December 2024

Words from the Chair

As 2024 draws to a close, I would like to thank you for all your work that has contributed to ongoing improvements in the Bristol Avon Catchment.
I wish you, your family and friends a very happy Christmas and a successful New Year.

Richard
Chair, Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership

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Successful Catchment Partnership Fund projects

Main Grant Scheme

Three Brooks Monitoring and Engagement - Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) and Bristol Rotary Club - BART and the Rotary Club will install informative boards and fixed-point photography posts to educate visitors about river restoration efforts that are ongoing in within the Resilient Frome Partnership Project. Volunteers from Bristol Rotary will participate in ongoing project activities to introduce natural features, improve biodiversity, and monitor local wildlife within South Gloucestershire area Nature Reserves.

Festival of Nature 2025 - The Natural History Consortium - This collaborative project will deliver 8 water-themed activities as part of Festival of Nature 2025. Live activities will take place in Bath, Bristol and South Gloucestershire, and online activities will reach audiences across the catchment.

Community Grant Scheme

Dew Pond Restoration - Stoke Park Community Group - This project will undertake restoration of a second historic cobble dew pond situated within the historic parkland of Stoke Park, Bristol. The restoration of this pond has historic and ecological value within the wider landscape, providing habitat for a Great Crested Newt (GCN) population and connectivity within the wider landscape.

Pickedmoor Lane Stream Riparian Corridor - stage 3 - Thornbury Orchard Group - Stage 3 builds on earlier BACP grants to enhance the riparian corridor of the Pickedmoor Lane Stream in South Gloucestershire. Funds will mainly be used for Citizen Science equipment, tests and support. Thornbury Orchard Group (TOG) are working with Linking the Levels Project partners to baseline and then monitor the stream and riparian habitat so that the benefits of enhancements can be better quantified.

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Catchment News

Introduction to Natural Flood Management Talk

Avon Needs Trees (ANT) have hosted a talk by Bristol Avon Rivers Trust on Natural Flood Management. The talk is recorded and available to view here: Introduction to Natural Flood Management with Bristol Avon Rivers Trust.

ANT have also hosted a number of other talks on a wide range of topics which can be found: here.

Investment into Bristol’s green spaces

Bristol City Council are investing £1 million into parks and green spaces, contributing towards their “Managing for Nature” project. This will be funded through the Green Recovery Fund as well as match funding from the Council. This investment will include: a feasibility study to understand the opportunities for expanding animal grazing area under conservation, new grass-cutting practices that aim to increase biodiversity, habitat restoration and more.

Find out more here.

Nextdoor Nature project success

Avon Wildlife Trust have shared the success of their Nextdoor Nature project and the impact it has had on the local community. The four projects included converting a neglected area of land into a community garden, creating an accessible garden, installing a wildlife pond and installing wildflower planters.

Wider news

River basin management plans

The Environment Agency has launched the first stage of their River Basin Management Plan consultation for the 2027 update - often referred to as the Working Together consultation.
The consultation sets out:

Consultation steps
Proposed timetable
Ways that you can get involved in contributing to the updated plans

And the consultation is seeking views to help:

Identify which organisations need to be involved
Understand what other plans and strategies are critical to take into account
What would help you engage with the process of updating the plans

The consultation window is open until 14th May 2025. BACP plans to submit a partnership response to this consultation.

You can also find out more and respond here.

SmartRivers Data 2023

Wildfish have published the 2023 results from their SmartRivers data collection project. This data has been collected by volunteers and covers 351 sample sites across the UK. Data showed that the greatest impact on river invertebrates came from chemical and sediment pollution.

Find the article here, as well as the 2023 SmartRivers data report here.

Photo credit, WildFish

Tree Species Guide for UK Agroforestry Systems

The Forestry Commission, in partnership with the University of Reading, have released a guide with information about 33 tree and shrub species suitable for planting in UK agroforestry systems. The guide provides information for each tree species including physical characteristics, care and maintenance (silvicultural), tolerances, climate resilience, environmental impacts and productivity.

Read the guide here.