Towards a Nature Recovery Plan for the Sid Valley
Citizen science on the River Sid
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A fortnight ago, saw the launch of the Wild About Devon Initiative:
It was great to see so many communities and parish and town councils joining in with the conversation and sharing their own actions in the chat.
If you missed the webinar, or would like to share it with others, you can now watch back a recording on YouTube where you can also find the 3-minute WAD animation video.
Welcome to Wild About Devon! – Devon Local Nature Partnership
The initiative is part of the wider Nature Recovery programme from central government:
Creating a nature recovery network for East Devon and the UK – Vision Group for Sidmouth
The county council is keen to work on this:
Nature Recovery – Devon Local Nature Partnership
The council is looking to local groups to input into this, with a new toolkit launched as part of its Wild About Devon initiative:
Community Toolkit – Devon Local Nature Partnership
And the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group, working with the Town Council’s environment working group, is keen to help put together a local nature recovery plan:
Making a difference
Enhancing and enriching the biodiversity of Sid Valley is a gradual process and we can expect incremental changes to be made year on year. In the short term we will produce an action plan with measurable objectives. This will ensure that our work is focused, achievable and that it makes a difference. When we have gathered sufficient data and drawn some conclusions we will work with the community and various organisations to develop a nature recovery plan for the valley.
We will report on progress to Sidmouth Town Council through their Environment Committee. The public will be informed about and involved in our work and we willreport, as required, to relevant organisations such as nature and wildlife groups.
Our Plan – Sid Valley Biodiversity Group
With one area the group is already active in:
Maintaining and improving the health of our river system is a crucial part of a nature recovery plan.
The Sid and its tributaries are at the heart of our valley and provide habitat for both aquatic and terrestrial species and those invertebrates such as may flies, which occupy both habitats during their life cycle. In order to understand and assess the current health of our river system we aim to record information about water quality, sources of pollution and plants and animals living in or around the water.
We are supported by the West Country Rivers Trust [WRT], who operate this citizen science project across the SW Region. In the Sid Valley volunteers are monitoring monthly at specific locations on the Sid, its tributaries and Glen Goyle. New volunteers, especially in the Sidbury area, would be warmly welcomed.
Monitoring is straightforward, training is given and no prior expertise is needed.
Please contact us for further information
The Sid Valley Rivers Project – Sid Valley Biodiversity Group