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The River Cale – Wincanton

The River Cale – Wincanton

Community Action to Transform the Cale Habitat

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Catch Cleanup Crew
Catch Cleanup Crew:

One of the regular activities we organise is a litter-pick and general cleanup of the river and its surroundings. Some of these are small affairs with just committee members and a few regulars, but we try to publicly advertise and organise events for the whole family to attend and get involved.… ...read the rest

2,500 Reasons to Celebrate
2,500 Reasons to Celebrate:

On Thursday, 23rd October, CATCH reached the high point of its fledgling existence when the Environment Agency delivered 2,500 fish – a mixture of roach, dace and chub – to be released into the River Cale… ...read the rest

Royal Blue
Royal Blue:

The latest in our series of wildlife articles appears today, this time focusing on the Cale’s best-known bird, the kingfisher. The article can be found here, or from the menu at the top of the page.… ...read the rest

The river in Autumn
The river in Autumn:

As the seasons change, so the appearance of the river and its surroundings also changes; but whatever the time of year there are always wonderful things to see… ...read the rest

Environmental Agency tests the water quality of the Cale
Environmental Agency tests the water quality of the Cale:

In early September, a visit from the Environment Agency took  place where they tested the River Cale’s water quality. This came about directly as a result of CATCH’s work.… ...read the rest

A Day in the Life of the CATCH Stand
A Day in the Life of the CATCH Stand:

On June 15th, a pleasant sunny Sunday afternoon, our chairman Gary took the CATCH stand and the assorted paraphernalia along to Horsington Village Fete… ...read the rest

The Old See-Saw
The Old See-Saw:

While walking the river, we discovered the old see-saw that seems to have found its way down into the water. It’s quite a distance that thing has travelled. A significant achievement, though not quite of a Stone Henge scale.… ...read the rest

A morning well spent!
A morning well spent!:

We have now published a full page of pictures, videos and information about our recent activity day on the Cale… ...read the rest

Kick sample results now online
Kick sample results now online:

The results and observations from CATCH’s regular monthly kick samples of the Cale are now available on the website… ...read the rest

Windows on Wincanton Wildlife
Windows on Wincanton Wildlife:

Today sees the first in a planned series of articles going into some detail on a particular example of the flora and fauna to be found in, on, or near the River Cale. It can be found here, or in the website menu under “River Cale Wildlife.”

Suggestions for what animal, tree, or plant we might feature next are always welcome – provided it’s something that we might actually see in the vicinity of Wincanton!… ...read the rest

Going round the bend…
Going round the bend…:

Today’s article is a review of last Friday evening’s work to install flow deflectors on the river stretch alongside the Travis Perkins building. The full report can be read here.

Many thanks to all who attended, particularly our younger volunteers, Tom, Sophie and Isobelle. Details of further planned activities will appear here, on our Facebook page and on our Twitter feed.… ...read the rest

Hawker’s Bridge clear-up
Hawker’s Bridge clear-up:

10629740_651433294970818_3509736146581170510_nOn Saturday last, the chance came for our resident Brummie committee member, Steve Lee, to don his waders for the first time and clear out some assorted rubbish from the river underneath and immediately around Hawker’s Bridge.… ...read the rest

Little Things Mean a Lot
Little Things Mean a Lot:

 

In conjunction with the Environment Agency, CATCH is now monitoring the Cale with regular kick samples, which help to keep track of the population of insects and other invertebrates in the river.… ...read the rest

2nd Annual Jumble Sale raises over £400
2nd Annual Jumble Sale raises over £400:

A huge thank-you from CATCH to everyone who supported our Jumble Sale on 8th February, as we comfortably exceeded last year’s total and raised just over £420 on the day.… ...read the rest

2017 River Cale Balsam Bash
2017 River Cale Balsam Bash:

Despite the rain the group were able to have a good go at this year’s crop of Himalayan Balsam which was much reduced from last year, on the stretch through the Recreation Ground.… ...read the rest

