Citizen scientists testing the Ure. Photo: © Stop Ure Pollution.
Quakers assist in river water quality testing
Exhibitions about water quality were hosted by Leyburn and Bainbridge Meeting Houses in early October
Leyburn and Bainbridge Meeting Houses hosted exhibitions about water quality in the River Ure this month.
The exhibitions, from 3 to 5 October, followed a public meeting in Leyburn Methodist Church Hall on 1 October revealing the results. The tests showed that twenty of the sites sampled along the river, and on some tributaries, had E. coli concentrations above the levels needed for safe bathing.
Despite the high levels, Charlotte Simons, of the Yorkshire Dales River Trust (YDRT), said: ‘None of the results are incredibly high compared to findings on the Wharfe and the Nidd under similar conditions, though probably a bit surprising for low flow conditions.’
The results were on display at the Meeting houses alongside photos of the teams at work, and details of future environmental plans. ‘Since June, Quakers in Wensleydale have been helping a young environmental group, Stop Ure Pollution (SUP), by providing a place to meet at Leyburn Meeting House when it had no funds,’ Pip Pointon, clerk to SUP, told the Friend. ‘This included a planning meeting with the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust to prepare for river-length water-quality testing at low flow on 21 August.’
SUP provided forty-one volunteer citizen scientists to help test at forty-five sites. Charlotte Simons said: ‘The objective of testing the whole river is to get an overall picture of what needs to be done.’
Tania Brosnan, clerk at Leyburn Meeting, said: ‘A good mix of people attended the exhibition of all age ranges. I felt the exhibition blended the practical work of SUP/Yorkshire Rivers Trust with Quaker values, a perfect combination for national Quaker Week. I felt the weekend was a success.’
Gwen Clark, clerk at Bainbridge Meeting, and one of the river-testing volunteers, said: ‘How lovely to have been able to provide space to showcase the results of the first citizen science sampling by the new SUP group.’
The exhibitions also celebrated Quaker Week and the 400th anniversary of the birth of George Fox. Pip Pointon said: ‘The display “Quakers: Past and Present” showed how George Fox had gathered a lot of support in Wensleydale and Swaledale, including those who left bequests in the late 17th Century that led to the creation of the Wensleydale and Swaledale Quaker Trust which maintains three Meeting houses and eleven houses for rent to local people.’
