Rita Penman - 4-Feb-2008
- How do you lighten up a heavy subject
like climate change? Well, the Environment
Agency has done just that with an evening
workshop for more than 30 teachers from
schools in and around Bedford.
Held at ASDA’s Kempston
Distribution Centre, Environment Agency
staff used quizzes and borrowed a concept
from TV’s Dragons’ Den to help the teachers
explore, in a fun way, how to fit climate
change into the curriculum for the benefit
of their eight to 14 year old pupils. And,
of course, it will be this next generation,
in particular, which will have to manage
the consequences of a change to the climate.
Working with the Sustainable
Development Round Table, the Environment
Agency staff updated teachers on the latest
climate change science and its predictions.
Then there was a general knowledge quiz
followed by a discussion on what methods
work well in teaching climate change as
a subject, followed by a presentation of
teaching resource packs.
These packs were much
appreciated with one teacher commenting:
‘It’s great to have ideas which can be adapted.
It was good to have the information in a
simplified form, because so much climate
change information is very wordy and scientific.’
The highlight of the
evening was to sell climate change teaching
methods and ideas to a panel of ‘Dragons’.
After surviving the scrutiny of the ‘Den’
the group with the best presentation received
a battery charger as a prize.
The group was really
positive about the event, and Ernie Pearce
from the Environment Agency said: ‘We really
feel this has been a very rewarding exercise.
Such enthusiasm from the teachers for addressing
the issues of climate change really does
justify the workshop.’
This event would not
have been a success without the involvement
of the Sustainable Development Round Table,
sponsorship from the Defra Climate Challenge
Fund and the Energy Saving Trust and the
generosity of ASDA who provided the training
rooms and hospitality.
+ More
Environment Agency removes
Slad Brook bedstead
Michelle Dolphin - 6-Feb-2008
- Environment Agency contractors begin work
on the Slad Brook tomorrow (Wednesday, 6
February 2008) to remove an old bedstead
that is blocking the culvert.
Access into the culvert
is difficult so, with kind permission of
Locking Hill Surgery, the team will be using
machinery to dig into it from the car park
above. The work is expected to take about
two weeks to complete.
The bedstead was discovered
by a team of cavers who investigated the
culvert on behalf of the local community
after technical difficulties prevented an
investigation by CCTV. We understand that
the cavers also found, and removed, a selection
of surfboards and a barrel.
The Environment Agency
took over the management of the brook in
2006. Since then, we have improved a trash
screen so that debris can be removed more
easily. We held a ‘drop in session’ in October
2007 to talk to residents who had been affected
by last summer’s flooding.
Steve Edgar, from our
Technical Support Team, says ” Sadly, it’s
common for people to dispose of items in
watercourses and Slad Brook is yet another
case where someone’s irresponsibility has
caused other people’s homes to flood.
“We frequently remove
shopping trolleys, bicycles, and gas canisters
but a bedstead is one of the strangest things
we have ever had to remove from a culvert.
We have no idea how it got there, or how
long it’s been there, but it has caused
the community a lot of distress.
”We hope people will
learn from this example and stop throwing
things into watercourses. As well as increasing
flood risk, they pollute the water and harm
wildlife. If you own land next to a watercourse,
remember that you are responsible for keeping
the bed and banks clear of debris, whether
you put it there or not.
“We have intervened
to do the work this time because it is a
problem that a riverside landowner would
find very difficult to resolve and we are
committed to reducing flood risks for the
local community.”
+ More
Swans suffer pollution
again
Michelle Dolphin - 4-Feb-2008
- The Environment Agency is appealing for
boat owners to make sure they maintain their
boats properly after yet another incident
involving suspected oiling of swans on the
Worcester to Birmingham canal in Worcester.
Following a similar
incident two weeks ago, two more swans were
found to have signs of possible contamination
last night. Bishopswood Swan Rescue were
called in to assess the swans.
The pollution incident
left an oily film on the water, consistent
with having been caused by a discharge of
oil from the bilge of a boat. The Environment
Agency has launched an investigation into
the source of the pollution.
Environment Officer
Michael Morris says ”It’s only a couple
of days since swans were returned to the
canal after the last pollution incident
and it’s shocking to see them affected again.
“Although we can’t be
sure yet where this pollution has come from,
it does appear to be consistent with oil
from the bilge of a boat. We are investigating
and will do our best to catch the offender.
If anyone has any information about where
this pollution has come from, or they want
to report pollution incidents elsewhere,
they can call us on our free 24-hour Emergency
Hotline number 0800 80 70 60.
“Boaters must make sure
that they maintain their boats properly
and must never allow polluting substances
to be discharged from their boats, especially
oil from the bilges. As well as producing
significant harm to the environment and
suffering to wildlife, causing this type
of pollution is a criminal offence with
maximum fine of £20,000 or up to three
months imprisonment.”