Equipment update – October 2017
Equipment update – October 2017:

Another handy addition to the equipment list was purchased by the group to help with the transportation of rubbish and equipment on various events. … ...read the rest

Wildflower management 2017
Wildflower management 2017:

Year two of the Memorial Wild Flower Meadow has seen an abundance of flowers and wildlife.… ...read the rest

Coppicing and Pollarding – September 2017:

C.A.T.C.H. volunteers undertook some coppicing and pollarding on a very over shaded stretch of the Cale . The difference after a few hours of work was quite dramatic.
The result is now that if you stand on the Batch Bridge and look upstream you get a fabulous view of the river and it’s flow deflectors . Items of rubbish were removed as we worked so it’s really looking good down there. We have also created some hibernacula or bug hotels as the kids call them , this was achieved using the brash from the tree trimmings.
The main reason for … ...read the rest

Our first Rock Berm – 2017
Our first Rock Berm – 2017:

 

On Monday 12th September, work started and was completed on our rock berm in the River Cale, Wincanton. This indeed was a significant day… ...read the rest

Faces for radio!
Faces for radio!:

 

Back in April 2017 Gary and Matt took part in a live show on BBC Radio Somerset. … ...read the rest

5th March 2018 – Frozen River Cale

  • By Matt Bishop
  • March 5, 2018
  • No Comments

A brief visit to the Cale on a frosty morning proved to bring a surprise not seen for many years…… ...read the rest

Thought of the day – 31 Jan 2018

  • By Gary Hunt
  • January 31, 2018
  • No Comments
… ...read the rest

Video footage of the Cale fish survey now available

  • By Dave Smith
  • January 20, 2018
  • 1 Comment

Many thanks to our friends at Wincanton Window, who have now published the official video of our electrofishing survey on August 4th 2017.… ...read the rest

A Week in the Life of a Broken Sewer Pipe

  • By Dave Smith
  • November 6, 2017
  • No Comments

At the end of October, while performing the regular kick sample on the Cale, some CATCH volunteers noticed a nasty-looking flow… ...read the rest

Help CATCH win funding from Aviva!

  • By Dave Smith
  • October 24, 2017
  • No Comments

CATCH have been nominated as a charity to gain potential funding from the Aviva Community Fund… ...read the rest

Electro fish success – 4th August 2017

  • By Matt Bishop
  • October 21, 2017
  • No Comments

The results of our 4th August electro-fishing survey are now published on our website, and can be viewed here.… ...read the rest

2017 River Cale Balsam Bash

  • By Matt Bishop
  • October 21, 2017
  • No Comments

Despite the rain the group were able to have a good go at this year’s crop of Himalayan Balsam which was much reduced from last year, on the stretch through the Recreation Ground.… ...read the rest

Equipment update – October 2017

  • By Steve Lee
  • October 21, 2017
  • No Comments

Another handy addition to the equipment list was purchased by the group to help with the transportation of rubbish and equipment on various events. … ...read the rest

Wildlife Habitat signs

  • By Steve Lee
  • October 21, 2017
  • No Comments

Working alongside Wincanton Town Council, C.A.T.C.H. were pleased to see areas along the river bank left un-mowed this year as a haven of safe passage for wildlife.… ...read the rest

Wildflower management 2017

  • By Steve Lee
  • October 21, 2017
  • No Comments

Year two of the Memorial Wild Flower Meadow has seen an abundance of flowers and wildlife.… ...read the rest

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Our Mission

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

Pollution or Environmental Damage?

If you spot either of these on the Cale, or on any other river, please call the Environment Agency's emergency free hotline:-
0800 80 70 60 (with maybe a follow up call to CATCH if on the Cale).

You may just wish to report something going on at the river (this may even be observations or wildlife sightings), in which case either message us on this website via the email contact address or the CATCH mobile phone:

[email protected]

07597 127187

Thank you.

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