream to widen and erode. Soil from the footpath was washed into the stream by rain and the many dogs enjoyed its cool water.
Creating volunteer-led solutions
Volunteers from the Aire Rivers Trust have built new walls to reinforce the footpath and drains to keep water from running over it. Over the past weeks, they have moved almost 70 tonnes of gravel and cobbles to resurface the footpath and create a mud-free area for dogs to wade to avoid the mud being disturbed. The work aims to reduce the amount of soil washed into the stream as it brings nutrients that reduce water quality and smothers the gravel where fish will lay their eggs. They have been helped in their work by members of Bradford Metropolitan Council’s Countryside and Rights of Way Team.
With the support of our volunteers were improving water quality in Shipley Glen and footpaths for walkers.
“Our volunteers have greatly enjoyed the challenge the work provides. It’s good fun but also makes a real difference to the health of our rivers. This project is a great example of organisations coming together to achieve the shared aim of having a healthy river system full of life. We hope walkers will enjoy the new path and maybe catch a glimpse of wildlife, like kingfishers, we expect to thrive with cleaner water.”
Simon Watts, Operations Manager with the Aire Rivers Trust
Changes to our riverbank that benefit people and wildlife.
Plastic pollution in rivers is a major environmental problem that affects not only the health of rivers and the ecosystems they support, but also the health and well-being of humans. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the causes of plastic pollution in rivers, the impacts it has on the environment and human health, and what we can do to reduce it. In a subsequent blog, we will look specifically at microplastics.
Slightly ironic how this trash collector (in Baltimore, US) creates a fish tail as it works…
One of the main causes of plastic pollution in rivers is the improper disposal of plastic waste. Many people simply toss their plastic trash into the streets or into nearby waterways, where it can be carried by stormwater runoff into rivers. In addition, plastic that is not properly recycled can also end up in rivers through the waste management process.
The impacts of plastic pollution in rivers are significant and wide-reaching. For one, plastic in rivers can harm and kill wildlife that mistake it for food or become entangled in it. Fish, birds, and other animals can ingest plastic particles, which can lead to malnutrition, organ damage, and even death. In addition, plastic in rivers can also absorb toxins from the water, which can be harmful to both humans and animals when ingested.
Plastic pollution in rivers can also have economic consequences. For example, plastic pollution can damage fishing gear and boats, leading to losses for fishing and tourism industries. In addition, plastic pollution can also affect water quality, making it unfit for human consumption and recreation.
What can we do about the problem? So, what can we do to reduce plastic pollution in rivers? One effective strategy is to properly dispose of plastic waste and ensure that it is properly recycled. This includes properly disposing of plastic items such as bottles, bags, and packaging in designated recycling bins and participating in community recycling programs.
Another important strategy is to reduce our overall consumption of single-use plastic items, such as straws and plastic water bottles. By using reusable items instead, we can significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in our rivers and other waterways.
We can also support businesses and organizations that are working to reduce plastic pollution in rivers. For example, we can choose to patronize companies that use environmentally friendly packaging and support initiatives that work to clean up plastic pollution in rivers.
Finally, it’s important to educate others about the issue of plastic pollution in rivers and the steps we can all take to reduce it. By raising awareness about the problem and the actions we can take to address it, we can create a ripple effect that will help to protect our rivers and the ecosystems they support for generations to come.
In conclusion, plastic pollution in rivers is a serious environmental issue that has wide-reaching impacts on both the environment and human health. By properly disposing of plastic waste, reducing our consumption of single-use plastic items, supporting businesses and organizations that are working to reduce plastic pollution, and educating others about the issue, we can all play a role in protecting our rivers and the ecosystems they support.
If you would like to dig further into the plastics in our environment, then Earthwatch have some excellent online resources.
