OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE
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Our November Meet was held on Sunday 25th November 2018. Since the October meet the riverside has been through some rapid changes, with the first sudden frost on 22nd. Temperatures below freezing during the morning caused shallow water to freeze but ground remained soft under thick layers of leaves and dry stalks. It remained cold and triggered frantic activity in thickets, trees and undergrowth. Migrant birds had arrived in large groups to start on the fruits and berries of Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Spindle, Dogrose and Ivy.
Autumn leaf-fall had been very slow until the last days of the month, with a marked difference in tree species.
This was the scene on 10th November but just one windy day
caused the brilliant yellow but fragile leaves to fall, leaving the
tough Oak leaves clinging on (in foreground).
With the leaves came the rubbish and the amount collected on our meet was quite a record.
The haul on 25th included a bicycle which had remained submerged in the river as rainfall increased the depth but the fast-flowing water revealed a wheel, the rest of the bike being embedded in a thick layer of leaves. Three intrepid group members hauled it out from the bridge.
