Two Broads finalists in national awards
Hard work to improve water quality and children’s love of the outdoors has paid off as two lake land areas have been named finalists in the 2010 Waterways Renaissance Awards.
The Trinity Broads, near Great Yarmouth, and Whitlingham Country Park on the outskirts of Norwich have been shortlisted for the awards which recognize best practice in sustainable waterway regeneration throughout the UK.
The Broads Authority and its partners have been carrying out 20 years of restoration at the Trinity Broads resulting in clear water, a profusion of water plants, an improved fishery and a return of rare wildlife. It is lined up for the Natural Environment Award. Whitlingham Country Park is in contention for an education award for its activities on and off the water.
Water in most of the Trinity Broads area, which is used for drinking in Great Yarmouth, has been dramatically improved. The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SPA).
An innovative method to remove fish from Ormesby Broad, one of the Trinities, enabled water fleas to thrive and clear the water of algae, encouraging aquatic plants to grow. The resultant clear water has now permeated to the other broads in the group.
Other work has included mud pumping, scrub removal and managing non-native species such as mink which has helped safeguard water voles. A strong volunteer group as well as eight volunteer wardens and local farmers have also played their part in the restoration.
Andrea Kelly, Head of Conservation at the Broads Authority, said: “The Trinities, near Gt Yarmouth, is now one of the premier sites in the UK for seeing water plants and wintering wild fowl. All our hard work over 20 years is showing a real benefit and we feel it’s a good time to celebrate our success by going for this award. If you take care of nature it will take care of you. By investing in the broad we are also investing in the health of communities and the vital water resources of Gt Yarmouth.”
In the last few years rare plants such as the holly-leaved naiad and stoneworts, bats and molluscs, such as the Desmoulin’s whorl snail, have reappeared while bittern sightings are a weekly occurence and otters make an appearance on average once a month.
Whereas fishing was formerly limited to roach and bream now pike, perch, tench and rudd are common, with one angler netting 70 pike in one day last June.
Access has improved for people with limited mobility, with better parking, a new boardwalk to the broad’s edge, a bird hide, fishing platforms and a wheelchair accessible boat, called the wheely boat, for fishing and wildlife trips. Sailing, rowing and canoeing is popular on the broads, and the improved conditions are attracting more people to the boat hire outlets, pubs, cafes and garden centre.
The five broads --Filby, Ormesby, Ormesby Little, Rollesby, and Lily –are managed by Essex and Suffolk Water, the Broads Authority, Natural England and the Environment Agency.
The broads, which are isolated from the main Broads system and sit high on an island, are seen as a low risk from climate change impact and worthy of investment.
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Whitlingham Charitable Trust and the Broads Authority run weekly outdoor education programmes in the woods of Whitlingham for young people from primary school to college age who struggle in the classroom.
The Forest Schools programme, which is supported by the Broads Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund, is aimed at children in Norwich and Gt Yarmouth who are deprived, excluded, do not attend school and those who are looking for work.
Whitlingham Country Park Manager Russell Wilson said: “The young people we have are not necessarily classroom shaped. They would struggle in a classroom environment but if you bring them into an outdoors environment they thrive. By teaching them how to build fences, footpaths, steps and coppice and plant trees they not only learn a range of new skills but it increases their self confidence as well. The feedback we have is superb. They say it is their best day of the week.”
Meanwhile Norfolk County Council’s Outdoor Education Centre runs a similar range of inclusion programmes through sport. It also organises outdoor and adventurous activities for the public including mountain biking, climbing, orienteering, off road cycling and archery, as well as sailing, canoeing, windsurfing and kayaking.
Mike Roper, Norfolk County Council’s Programme Manager for the centre, said: "Outdoor and adventurous activities provide a unique learning environment to develop those wider key skills that are essential to life.
“We have worked over many years with schools, Pupil Referral Units, alternative educational providers and children in care to develop engaging activity programmes that develop communication, working with others and problem solving.
“The centre also runs a diverse coaching programme which enables members of the community to gain instructor and coaching qualifications. These are then used in schools, community based clubs, voluntary youth organisations, other outdoor centres and providing employment opportunities at the centre itself.”
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony and dinner at the Lowry in Manchester on 17 March.
18/02/10
