Celebrating the River Kent with the Kent Catchment Partnership
The Kent Catchment Partnership, a local community group supported under the umbrella of South Cumbria Rivers Trust, held a successful evening at Sprint Mill, where they discussed options for developing a project to celebrate this beautiful catchment.
The Kent catchment is the last stronghold in the UK and probably Europe for our native white clawed crayfish which are present throughout the catchment. Across their European range white clawed crayfish have declined 80-90% in the last 10 years. It is also home to the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, European eel and Atlantic Salmon which have all seen population declines. As well as this it supports a number of industries, provides clean water and is enjoyed by many.
The group are seeking funding to deliver improvements to local habitats, co-ordinate the control of invasive non-native species and promote bio-security. They will also investigate the removal of barriers to fish migration and address other physical modifications which are present through out the catchment. Additionally, following the devastating floods of December 2015 they are also hoping to deliver natural flood management techniques and raise awareness of the benefits these can provide alongside hard engineering defences and channel maintenance activities. However, to successfully deliver these activities the group is seeking community support and hoping to engage a wide range of audiences including local businesses, schools and other stakeholders.
If you would like to get involved or find our more please call into a drop-in event which is being held by South Cumbria Rivers Trust on Saturday 29th July at Kendal Town Hall from 9am to 12pm. The trust is asking people to bring along photos, both old and new, of the Kent including any images of past industry, areas you particularly love or simply just people out enjoying the river. The group would love to capture these images to celebrate both the heritage of the catchment and the current values.
What do you love about the Kent?
We would love to know what you value and enjoy about the Kent Catchment, please send your comments in via our forum to have these added to our word cloud below. The more times people mention/ value a word the greater its prominence in the word cloud.
