Ribble Fishwick Bottoms Clean-Up A Success!

Hundreds of local people turned out in force in the clean-up operations running throughout Lancashire as part of the ITV Big Clean-Up, and the Ribble Big Clean-Up at Fishwick Bottoms was no exception.


An army of local volunteers, including a good number of Save The Ribblers, helped to remove the alien invader species Himalayan Balsam from the woodlands and meadows of Fishwick Bottoms, and clear up huge skip-loads of rubbish from this beautiful area.



The natural woodlands soon began to reappear from the jungle of Balsam which swamps any area it occupies and drives out native plant species, the biodiversity of our native woodlands, meadows and especially riverbanks suffering as a result. Now these cleared areas can re-colonise themselves with native plant species.



This whole day event also involved entertainment and art activities, and free food for the local Ribblesiders cleaning up this area.


The entertainment included a very unusual species of butterfly never seen at Fishwick Bottoms before!!!

This pile of rubbish alone was choking just a small area of Fishwick Bottoms...


...which can now be returned to a wildlife habitat once more!


Local people value this area for its peace and quiet, and its diverse wildlife - even deer have been seen on Fishwick Bottoms! And this is only 5 minutes from Preston City Centre!

You can read more about how the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, in conjunction with local residents, are currently working towards designating a further area of Fishwick Bottoms a Local Nature Reserve, and why the last thing local residents want on Fishwick Bottoms is new building developments.

The ITV Big Clean-Up was organised by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire in conjunction with the Community Volunteer Service, and was helped by numerous other organisations such as Preston City Council and their park wardens. The Wildlife Trust do a great deal of work on Fishwick Bottoms and other local green spaces all year round, including Preston and South Ribble and other areas along the Ribble corridor, so by all means volunteer for more of the same!



The Ribble Fishwick Bottoms Clean-Up has been a huge success, and the day was a very enjoyable event for everyone involved - and the biodiversity of our local green belt has benefited as a result! Well done to everyone involved!



If you want to share your story of the Ribble Clean-Up or other Ribbleside Tales, you can email us at savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk

River Ribble ITV Big Clean-Up at Fishwick Bottoms, and the Ribble Basin Annual Forum

A busy week for Ribblesiders! There are two important events happening this week, so join in and do your bit!




There is a major event helping to tidy up the River Ribble at Fishwick Bottoms on SUNDAY 17th as part of the ITV Big Clean-Up! There is also the Ribble Basin Annual Forum on Thursday 14th September.

River Ribble ITV Big Clean-Up at Fishwick Bottoms:
Save The Ribble Campaign are joining in the River Ribble Big Clean-Up at Fishwick Bottoms. This event is on SUNDAY 17th, meeting at 10am at the car park to the Fishwick Bottoms athletics tracks on London Road in Preston.

Organisers are hoping to attract at least 300 volunteers to help clean up this area - come and join in and help clean up this beautiful area - and you may even be on TV!!

The whole event will last from 10am til 4pm, and promises to be a fabulous day out for all as there will be music, circus acts, art projects, and free lunch!!

There are also other Ribble Clean-Up events in other Ribbleside areas: for more details and how to register to join in the Ribble Big Clean-Up, see www.itv.com/bigcleanup or http://www.merseybasin.org.uk/blog/mbw2006/

Ribble Basin Forum:
Anyone who loves the River Ribble and wants to know about the projects and issues that will affect its future is invited to the fourth annual Ribble Forum on Thursday September 14th in Preston.



There will be presentations and also the chance to raise questions and issues that are close to your heart, including a Soapbox session from the Save The Ribble Campaign.

Presentations will cover a range of topics, including one on the innovative Sustainable Catchment Management Plan, which aims to improve water quality in the Ribble catchment and give a major boost to local wildlife at the same time.
It is being carried out by United Utilities on land it owns throughout the Northwest, including in Lancashire, with the help of the RSPB.



The half-day forum is open to all and free to attend. It is being held at the Gujurat Hindu Society, South Meadow Lane in Preston (curry for lunch is on offer) and starts at 9.30 a.m.

To book a place, contact Bev Mitchell at the Mersey Basin Campaign
on 0161 242 8212 or
b.mitchell@merseybasin.org.uk
Gujurat Hindu Society, South Meadow Lane, Venue for the Ribble Basin Forum

For more information see
http://www.merseybasin.org.uk/event.asp?action=view&id=1133


To contact Save The Ribble Campaign email savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk

Fishwick Bottoms - aiming for Local Nature Reserve status!

Fishwick Bottoms is one of our green spaces alongside the Ribble in Preston which offers local residents vital space to breathe, and The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and N. Merseyside are aiming for a significant part of this diverse countryside habitat to attain Local Nature Reserve status.

Fishwick Bottoms has been recognised as locally significant for wildlife in the 1992 Preston Wildlife Survey and consultation with the local community is currently underway regarding its future management when the site is designated as an LNR.
See The Wildlife Trust , who are working alongside Lancashire County Council , English Nature, and other organisations on this project.

Preston City Council are also involved - presumably not the department who have earmarked Fishwick Bottoms as ripe for building development as part of the Riverworks Project (Document 05: Riverside East) as here Fishwick Bottoms is envisaged as having 'commercial office uses' and 'residential development' alongside the more positive uses for this green space. Riverworks also aims to concretise the wildife-important riverbanks all along Fishwick Bottoms to Lower Brockholes, for boat moorings.

As Lancashire County Council recognise, 'the natural escarpment of the site is mainly woodland and shrubs, whilst the floodplain area is part scrub, swamp, grassland and wildflower meadow', and as such, offers diverse wildlife habitats and recreation for local people.

LCC claim the proposed Local Nature Reserve (LNR) area to the North of the Fishwick Bottoms site (parts of the Western area is already a designated LNR) will offer many benefits: 'As an LNR the site will be managed for use by both people and wildlife. The site will offer an opportunity for people to study and learn about nature as well as enjoy it. There are over 1,000 LNRs in England including former landfill sites like Fishwick. LNRs make an important contribution to biodiversity.

Wildlife management of the site will involve woodland management, protection of veteran trees, scrub removal and removal of invasive species like Japanese Knotweed. Where necessary new planting will be introduced to enhance habitats and encourage biodiversity. A wetland area is proposed for the Fishwick Terrace Swamp area. Other measures to enhance the wildlife habitat will include the introduction of bat boxes and improvements to drainage ditches to encourage water vole habitats.

The management of the site as an LNR will also involve the opening up of the site for public access. New pathways into the site are proposed which will allow access into the site from most directions. Existing access points include steps from Brockholes View and informal access from Fishwick Bottoms. Trodden paths have been created into the site from Walton View and Watery Lane. The exact route of the new pathways will be subject to public consultation and ecological advice'.

The Wildlife Trust are instigating the development of Fishwick Bottoms as an LNR (which will be considered for official designation by English Nature) and are currently consulting local residents about these plans. As the LNR designation is running alongside the development of an athletics track on the Western side, there are some concerns about noise from the tannoy system and traffic problems, but over 90% of local residents are strongly in favour of protecting wildlife and habitats at Fishwick Bottoms.

The final consultation sesssion is being held by The Wildlife Trust on Thursday 24th August at the YMCA on Samuel Street, Preston, 6-9pm. Come along and support Fishwick Bottoms as your newest Local Nature Reserve!

Let us know what you think - contact savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk