Early nesting birds:
The winter thrushes, the Redwing and the Fieldfare have left us for their northern breeding grounds.
but we still have our own three residents:
Early nesting birds:
The winter thrushes, the Redwing and the Fieldfare have left us for their northern breeding grounds.
but we still have our own three residents:
Our British climate is, if possible, getting more changeable – and with Global Warming it will continue to become more and more extreme. The effects on wildlife are a good indicator of how our climate is warming. Over my lifetime wild flowers have been blooming earlier and earlier. But in the present winter the effects are even more extreme than anyone could have predicted. The Botanical Society of Great Britain, who do a regular New Year’s day survey of wild flowers found in bloom, usually count less than thirty flowering in the whole of GB- but this year they recorded 600!
The farming and wildlife advisory group (FWAG) have sent us their useful leaflet giving guidance on slowing down water runoff from the fields around Wookey Hole.
FWAG want us to install small log dams in ditches and water courses around the village.
These ‘leaky’ dams slow the flow of the water into the River Axe and help prevent flash flooding further down-stream.
Read more about it here:- debris_dam_leaflet_Somerset.pdf
You may remember that last year North Ward, (i.e. Wookey Hole and Easton and surrounding hamlets) was asked for our views on ‘Planning’.
The intention was that the views of all the villages in St Cuthbert’s Out would be incorporated into a Neighbourhood Plan, which would give all residents more say in what was, and what was not, allowed to be built in the community.
A Neighbourhood Plan was written incorporating all these views and sent to Stuart Todd, a Planning Consultant employed by the SCOPC Neighbourhood Plan group. Stuart has now given his opinion on the content and suggested some alterations so that the final Plan is compliant with the underlying Neighbourhood Plan legislation.
Picture – looking down on winter floods from high ground
Most of us can be pretty smug, not much of our village floods, but my heart bleeds for those poor people up north that have been flooded time after time. In Somerset it is a bit different. The levels are supposed to flood! If we are going to have more exceptional weather events as Global Warming accelerates it will happen again and again. Dredging to upper Parrett is only a partial solution – and will probably mean the water will rush off even faster and flood Bridgewater!