A PROCESSION and service will take place in Bewdley on Sunday, June 15, to recognise the current condition of the river and to celebrate what it could be in the future.
The ‘Remember Our River’ event is being held as part of the Wyre Forest’s SustFest 25 and will feature members of the local WI and Bewdley Rowing Club, along with local anglers.
They have issued a rallying call to everyone who cares about the river to meet at 1pm on the riverside near Dog Lane car park.
Those gathered will progress along the river to Jubilee Gardens where there will be a service, led by the Rector of St Annes, followed by the opportunity to have a picnic. People can bring their own food or buy it from the Garden Kitchen Cafe and visit stalls. Attendees are also urged to dress in river-themed outfits or take along handmade fish on poles.
Dee Edwards, chair of CARP, said: “This event is a rallying cry for all local concerned people to show our MP, Severn Trent, local farmers and the Environment Agency that we want to work together to restore our river to good ecological health.
“It’s no good standing on the sidelines watching the rapid death and decline of our beautiful river. It’s time now to act together – there is strength in unity.’
At a recent meeting in Bewdley, CARP, Communities Against River Pollution, asked the 63 attendees to say what they thought about the state of the River Severn in their area. Responses were varied but invariably negative.
One said: “I fear there’s a health risk and it prevents people using the river to improve their health, for example water sports.”
Another added: “Pollution from intensive farming is affecting the whole eco system.”
And another added: “I am very concerned about the fast-growing effect of pollution on wildlife and human life.
“Indeed the whole ‘circle of life’ is being affected and made toxic. The Severn should be a healthy river again for future generations.”
A rower who would love to be able to swim in the Severn highlighted the ‘lack of biodiversity’ and the ‘hazard to everyone’s health’.
CARP has been working over the past 18 months by testing the waters for high levels of harmful chemicals. With the resources it had, it was hard to tell if these were from sewage spills or agricultural run off, adding: “Possibly it’s a combination of the two.”
From testing for chemicals and observing and assessing the shocking lack of water weed, the group is now moving onto identifying the invertebrate life in the water which will also indicate the health of the river.
The next step is to create a group of river stewards who will monitor the river by looking for visual signs which show that there has been a sewage spill.
CARP added: “From evidence around the world it is clear that nature has a way of healing the damage that mankind inflicts upon it and working together our river can recover from the sad, dying state it is currently in.”
Visit events.sustfest wyreforest.org/ for more on SustFest and the ‘Remember Our River’ event.
