Businesses unite as part of burn clean-up plan
East Durham businesses urged to come together to take on clean-up plan.
BusinessesacrossPeterlee’s industrial estates are being asked to support the clean-up of the Wapping Burn.
Regional organisation Wear Rivers Trust (WRT) is now working with businesses, volunteers and partners to improve the stretch of water, which flows from the North West to South West industrial estates.
WRT is engaging with businessesacrosstheEastDurham Business Network to raise awareness of their potential impact on the water quality of the three tributaries that feed into Castle Eden Dene.
Paul Atkinson from WRT said: “We are developing opportunities for volunteering through businesses corporate responsibilityactivities.There are lots of activities we need to do like litter picks, tree thinning,riverbankrepairs,stream enhancements and removal of invasive plant species. We are also helping reduce business environmental impact, particularly trade discharges, misconnections and plastic pollution.
“Together we’ll create a better quality wildlife-friendly environment for businesses and their employees. We’ll improve business awareness of opportunities for restoring nature and reducing flood risk too. This project will see WRT working alongside Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) and their Naturally Native Project (NNP) with the long term aim of helping water voles recolonise the area.
“We’re returning to continue the upper channel restoration works we began in 2018 along the whole length of WappingBurn.Weneedvolunteers to get their feet wet and detect river improvements, by helping with riverfly monitoringacrossallthreetributaries.”