We’ve been busy little beavers down in Tawd Valley Park, so without further a do, let us take you on a journey of the mind as we whisk you away with our stories about what we’ve been up to in the green paradise known lovingly by the locals as The Tawd.
First up, Team Tawd and Ranger Chris were out and about on the last Friday of June in the pouring rain dealing with a couple of trees that had fallen in the valley. The second half of the morning they got to work installing the rest of the uprights on the newly constructed steps by Houghton Road bridge.
Up next, our new bat detectors and pond dipping kits have arrived!!! With this equipment we are hoping to host even more wildlife events within Tawd Valley Park for the local community.
A massive thank you again to the Rotary Club of Ormskirk Clocktower for making this all possible through their small grants scheme.
NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!
The Cobb’s Clough Weir removal is complete. The Weir was the last one of 8 that have been removed across the Douglas Catchment as part of the Open Up Our Rivers Project.
Thank you to the Ribble Rivers Trust, Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, West Lancashire Borough Council Parks & Countryside Ranger Service, Douglas Catchment Partnership and the Wade Group for their hard work and commitment to seeing this epic project through to the end.
FOTV volunteers were out in force on the 1st July pulling Himalayan balsam. One of the areas they concentrated on was near the river where the weir has been removed.
Well done everyone and thank you for all your hard work, this will allow native plant species to thrive and improve the biodiversity in the Tawd valley.
In other news… We reached over 2000 followers on Facebook. Lets hope we continue to grow as an organisation for the betterment of the Tawd Valley Park.
This weekend, we held our first TEDDY BEARS PICNIC!!! About 20 bears and their young people came along, but the special V.I.B’s (very important bears) had decided to hide. Luckily for us, the children were so good at solving the clues and even better at finding those naughty bears!
Our adventure took us through long grass across the orchard and along the river to meet the Chief Friends of Tawd Valley bear – I sit in tree.
Then through the wild flower meadow, where the children spotted lots of different insects. They spotted 2 squirrels in the trees on their walk back to the picnic area by the park.
After eating their picnic some of the children enjoyed playing on the Summer Street Park.
The bears loved being found by the children and have already asked can we have another picnic next year.
Thank you to everyone who came and made our Teddy Bears Picnic such a special event.
And last, but certainly not least – Unfortunately, we have found a live Signal Crayfish in Tawd Valley Park this afternoon, caught in a puddle after the river flooded its bank after heavy rainfall. ASC are an invasive non-native species and can cause serious issues for our native wildlife. We have reported this incident to the Environment Agency.
Please be vigilant when using the park and if you see what looks to be a Signal Crayfish in the waterways, do not touch it, but please consider reporting it to the Environment Agency’s hotline on: 0800 80 70 60. And if you’re fishing on the river, please remember to thoroughly clean all equipment before and after use.
That’s it folks! You’re up-to-date on all the things going on in the park. We appreciate that you take the time to read our regular blog updates. Check back soon for more, more, more!!!
