Natural Course

The Irwell Catchment Partnership has developed a catchment ‘story map’ to help partners interrogate evidence and turn it into action on the ground. The story map, along with the partnership’s vision and terms of reference, will serve as the overall Catchment Management Plan, driving evidence-based delivery to further improve the…

Work starts today (6 July) to remove Ennerdale Mill Dam Weir on the River Ehen at Egremont after evidence found it is failing. Removal will allow upstream and downstream migration of fish, including Atlantic salmon, for the first time in more than 250 years. Once up and running, the weir…

Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Natural Course have commissioned eftec and partners Environmental Finance and Countryscape to develop the first Natural Capital Investment Plan for the city region. The plan will promote investment and delivery of opportunities that protect and enhance Greater Manchester’s natural capital to support a healthy population…

Between November 2017 and March 2018 over 16,000 trees were planted across the Ribble Catchment to help improve water quality, as part of the European Life Integrated Project, Natural Course. This has been thanks to the time and effort of volunteers at Ribble Rivers Trust who have in total put in…

On May 24th, The Rivers Trust, United Utilities, Environment Agency, Natural England and GMCA held a meet and greet in central Manchester to celebrate #EUGreenWeek. On the run-up to the session, the collaborative team invited wider project affiliates involved in the delivery of Natural Course to produce posters about the…

An award-winning scheme which restored a stretch of the River Medlock has been further boosted after juvenile brown trout were found in the watercourse. Previously known as the Red River, the Medlock underwent a £250,000 transformation at Clayton Vale which re-naturalised the waterway to encourage habitats for wildlife. Juvenile brown…

On 15th May, the EU LIFE Programme monitor visited the Natural Course project to get an update on progress and visit some project sites. After a general update on project outcomes and plans for the future, the team took the monitor to visit the SuDS project developed by United Utilities…

20 trees including cherry, field maple and sweetgum have been planted as part of a £2 million Bury New Road regeneration programme and the EU LIFE funded Natural Course project.   The new street trees have been planted to help tackle surface water flooding, as well as improve the look…

Jumping in puddles has taken on new meaning at one Manchester primary school after experts stepped in to help stop rain being a drain on school budgets. In a scheme which could save millions if replicated across Manchester, with thanks to funding through the Natural Course project, a team headed…

Natural Course launched the outputs from its Natural Capital Account and Ecosystem Services and Opportunity Mapping Study for the Irwell Management Catchment at a dissemination and training workshop held on 23rd April in Manchester.[1] The report provides compelling evidence that the natural environment of the Irwell Management Catchment provides significant…