On April 24th Annette and Sue R joined a Cheshire Federation (CFWI) trip to explore the Mersey Gateway. We were welcomed to the Catalyst Museum in Widnes by our ex President Sue Bentley, now Chairman of the CWFI Public Affairs Committee.
The day began with a fascinating talk from an excellent speaker who was one of the 3 members of staff of the Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust. The Trust was set up to monitor the wildlife on, in and around the River Mersey from the new bridge up to Warrington – before, after and while the new bridge was being built.
The purpose was to assess the environmental impact of the bridge building project. The results have shown that the Mersey is such a powerful river, with so much tidal flow, that the building of the bridge has made little difference to the wildlife.
We explored the Catalyst Museum, full of extraordinary history and characters of the local Chemical industry before watching water samples being collected from the river. The samples revealed an abundance of very active small creatures which we were able to observe through powerful microscopes. Certainly a healthy river. We then saw lots of bird and plant life during a guided walk round the Spike Island park. A very interesting and varied day.