Welcome to the Nature Watch Group

YOUR SUPPORT IS VITAL IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE...

 

About the Nature Watch Group
The Nature Watch Group was born out of the desire to protect and support the nature that is on our doorstep, in the Queen Thorne parish. Where national policy fails, small steps and local action can really make a difference. Kindness is at the heart of our ethos; towards each other and towards nature. 

Initiation of the group was prompted by local residents noticing a sharp decline in wildlife. Our first action was a door knocking exercise. We walked from door to door and asked people if they had concerns. Many residents of the village had noticed a loss of aquatic life in the streams, a loss of amphibians and a decline in the volume and duration of the spring dawn chorus. Residents also shared concerns about badger culling, hunting with hounds, agro-chemical contamination, and destruction of breeding birds nests. Several villagers had independently approached relevant statutory bodies and were unhappy with the lack of action, which led some residents to begin taking matters into their own hands.

In the parish of Queen Thorne, the obvious place to start was with the streams. We are in an unusual situation as all of our waterways originate here… we can’t blame anybody else for our pollution, and our pollution becomes everybody else’s pollution. 

We realised that, if we found there was a problem, we needed evidence which could not be disputed, so we have initiated a combination approach to water testing. Free training was made available for members of the group, with a view to fortnightly data collection during the summer.

We secured a piece of water testing equipment, allowing us to take scientific measurements of chosen pollutants in water courses. We opted for phosphate, nitrate and ammonia tests, in order to establish a baseline. When the same tests were run in November 2022, following heavy rain, we found the levels of phosphates had risen - in one case to 10 times the accepted ‘safe’ amount, which a local expert hydro-ecologist described as "catastrophic". The hope is that identifying any problems beyond doubt will prompt a resolution to take action.

As a group, we are in our fledgling stages, but we are making good progress. We have found the advice and support of other existing groups invaluable. We are working side by side with a number of established environmental charities, and are grateful to benefit form their experience.

There appears to be a will to halt and reverse biodiversity loss among the majority of people, but the seriousness of the situation is often found so overwhelming that many don’t know where to start. What is certain is that a group has more influence than an individual. 

Your support is vital in making a difference.

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How to Get Involved
If you would like to become a member please visit our membership page for further information.