Tower and Town, August 2019

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Action For The River Kennet

The River Kennet is a rare chalk stream flowing through the centre of the town. We have otter, water vole, kingfisher, brown trout and a host of other native wildlife in Marlborough. They thrive because they have a healthy river, i.e. the habitats that these creatures need is present and is joined up.

As a Project Officer and Volunteer Co-ordinator for the charity Action for the River Kennet (ARK), my days are varied, from running our education projects (such as Eels in School over three months with five schools) to finding funding to make projects happen. I really enjoy working with schools and groups to connect them with their river. Both involve getting in the river, having fun and expanding people’s knowledge about their river and its wildlife. I hope that most children in the town now know what a cased caddis is!

Currently I am running a river restoration project in Manton and planning ones for Ramsbury and Little Bedwyn. Stonebridge Wild River Reserve is such an asset to the town and, through our volunteer tasks and community days there, so many people are playing an active part in conservation at the reserve, both in the river and on land. Having a great team of over 170 volunteers means we can deliver high quality work in an economical way.

We can all contribute to preserving the Kennet; here are some suggestions:

• Reduce water use (the less we use the more is left to keep our river flowing).
• Buy phosphate-free cleaning products.
• Start gardening with native plants that cope with long dry periods and sudden downpours.
• Consider creating a rain garden (less need for watering and creating places for rain to slowly permeate into the ground)
• Riparian owners could have a buffer strip of native marginal vegetation along the riverbank - great habitat for any species, preventing erosion and filtering runoff.
• Join ARK (every project we deliver needs funding, membership is £20 a year for an individual or just £30 for a family).
• Become an ARK volunteer - contact anna@riverkennet.org or visit our website for the latest Volunteer Programme.

For more information visit our website www.riverkennet.org or follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/riverkennet.

Anna Forbes