Sowe Valley News
Sowe Valley Summer Fun
This summer the Sowe Valley Project is
hitting the road to offer families living close to the river a
chance to learn a bit more about their local wildlife. The Species
on the Sowe Road Show is running over the summer holidays at 6
sites along the Sowe valley and will be offering a range of
activities for ages. Why not join them for one of the following
events:
Wednesday 27th July 1pm - 3pm - Wyken
Slough Nature Park, Aldermans Green, Coventry -
for further details, download the poster
Wednesday 3rd August 1pm - 3pm - Wyken
Croft Nature Park, Wyken, Coventry -
for further details, download the poster
Wednesday 10th August 1pm - 3pm -
Dorchester Brookstray, Dorchester Way, Wyken, Coventry -
for further details, download the poster
Wednesday 17th August 1pm - 3pm - Stoke
Floods Local Nature Reserve, Stoke Hill Estate, Coventry -
for further details, download the poster
Wednesday 24th August 1pm - 3pm - Lindfield
Park, Stoke Aldermoor, Coventry -
for further details, download the poster
Wednesday 31st August 1pm - 3pm - Dogberry
Close, Willenhall, Coventry -
for further details, download the poster
Stranglehold on
nature
26 February 2011
The walk through Longford Community Nature Park to the Ricoh Arena
had a new lease of life thanks to a 23 year old passionate local
resident. The site in Longford was suffering from fly tipped waste
including TVs, wardrobes and garden waste.
Lisa Stockhill, Future Jobs Fund Community
Conservation Assistant with the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust adopted
the site for her John Muir Bronze award. Having lived in and around
Longford for many years, Lisa had always been disappointed with the
level of care for its green spaces.
"As nobody wants to see this when they
are walking their dog or maybe just passing through, I decided to
do something about it and to make my local green space a better
place," said Lisa. "The idea of the clean up was to help
preserve the wildlife, enhancing the biodiversity and making
the site more inviting to encourage people to go out and enjoy the
area."
On 4 February 2011 a group of volunteers
led by Lisa carried out a conservation day at this site, cleaning
everything from the brook to the hedges; also unblocking the bridge
that leads from The Croft into the Nature Park. Coventry City
Council, notably their Street Pride team supported the project to
clean the local green space and helped to remove the rubbish.
"We had a successful day clearing away
all this waste from this area and feel like we made a real
contribution to the wildlife and plants that live and grow there.
The level of fly tipped rubbish in the Nature Park was disgraceful
and, as you can see from the photo, the pile of discarded items we
collected was as high as a 10 year old!" said Michael
Hearnden, 20, another employee of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust who
volunteered to help.
The debris removed had been 'strangling'
nature by limiting the sunlight reaching the wildflowers. A lot of
the waste removed was non biodegradable which means it would have
remained for many years to come. "Things like television sets,
electronic motherboards, plastic garden chairs and gas canisters
will not rot down and will just keep piling up and slowly killing
off our local green spaces," said Lisa.
The 6 volunteers aged between 20 and 40,
who took part in the clean up accomplished a lot in just one day,
making a distinct improvement to the cleanliness of the site and
helped to conserve a green space that is so fond in the memories of
Longford citizens, past and present.