Lancashire
Lancashire has 4 catchments in its region: the Lune, Ribble, Douglas and Wyre. As part of Natural Course, the catchment hosts will be working towards developing a catchment management plan for their area. Working with volunteers and local community groups to test the water quality and implement improvement methods, such as proposing weir removals and tree planting.
Hosted by the Wyre Rivers Trust, the Wyre covers much of North Lancashire and incorporates the Forest of Bowland – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Wyre Estuary – A Site of Special Scientific Interest. The catchment supports a diverse array of flora and fauna, Brown Trout and Atlantic Salmon, which are a key food source for birds and fish alike.
The Lune catchment is hosted by Lune Rivers Trust and spans from Ingleton Falls in the East right out to Morecambe on the West. It encompasses areas of North Lancashire, South Cumbria and North Yorkshire. The lower part of the Lune catchment is more urban and industrial and is well visited by tourists. The upper and middle reaches of the catchment are fairly rural and much of the land is used for agriculture. The upper reaches of the catchment are prone to quick flashes of heavy rainfall and have to respond quickly to changeable levels of water.
The Ribble catchment is hosted by Ribble Rivers Trust and runs across Lancashire and Yorkshire. The catchment water bodies are all connected and support a significant number of fish, mammals and invertebrates. Key issues in the catchment include diffuse pollution from urban sources, diffuse pollution from agriculture, modified channels and invasive species.
The Douglas catchment in South Lancashire is hosted by Groundwork CLM. The catchment faces many pressures from its urban landscape and transport links, but most significantly are the number of physical modifications in the catchment. A large proportion of the catchment is also rural and faces pressure from diffuse pollution from agriculture.
As part of the Turning Tides partnership, the LOVEmyBEACH campaign hosts a coordinator for the Fylde peninsular who works in the community to help improve bathing water quality; developing volunteer beach clean groups and increasing awareness on the contributing factors.