Lavant Chalk Stream Clean Up Events

The River Lavant – a chalk stream and a winterbourne

The chalk-filtered waters of the River Lavant serenely carve a route from the peaceful village of East Dean, through Singleton, West Dean and Lavant, before winding their way through historic Chichester and out to sea.

Providing a vital source of freshwater, the Lavant has played an important part in building the settlements around this rolling downland valley. Evidence suggests that humans have lived along the banks of the river for around 5000 years, using the water for daily life and farming.

Throughout the years the river has also been used as a way of transporting goods, mainly wool and grain, to different villages and of course to market in Chichester. Nowadays many people take solace on its banks through the many footpaths and bridleways, including part of the South Downs Way National Trail.

As one of only 280 chalk streams in the UK, this precious river should offer a haven for an abundance of wildlife.

Being a winterbourne, the river naturally dries up during the summer months, and then returns over the winter. The unique wildlife that relies on this river has also adapted to the cycle of drying and re-wetting.

However in recent years the quality of this habitat has deteriorated due to sewage being pumped into the river and pollution washing into the water from the adjacent farmland and roads. The problem of litter also blights this river so we need to act now to help prevent this special and precious habitat from being further degraded. You can help.

Thank you for offering to come along and clean up the Lavant Chalk Stream - it is very much appreciated and will go a long way to supporting this rare habitat.

Please register and join the Final Straw Foundation and The West Sussex Rivers Trust (WSRT) for a clean-up of the Lavant Chalk stream through Chichester, supported by the South Downs National Park and Chichester District Council.

Meeting points

There are 4 options available to sign up - please select which you would like to attend when you register. Each day is 0930-1600.

Please note the different meeting points on each day.

1. Monday 15th September near the Harvester Pub, What3Words ref: https://w3w.co/soccer.repay.craft
2. Tuesday 16th September, meet at St James Weedscreen EA site, What3Words ref: https://w3w.co/spike.carbon.global
3. Friday 19th September, meet next to Chichester College car park, on the campus, What3Words ref: https://w3w.co/hooked.barks.hang
4. Saturday 20th September, meet on Bishops Walk next to South Gate car park on Deanery Close, What3Words ref: https://w3w.co/lots.dined.freed

If there are no places available please email us and we will contact you in order if anyone has dropped out.

We will provide kit - gloves, litter pickers, bags, and buckets, but you are welcome to bring your own if you have any. Safety glasses will also be available.

On Monday The Harvester Pub on Barnfield Drive have offered their premises as a meeting point, for a briefing and we can use their outside space for lunch (please bring a packed lunch or you can buy something from the pub).

There won't be time to go and get any snacks due to the short timescales, so please bring anything you need along with you.

You will need to stay for the whole session due to the nature of the site and the type of rubbish that we will be picking up and the supervision needed.

We will ask you to fill in a medical form that will be emailed separately when you sign up.

While we anticipate that this clean up should be able to go ahead, it will be subject to the weather - while rain is not too much of a problem, if the wind is too high we will not proceed. If the clean-up is going to be cancelled for any reason, we will notify you through Eventbrite (you will be emailed) and on our social media.

CLEAN UP RULES

• There will be a safety briefing at the start of the event, please listen carefully and adhere to the guidelines. There will be a briefing by The Western Sussex Rivers Trust. Please listen carefully to their guidelines.
• Wear sturdy wellingtons, walking boots or steel toe-capped boots. Please ensure they are clean and dry to avoid bringing in any invasive species. We will be providing a boot washing station to avoid any invasive species entering the stream.
• Please bring 2 sets of clothes - a clean pair and one to wear in the river. All attendees should wear long sleeves and long trousers to protect their arms and legs from vegetation and associated insects in the channel. Dress for the weather - check the forecast in advance. If it's hot, wear sun cream, if it's raining bring a waterproof rain jacket and so on - layers are great.
• When we stop for lunch we will ask you to clean off your boots and change into clean footwear to avoid contaminating any food premises.
• We will also have a hand washing station to ensure you clean hands thoroughly before eating or entering The Harvester or other food premises.
• Only go where instructed to go on the day.
• Please bring your own drink and snack in a reusable container.
• Do not pick up anything sharp (broken glass, needles etc). Inform a host and we will remove it. We will have a sharps bin with us.
• Under 18's must be accompanied by a responsible adult, no children under 16 will be permitted due to the nature of the site and the type of rubbish that we will be picking up. FSF accepts no responsibility for minors attending the event.
• Participation is at the individual's own risk, but please report any incidents to the hosts.
• Do not put your hands anywhere near your face, especially your eyes or mouth during the clean. You never know what you may have touched and your gloves will probably be dirty.
• Return all equipment and litter to the collection/drop-off spot.
• Dogs are not permitted due to the type of clean up we are doing.
• Always be aware of traffic and moving vehicles.

We are grateful for any donations to help us continue our work - please visit our JustGiving Page if you would like to donate to our charities:

Final Straw Foundation: https://www.justgiving.com/finalstrawfdn

The Western Sussex Rivers Trust: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/18201#!/DonationDetails

WSRT acknowledge the support from The Boltini Trust and SDNPT (South Downs National Park Trust).