Southmead’s new sustainability group led their first venture in the Trymside open space (between Doncaster Road and Shetland Road) to remove the Himalayan Balsam and litter pick. SusWoT members came along to support, providing experience, equipment and trained leaders.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was when Max from SusWoT revealed some of the animals and plants living in and around the river. ‘I had no idea there were freshwater shrimp living here, which shows the water is already fairly clean,’ said Clarie from Sustainable Southmead. ‘The Wild Trout Trust advisory report gave us three clear objectives for this part of the Trym:
1) Remove the Himalayan Balsam
2) Plant more trees, particularly along the river bank, to prevent erosion
3) To increase woody material in the stream to help with flood management.
‘We feel confident that these are achievable objectives for Trymside open space, and we have had loads of support from Team Southmead, BS10 Parks and Planning, as well as Bristol Future Parks from the council for making these improvements. SusWoT have been fantastic in supporting us as we get started and we are feeling really positive for improving the Southmead end of the Trym to support the Trout in the Trym vision.’
‘We love having this wildlife corridor in the heart of the estate and we really want to make this area of Southmead better for both humans and wildlife. We would love to hear ideas from other residents who use this green space too.’
The huge pile of rubbish collected was removed by Bristol Parks Team on the Monday morning, when they came to mow the paths and the green spaces in Trymside.
Sustainable Southmead are a new group taking action to help Southmead become more environmentally friendly and green– if you would like to get involved please contact Clarie on mrs.clarie.miles@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.