Success for First Broadwater to Cowey Sale Clean-up
Calling Volunteers for Future Efforts, Next Date 23 Sept
During a two-hour blitz on Sunday 24 June, 18 intrepid volunteers set out from Cowey Sale car park towards Broad Water lake to clear litter from the southern car park area and northern end of the lake.
Attacking litter hidden deep inside bushes, the volunteers collected about 20 sacks in all and cleared many patches of an aggressive, invasive plant, the Himalayan Balsam. The team made short work of general litter and refuse from an old camp that people living rough had abandoned a while ago, then took on the balsam! With a seed throw range of about two metres, the balsam rapidly takes over areas, but its shallow root ball makes it easy to uproot. A few seasons of clearance should clear the area of this plant for good.
The group intends to increase the intensity of these clean-ups to the point where water courses leading into Engine River can be cleaned as well as the lake itself. It is an ambitious plan that cannot be started until a professional ecological survey of flora and fauna has been carried out to ensure that clearance doesn’t destroy more than what it’s trying to save.
If you’d like to join this enthusiastic team contact Alan Palmer at alan.wotta@gmail.com.The next session will run from 10am to midday, Sunday 23 September, with volunteers meeting at the Desborough Island end of Cowey Sale car park. Feel free to just turn up but please wear appropriate clothing for the weather and possibly boggy conditions underfoot. Bring gardening or work gloves if possible and basic garden tools if you have any, as this kind of protection and equipment is also useful in clearance.