Our Mission:

A community group committed to returning the River Cale to a self-sustaining ecosystem that is rich in bio-diversity and to be enjoyed by all.

News

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

KICK SAMPLE

We carried out a kick sample on the morning of Saturday 4th May as planned. It was great to have some new people join us. The number of invertebrates counted was a bit lower than this time last year but not low enough to cause too much concern.  There is a lot of weed in the river this spring which makes it more challenging spotting and identifying the river fly larvae but there can be multiple causes contributing to this. The water level is also quite low (with the October – March rainfall having been only 83% of the … ...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.

… ...read the rest

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

27th January – Town stretch litter pick

On the 27th we are going to be litter picking through certain parts of the town stretch of the River Cale, and banks, etc.

This is a family freindly event and as such we will post further details here and on our Facebook / Twitter pages too.… ...read the rest

Quick New Years Day litter pick

Last of the Quality Street now gone so must be time to get back on it !

Posted by CATCH – Community Action to Transform Cale Habitat on Tuesday, 1 January 2019

Just a quick look at how C.A.T.C.H. aim to reduce the contamination of the local river, and what is still being found in the River Cale.… ...read the rest

Well if we say we are going to do it, we do it !

So beautiful down on the Cale today. Bit of graft put in but the River is looking so much better for it . Lovely to see the families enjoying the sunshine and a game of poo sticks off of Victorian Bridge. We were joined by a lovely Robin who spent time with us while we removed plastic and all sorts of cans , glass, wood, and the occasional toy. I think he was saying thank you to us ! #communityAction

… ...read the rest