Do you have a local river which is polluted, abused and a generally not a good place to be? Or do you have a river that typifies what a British river should be, abundant with wildlife and a great place to spend time?
If either of these rings true then you may be interested in voting for them as the Best and Worst rivers on the Our Rivers website linked here.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
Thanks Ian,
This is a great competiton for best and worst. I have voted for the best.
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
Me too :)
No point voting here its only in England and Wales Im in Scotland.
Cheers
AL
If its no fun Yer no doin it right!
As yesterday was World Rivers Day i thought i would share a link to an recent article about the progress of the Our rivers campaign. Apparently the Wye, Great Ouse and Dart are vying for top spot and the Mersey, Kennet and Thames are in the running for the worst river.
The article also discusses five of the riparian creatures most at risk, the kingfisher, white-clawed crayfish, salmon, eel and water vole. If you have any stories, observations or pictures of these creatures please share them with us!
You can still submit your votes for the best and worst rivers in England and Wales via the Our Rivers website
Hi Ian
In defence of the Mersey, its upper reaches are very pleasant.
When I was young if you fell in the Mersey you corroded!!!! Nowadays seals and fish can be found in Liverpool Bay.
It's a bit unfair, I think, comparing the Thames and the Mersey to rivers like the Dart and the Ouse. Still, it's something for us all to aspire to.
Is there something similar for canals? The decline of Water Voles in our canals is alarming too.
Pipit
Hi
I agree that it is difficult to compare some rivers, even some stretches of polluted rivers can still be hotspots for wildlife. It is a good way to draw attention to rivers that are mostly in a poor state whilst highlighting the success of rivers that are in great condition. As rivers are frequently used by humans for recreation we often notice when things are not as they should be and this gives everyone a chance to point these issues out. Rivers are valuable wildlife habitats so any attention that this campaign gets should help with their protection!
I don't think a similar campaign is happening with canals at present although i do remember that British Waterways who manage the many hundreds of miles of canals in the UK have been asking for wildlife sightings along their canals. Key species like kingfisher and water vole often reflect a healthy eco-system by their presence so monitoring their populations will give greater understanding to the canal eco-system on the whole. The link to their waterway wildlife survey is here.
I also came across an article about a rumour of a shark in a canal, now i know bull sharks have a tendency to venture into rivers in Australia and a few other places, but i doubt a British canal is one of them! In this case they go on to say it is a remote control shark which has been used to highlight the hidden dangers of canals, creative!
Thanks for this Ian
I've saved the BWB survey link and will have a good read. I'm sure I have some sightings for them.
Thanks
Pipit x
An interesting story about the Thames here which is echoed in the current voting for the Our rivers campaign to some degree. According to the latest update on votes the Thames is fighting for the lead in the poll for the best river in England and Wales, however it is also one of the leading contenders in the race to be crowned the worst river as well!
I noticed on the article they had recorded 125 species of fish in the Thames, hats off to anyone who can name all of these! I wonder if it includes piranha as i am sure i read somewhere that an angler had caught one recently!
If you have not had the chance to vote for your best or worse rivers then please do, you have until the 31/11/10