INSPIRED Kineton residents have launched a project to monitor the health of the River Dene.
The state of the UK’s water is of growing national concern, with the huge scale of the problem reiterated recently in the Rivers’ Trust State of our Rivers report.
And residents of Kineton were inspired to monitor the health of their own river, which runs through Kineton as well as Wellesbourne, Walton, Combrook and Butlers Marston, after seeing the good work being carried out in Shipston.
Anne Waldon, one of the residents involved in setting up Kineton Clean Water, explained: “Having heard about plans in Shipston for a volunteer group to monitor their local water as part of a Citizen Science project, we decided to set up a similar group in Kineton.
“It was great that so many people came along to our first meeting. There were lots of ideas about the monitoring we can do, both of the water and of the local wildlife, and how we can do it. People are really keen to make a difference.”
The group also invited along Zoe Leventhal, the Green Party MP candidate for Kenilworth and Southam. Zoe is an environmental lawyer and local councillor in Kenilworth. Coun Leventhal spoke at the event, and has been getting involved in supporting the project.
She said: “It was great to roll up my sleeves and get involved in water testing at the River Dene as part of Kineton Clean Water. There is an urgent need to act to restore our rivers – and the recent State of Our Rivers report includes the River Dene as one of the watercourses in poor health.
“And there is much to be hopeful about. It was great to see so many local residents and councillors getting involved in the project – we had ornithologists, water treatment experts and engineers in the room – all offering ideas and expertise. Making these local connections is so important and it empowers communities to take positive action.
“I am looking forward to working on the project in Kineton and seeing what progress we can make.”
