WESTBURY’S town improvement working group and volunteers has met with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for a ‘water walk,’ to put together a list of potential projects in the area.
In August last year, volunteers and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust staff took to the Bitham brook to rid the stream of dumped items and litter, in order to save the wildlife that habitate there. Now they are planning an ambitious project to improve the river for both wildlife and local residents.
Town councillors who belong to the working group joined volunteers and Graeme Morrison, the community engagement manager for Westbury, to meet with Alice Baker of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to walk the river to identify potential issues and projects on Tuesday 14th January.
Alice Baker said, “Following on from the litter pick last year we were looking for opportunities to improve the river and habitat around it, both for wildlife and to make it something for the local community to enjoy.
“Currently the river is full of litter (plastics and garden waste mainly) and quite overgrown with brambles. We identified some areas for habitat improvement and the need for community groups and volunteers to get actively involved in managing their river.
“Our next plans is to write up the ideas from today as a list of potential projects, which we can then work together to try and implement.”
