Crt Great Nature Watch - Press Release

[Laurence Hogg]

From CRT This morning:

 

Hi there,

Please find attached a release for Monday 29th July regarding the launch of Great Nature Watch – a campaign to get members of the public to help us protect hundreds of miles of waterway habitats using a free app – enaturewatch.

To accompany the release, take your pick from a Flickr collection of great photos of wildlife and the app in action! http://www.flickr.com/photos/canalrivertrust/sets/72157634749973644/

Or a couple are attached.

Canal & River Trust Ecologists and Environmental Scientists will be holding Great Nature Watch walks this summer – full details are on our website www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/great-nature-watch

Please get in touch if you would like to get out onto the towpath or water with an ecologist or environmental scientist to learn more about why this habitat information is so important to the Trust.

Best wishes,

Claire

Claire Risino

National Campaigns Executive

T 0203 204 4430 (ext 2030) M 07785 920863

Canal & River Trust, The Toll House, Delamere Terrace, Little Venice, London W2 6ND

Twitter: @canalrivertrust @CRTClaire

Please visit our website to find out more about the Canal & River Trust and download our ‘Shaping our Future document’ on the About Us page.

Added by OP: It might be a good idea to keep an eye open for leaking banks and possible breach sights!!

[Richard10002]

I downloaded this app and can't see the point.

 

There are relatively few options for the description of the canal at a particular location, and incredibly few animals, (89?), the list doesn't even include ducks.

 

In the FAQs, there are questions about both the above, and the answers are both along the lines of "there are so many options availabele, that it would be impossible to include them all"

 

Quite amazing - I would be embarrassed if I had been tasked with creating the app, and it was now being publicised all over the place. It seems a bit like an app that you might create in a learning environment.

 

Given the levels of technology, and information available, how hard would it be to include reference to thousands of animals, and how hard to give many more options for the canal description.

 

Somebody is getting paid to do this???

[Jerra]

I downloaded this app and can't see the point.

 

There are relatively few options for the description of the canal at a particular location, and incredibly few animals, (89?), the list doesn't even include ducks.

 

In the FAQs, there are questions about both the above, and the answers are both along the lines of "there are so many options availabele, that it would be impossible to include them all"

 

Quite amazing - I would be embarrassed if I had been tasked with creating the app, and it was now being publicised all over the place. It seems a bit like an app that you might create in a learning environment.

 

Given the levels of technology, and information available, how hard would it be to include reference to thousands of animals, and how hard to give many more options for the canal description.

 

Somebody is getting paid to do this???

I suspect the data provided is kept "slim" for a few reasons. The first being they don't want to scare people away by making it look too complicated. Second they may have chosen their species as being indicators of a particular habitat etc. After all seeing a Mallard barely even indicates that there is water present. Another reason could be that they have a particular reason to gather knowledge of a particular problem e.g. if a species is/isn't found in a particular area/habitat.

 

Without knowing more about what they hope the survey is going to do I would find it difficult to criticise sensibly.

[jenlyn]

I bet it's jeff whyatt looking for the reclusive voles.......

[luctor et emergo]

True, Mallards are well known to inhabit innercity carparks and highrise rooftops. And steal your chips.

[Mick and Maggie]

Out cruising on our boat. The one thing in 'nature' that has struck a chord is the amount of Japanese Knotweed, Balsam and Buddleia that line the banks of the inland waterways. Now, you might think with CaRT getting all touchy feely over ecological and environmental issues. The invasive stuff would be high on the agenda of protecting hundreds of miles of waterways habitat, rather than voles and shrews. Or maybe Great Nature Watch is a bit of lip service to placate the punters.

[Jerra]

Out cruising on our boat. The one thing in 'nature' that has struck a chord is the amount of Japanese Knotweed, Balsam and Buddleia that line the banks of the inland waterways. Now, you might think with CaRT getting all touchy feely over ecological and environmental issues. The invasive stuff would be high on the agenda of protecting hundreds of miles of waterways habitat, rather than voles and shrews. Or maybe Great Nature Watch is a bit of lip service to placate the punters.

Sorry I need this explained a little for me. How is the buddleia threatening the waterways? Little short of a nuclear attack is going to shift the Knotweed, once it is there it will be very expensive to even try to eradicate let alone succeed. I can imagine the howls of dismay at tens if not hundreds of thousands being spent on trying to clear the banks rather than say dredging or lock maintenance. The Balsam will as far as the watercourses are concerned (rather than natural habitat) only be a problem where there is a chance of running water eroding the bare earth exposed in winter - less of a problem on canals than rivers.

 

Perhaps the survey will help to do two things - alert the CRT to problems and help to draw in interested people. Volunteers can do a lot towards Balsam control by hand.

 

Where in the survey does it indicate voles and shrews are of special interest or is this just your imagination?

[Mick and Maggie]

Sorry I need this explained a little for me.

So your plan would be to continue to do nothing about the problem just to save money, and because people might complain?

 

Just like ignoring infrastructure maintenance to save money. People are jumping up and down to get the money spent on maintenance. So far the lack of spend on maintenance continues. So why should it be any different in protecting the habitat?

 

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 states that it is an offence to "plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild" any plant listed in Schedule nine, Part II of the Act. This lists over 30 plants including Japanese Knotweed.

Where in the survey does it indicate voles and shrews are of special interest or is this just your imagination?

 

http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/get-involved/appeals/give-a-vole-a-home-along-the-grand-union-canal

[Tuscan]

Moored up for the week in an SSI (according to CRT sign) at a lovely spot near Foxton . When lady came up and asked if we had seen any water voles, turned she was accompanied by a gent from Natural England checking for evidence of them . Evidently we need to look out for their droppings. She confirmed there were otters in the side pounds at Foxton.