River Stour wardens needed

The Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to become river wardens. The wardens would help monitor and look after their own stretch of the River Stour, which flows through Ashford. The partnership has recently started a new Heritage Lottery funded project – Our Stour – which is targeting a wider audience to engage with the river, helping to monitor and protect its habitats and wildlife. The river warden scheme is one of six programmes which make up the Heritage Lottery-funded Our Stour project. A river warden takes on wildlife monitoring, reporting landscape issues and litter picking. Each warden is allocated their own stretch of the Stour – or one of its tributaries – and is supported in their role after training. No previous knowledge, experience or qualifications are needed – only enthusiasm.

For more information contact the Our Stour office via email to kentishstour@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 410 900.

Last week a very large pod of white beaked dolphins moved through the English Channel off Dungeness. The pod numbered around 60 individuals and although white beaked dolphins are more or less regular in the spring off Dungeness in small family groups, this is a very large party regardless.

I say off Dungeness – this pod was seen by Dungeness fishermen about three miles off the Point and so even on calm sea conditions with powerful telescopes we are still not really able to see dolphins at that range for us land lubbers.

White beaked dolphins are much larger than the more frequently seen cetacean off the Kent coast – the porpoise.

The dolphins are around 12ft long compared to the 3ft to 5ft long of the porpoise.

White beaked dolphins have a white side down the body, quite a large sickle shaped fin and a white area around the beak.

For more information contact Owen Leyshon, Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership, telephone 01797 367934 or log on to www.rmcp.co.uk