Category Archives: Environment

Winter volunteering at Northam Burrows.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to spend more time outdoors, learn new skills or meet new people, why not join the Northam Burrows Ranger team for a series of practical conservation tasks this winter! Volunteer recruitment is … Continue reading

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‘Coastwise’ – Spring programme.

www.coastwisenorthdevon.org.uk   ______________________________________________

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The Coastal Rivers Project.

A pioneering partnership between the North Devon World Surf Reserve (NDWSR), the National Trust, Earth Action North Devon (EAND) and the Save the Waves Coalition is driving an ambitious effort to restore and protect North Devon’s rivers, beginning at Combesgate, … Continue reading

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New water bottle refill station on the Burrows.

Torridge District Council have installed a new water bottle refill station at the Northam Burrows Visitor Centre to help tackle plastic pollution. The refill station was part funded and supplied by Our Only World, a Cornish based charity set up … Continue reading

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‘Bideford Legends’ – 5.

Providence House and Pimlico Place, Bideford.   Providence House. Peter Christie, then Mayor of Bideford, unveils the commemorative plaque.   __________________________________________________

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‘Bideford Legends’ – 4.

Marsh Farm was built on a low-lying site in Northam Road, prone to flooding, and became derelict and abandoned some time ago. The site has now been redeveloped, with levels raised overall, the stream culverted, and the farmhouse restored to … Continue reading

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“Bideford Legends” – 3.

The Hamlyn property. A fine listed building once the property of the Hamlyn family, who were noted decorators of the time. (Interior photos courtesy of Rightmove). *  *  *  *  *  *   The railway shed in Kingsley Road. Another … Continue reading

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“Bideford Legends” – 2.

The Strand Cinema. The Strand Cinema was opened by Maurice Prince, Jewish entrepreneur, in 1938. During the war Maurice was a civil defence warden and he also helped Jewish refugees who were escaping from Nazi persecution by sheltering them in … Continue reading

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“Bideford Legends” – 1.

Introducing “Bideford Legends”. My name is Tanya Harrison, I was born abroad and came to live in Bideford in 2017. By profession I am a Teacher of English to foreign students, not a photographer, not a writer, not an expert … Continue reading

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‘Upstream Thinking’ project has many benefits.

More than 40,000 native trees are being planted for farms and landowners to help reduce land run-off and improve natural water quality as part of South West Water’s catchment management programme, Upstream Thinking. The trees, which were provided by the … Continue reading

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North Devon coast monographs.

     

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Recently seen at Westward Ho!

Ctenophores, known commonly as sea gooseberries or comb jellies. They are carnivorous predators in the Plankton. They eat zooplankton, fish eggs and fish larvae. They catch their prey with their sticky tentacles which they can retract when not feeding. Their … Continue reading

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Walking the Coast Path; Mouthmill.

This is a beach of contrasts. A stream idly trickles through football-sized boulders down to the sea, while soothing sweeps of light-brown sand provide a backdrop to jutting rock formations that point arrow-like towards the Atlantic. It’s a place for … Continue reading

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Beavering away for Bideford flood protection.

There are proposals under consideration for raising the level of the Kenwith Reservoir dam to give the necessary added protection from fluvial flooding resulting from anticipated climate change and the amount of new housing development in the catchment area. In … Continue reading

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Floods – policy versus practicality.

With flooding very much in the news last month this may be a good time to review the policy of the authorities on flood protection and the effect it is having on the vulnerable Northam Burrows. There are two major … Continue reading

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