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Don’t forget about the Hogs…

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Mapping, pulling, and counting….all in a days work!

Last Saturday a few small teams of volunteers performed some pretty excellent work on the Cale.

One group set about performing a ‘Kick Sampling’ exercise – measuring the invertebrate levels which indicates the health of the river (more so than just observing water quality apparently).

The second group made their way upstream through the town and have now mapped out all outfalls into the towns section of the Cale between the A303 bridge and Shatterwell Chutes. We now know that there are over 50 points where drainage of one kind or another enters the stretch. We were surprised too but … ...read the rest

CATCH Committee boosted

We now have the pleasure of announcing four new Committee members. Through their continued commitment to attending events and showing a true caring for our little river, the following people have accepted our offer to further bolster the group’s continually growing activity:

New CATCH Committee members elected:

Baz Horseman – Member
Ben Tooth – Member
Chris Heal – Member
Seb Davis – Member

WELCOME, and GOOD LUCK TO THEM – Matt Bishop – CATCH Vice Chairman… ...read the rest

Trout in the Town!

Something to aspire to as a group back in 2012 was not only to clean up the river but to make it a habitat that even the fussiest of fish would enjoy…..Well, there is a fish that has become more popular than the CATCH Chairman, Gary Hunt, buying a round at the local pub, and that is the presence of our showpiece, a ‘Brown Trout’.… ...read the rest

Balsam Bashed…..

A another successful mornings adventure on the River Cale, completing a ‘Himalayan Balsam Bash’ with volunteers from Shatterwell Chutes down to Hawkers bridge near Lidl’s.
There’s been more highs than lows…..less Balsam than previous years (👍🏻), a litter pick completed on the way down, lots of fish seen, four footballs rescued and placed in the MUGA for kids to find and play with, plastic covers removed from a now grown blackthorn hedge, blockages dealt with, rock berms rebuilt, and many more.
Shame to see areas of ‘fly-tipping’ but the culprits will be reported to the EA and they can be … ...read the rest

Bashing…..

This coming Saturday (6th July) we will be ‘Balsam Bashing’. The actual description of what we are doing is uprooting as much of an invasive species of plant as possible in order to allow native plants to flourish along the banks. We have to pull it out before it goes to seed by the end of July.

If river flows stay low as we hope, it will allow people to enter the water and see the river from another angle whilst doing some good for the River Cale.

Come and join us if you fancy a short morning of a … ...read the rest

BBC Radio Somerset

Today, Gary & Matt from CATCH did a radio interview with BBC Radio Somerset.
From Victorian Bridge in Cale Park Recreation ground they discussed the beginnings of CATCH and why the group does what it does.
Also includes a guest appearance from Sophie Hunt, age 14.
The interview goes out on air over the next 5 evenings at 9:40pm and we have no idea how it will go…..listen at your peril… ...read the rest

Quiet time of year?

For those of you who are wondering what CATCH are currently up to, we are in the midst of planning a couple of local projects and events. At the end of March the kick sampling season begins once again.

A date for your diary will be 7th April, where CATCH members will carry out a public kick sampling demonstration where we are looking for budding river ecologists to take part and maybe in the future take a participation in this each month?

We are also hoping to soon launch the ‘Yellow Fish’ campaign in the town. If you’d like … ...read the rest

Trollied

Dave Smith and Janice Blackwell retrieve the stereotypical urban river litter…..funnily enough these appear more and more now that you no longer need money in the slot.

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Wild Flower success!

The Royal Horticultural Society – It’s Your Neighbourhood Award Scheme is designed to give support and recognition to community action groups across the South West. There are five levels of attainment for the award:

  1. Establishing / 2. Improving / 3. Advancing / 4. Thriving / 5. Outstanding

In Wincanton, we have a Wild Flower Meadow that was created, and is maintained by C.A.T.C.H.

For the last few years we have entered this scheme and have attained ‘Establishing’, and ‘Advancing’, and are delighted to have achieved the highest recognition possible of ‘Outstanding’ for the second year running!

… ...read the rest