Our Mission:

A community group committed to returning the River Cale to a self-sustaining ecosystem that is rich in bio-diversity and to be enjoyed by all.

News

Band Aid

This item is one of the most memorable we’ve ever found in the River Cale here in town.For those of a certain age will remember this now absolute historical event way back in 1984 ! Just goes to show how long our discarded rubbish just sits in the environment slowly polluting / rotting away. Still , some great music listed there.… ...read the rest

Himalyan Balsam bashing again

One of our annual (and usually public) events had to be carried out within just the committee this year, but because of Janice (the sensible one of the group) she corralled us into doing a huge amount of good this year in controlling this invasive non-native species of plant.

We headed upstream from the town, towards Bayford and proceeded to pull as much of the Balsam as we could before it went to seed. This means that it will be less likely to spread back down into the town in years to come and so we have only native plants … ...read the rest

Trollied!

A definite benefit of a successful river group is that  folks message us when they see issues on the Cale. 
That then coupled with a spontaneous lending of a hand in removing the dodgy item which in this case was a Morrison’s Trolly. Thanks Marie and thanks Steve for the help and the encouragement in the form of laughter at my extraction attempts from the river. 😀

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29th June – Chris Sperring MBE interviews our Chairman

Chris Sperring MBE is one of CATCH’s goto guru’s for river and nature and one of our favourite supporters. He recently interviewed Gary Hunt our Chairman via a video call and was hoping to extract the secrets of creating a community group like CATCH……If you have Facebook then you should be able to follow this link

https://www.facebook.com/Chris.SperringMBE/videos/3404272802939888/

… ...read the rest

2020 in swing

It’s been rather a quiet time in the public eye for CATCH recently. However, with Christmas finally well and truly behind us, and Spring not far away, we are pleased to announce our first event of the year.

On Sunday morning of the 1st March we will be placing a new information board down at the recreation ground to give the less informed an opportunity to learn something about our beautiful river, The Cale, and will be in conjunction with a community litter pick.

This is the second of two boards purchased by CATCH for the community, and with … ...read the rest

Very talkative!

In order to spread the word of the Gospel of CATCH, we provide talks to a broad spectrum of organisations on a fairly regular basis. We’ve spoken to the Women’s Institute, Historical Societies, Cub scouts, Gardeners Clubs, and The Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Last week, CATCH went on tour again and travelled across to Portishead to present to the South West area of The Hawk & Owl Trust on Monday, and then Wincanton Women’s Institute on Wednesday afternoon.

The talk lasts about an hour and a half and hopefully leaves the participants with a fuller understanding of our group, the reasons … ...read the rest

Wild Trout about…..

We often get asked how we continue to make a success of CATCH. We like to err on the side of modesty and attribute our success to others, but in the cold light of day, without the hard working Committee members, and diverse support network we would certainly struggle!

One of our biggest supporters to date are the Wild Trout Trust. They are a huge influence on our river decisions and actions, and recently they have released a booklet that gives their take on how to create, and operate a volunteer based river group, such as CATCH.

I personally believe … ...read the rest

The Countryman

If you haven’t already bought the November issue of the magazine ‘The Countryman’ then you should. This month there is a feature on CATCH that gives an account of the roots, development and progress of our Wincanton based river group.

It’s a must read for those of you who want know what we’ve been up to in the last 7 years since our conception.

The magazine isn’t just about CATCH, it has some great features inside, and despite being a well circulated magazine, I hadn’t read it before. I will in future!

… ...read the rest

River & Wildlife day success

After many months in the planning, the CATCH crew can finally relax after an extremely successful day of hosting a River & Wildlife day at the local recreation ground. The weather started wet but soon cheered up and enabled us to have a fantastic time!

With the support of so many individuals giving up their time to stand by CATCH and support us so magnificently on the day, and they were:

  • Pitcombe Falconry
  • Chris Sperring MBE (walking nature classrooms).
  • Theo Pike – The Wild Trout Trust
  • The Environment Agency – Catchment demonstration
  • Somerset Wildlife Trust
  • The Bootmakers (of Wincanton) –
… ...read the rest

River & Wildlife day – 22nd September……’World Rivers Day’! – Come and join us for this FREE event.

Sunday 22nd September 2019 – C.A.T.C.H. River and Wildlife Day from 10am until 2pm at Wincanton Recreation Ground. Please see below:

As part of the celebration of ‘World Rivers Day’, at the end of September, Wincanton voluntary river group C.A.T.C.H. are excited to announce that they will be hosting a River and Wildlife Day at Wincanton Recreation Ground on Sunday 22nd September 2019 from 10am until 2pm. The aim of the day is fundamentally to bring people together to learn more about what lives and grows in and around the River Cale and the work of C.A.T.C.H. On hand will … ...read the rest