Winter volunteer Opportunities for River Cray Habitat Enhancement

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Dear All

Winter volunteer Opportunities for River Cray Habitat Enhancement

We announce exciting training opportunities for our Cray River Keepers to build on their river enhancement skills learnt during the summer working the Veolia / WWF In stream River Habitat Enhancement at Foots Cray Meadows. This is a Cray Catchment Improvement Group partnership involving North West Kent Countryside Partnership Funded by WWF and Thames21 funded by Veolia Environmental Trust.

Mark Gallant will take us through activity focused training to enable us to continue the project throughout the winter repairing the banks as learnt here. With a showcase section completed and ready to be planted in the spring which along with the marginal areas will highlight the habitat improvement in the spring and summer.

Day 1 – Tuesday 25th November 1000 to 1430 – Will be a training course to learn how to undertake the traditional woodland management technique of coppicing – the course will cover the reasons why woodlands were traditionally coppiced, the wildlife value of coppicing and the methodology adopted to carry out the technique of coppicing.

Day 2 – Monday 8th December 1000 to 1430 – Will be a training course to learn how to undertake the river restoration technique of bankside willow spiling – the course will cover the benefits of willow spiling verses hard engineering solutions adopted to prevent bankside erosion. The course will also cover the methodologies used in carrying out willow spiling

Please contact me to secure a space on each of these days

Section of bank to be repaired as our Project's 'Showbank'

This week

In light of the above sessions this Wednesday’s event will Not Include enhancement work, I will be on site at 1000 to take any interested persons on a site visit possibly including a litter pick.

However, There are other events: Crayford Pre Remembrance Sunday river clean at Waterside gardens – There is also a continuing trend for debris along byway 106 at this location; Thursday 6th November 2014 meet 1030 Meet Crayford Way/Waterside Gardens DA1 4JA and on Friday 7th November at Hall Place Heritage Trust, Bourne Road DA5 1PQ Do contact me if you are coming along.

 

Michael Heath

Cray Project Officer

03 November 2014