Adur and Ouse – a ministerial mention and Sussex visit

By Cat Fuller

Cat fuller at the opening of the Sussex IFCA offices

A busy few weeks meetings with local organisations, Community 21, led by Action In Rural Sussex and Brighton University, the Biosphere Board, a UNESCO project being developed and facilitated through Brighton and Hove City Council with a range of partners and several Environment Agency project meetings for Morph and Arpha (see our catchment website for more details – www.environment-agency.gov.uk/catchments).

I also presented the Adur and Ouse partnership at CIWEMs conference on The Catchment Based Approach where Richard Benyon gave the opening address and specifically mentioned the successes within the Adur and Ouse! A very pleasing result for all the work that everyone has put in over the past 9 months. I then had the fortune to meet Richard Benyon at the opening of the Sussex IFCA offices a few days later where we discussed the integration of our coastal waters within the Defra pilot catchment based approach.

As ever, we are looking at ways to encourage wider learning from our pilots and I spent a day in London with my fellow Environment Agency catchment co-ordinators for our South East region looking at best practice and sharing our learning.

A very positive couple of weeks,

Hooked on Fly Fishing at Arlington Reservoir

By Paul Sharman

A hard-fighting Arlington rainbow trout gives Simon Young a tussle

Nestled in a shallow bowl above the River Cuckmere and within sight of the famous Long Man of Wilmington carved into the chalk downs just a few miles away, Arlington reservoir is a tranquil oasis located just inland between Newhaven and Eastbourne, a short drive off of the A27. Fly fishing is the only form of on-water activity allowed so anglers have the water all to themselves which along with the all electric motor fleet of boats makes for a very peaceful and relaxing day on the water. There is also a very nice trail all around the reservoir so non-angling family members can take a stroll or go birdwatching while you fish.

We lucked in with the weather on our day there as after the recent rain and gales, the sun had at last broken through and despite a stiff breeze, the year's first Hawthorn flies were on the wing and more importantly - on the water. The trout had not yet keyed into them totally but enough were around that we did see a couple of rises and given a few settled days sport will get better as I am told due to the overall shallow nature of this

Adur and Ouse - a double whammy!!

By Cat Fuller

The Teville stream, one of the ‘bad’ waterbodies we are tackling in the Adur & Ouse

A very busy couple of weeks for the Adur and Ouse. A range of meetings including meeting with South East Water and colleagues regarding protecting our surface water through the identification of Safeguard Zones. To me this is an idea that ties in very well with our partnership project Ouse upstream thinking that  we have initiated this year with South East Water. Our aim being to look at seeking opportunities for how we can reduce water quality impacts through farm advice that will lead to environmental improvements alongside a reduction in water treatment costs.

This week we also had our monthly steering group meeting. A very productive meeting as we moved to identification of chairs and members of our theme groups (see last blog) and also how we can start developing the Adur and Ouse catchment plan, one of the main elements that the pilots are asked for by December 2012.

I also attended a workshop for the Teville stream restoration project (see picture). The Teville stream is one of our only ‘bad’ watercourses in the pilot catchment and being in a very urban environment, it suffers from pressures such as historic landfill, industrial estates, extensive culverting, alien species

Adur and Ouse - The return after holidays and a logo!

By Cat Fuller

The new logo kindly provided by FishActive

Most of my week has therefore been taken up with catching up on what was missed. The catchment steering group is at the stage where we have identified our main catchment themes: Fisheries, Groundwater, Natural Rivers, Coastal Waters, Surface Water Quality and Engagement. The next step is to create these sub-groups that can work with others to create the best evidence base, plan of action and targets for the catchment. The steering group will then maintain the overall picture and provide the space where it will all be linked up into a single catchment plan.

I hope for us all, this is very exciting times as we are really beginning to consolidate all the previous months work as a partnership in understanding how we want to progress the pilot. A small illustration of the excitement is the agreement of our new logo to start the brand development. A big thanks to FishActive for providing the designs for our logo in the true spirit of collaborative working.

I also attended a project specific meeting with the Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust on one of our river Uck projects TrUck (Trees on the Uck). This is a

A quieter week

By Cat Fuller

Goldbridge, a gauging weir on the river Ouse

Monday and Tuesday consisted contained a quarterly feedback session with Head Office on the Adur and Ouse pilot and how we are progressing. You may not know that the pilots are steered through a national programme board consisting of Defra and the Defra family. James Farrell (who leads the pilots nationally) and I discussed the national pilot picture, it seems that as a collective we are beginning to diversify and capture different learning and also how our Environment Management colleagues have been targeting their regulatory work to the pilot catchment. Very exciting stuff and I am pleased to report that the Adur and Ouse is viewed at national as leading the way in many areas.

The middle of the week was spent spreading the pilot learning through our new catchment co-ordinators in Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (as I mentioned in the first blog, this is critical if we are to ensure that the pilots are used as a springboard for what can be done better). The training specifically focussed on  stakeholder engagement, evidence sharing and also how Environment Agency fisheries and biodiversity teams.

Friday was spent planning with colleagues about how we can best