East Anglia branch AGM - Salt water and the Wash

In the historic city of Kings Lynn on Saturday 14th May the East Anglia Branch held a meeting on Salt water and the Wash and AGM.  Train network repairs caused chaos for some, parking in the busy market town created confusion for others, however over 50 members and guests managed to arrive for an interesting series of talks.

Professor Tony Davy, spoke about the management of the coastal realignment of Norfolk and the value of the bio diverse nature of salt marshes, the variety of birds it attracts, its beauty, the nutrients provided for fisheries and the ability of marshes to absorb coastal waves and greenhouse gases. 

Ed Munn, then took us through a delightful pictorial panorama of the animal kingdom from molecules to monsters, focusing on the marine environment.    

Rob Luck from the RSPB gave an inspirational talk on the natural wonders of the Wash, with 3 rivers draining into the region, the process of land claim for agriculture which began in 1797, finished in 1864 providing as area of 32,000 ha.  There was one final reclaim by HM Prison in 1983 at Boston, much of which is now being realigned to marsh land.  At any given time there are 400,000 birds and 2 million birds a year pass over the region.  The Wash is the Watford Gap for birds to refuel on route from south to north, with 100,000 birds sheltering here over the winter months. The wealth of cockles and mussels in the Wash attract Oystercatchers, Shelducks, Sanderlings and Avocets.  Other species such as the Godwits and Ringed Plovers filter the marshland for worms, snails and insects.  Most spectacular are the Icelandic Pink-footed geese which rise at dawn to feed on the remnants of the sugar beet harvests. 

Peta Denham from the Environment Agency spoke eloquently on the Wash Shoreline Management Plan, highlighting the balance required to protect residential areas from the encroaching sea together with the provision for wildlife, in allowing certain areas to naturally return to marshland.  A series of programmes are in place to monitor and understand regional needs in the light of recorded rising sea levels and warmer climates.

Liz Campbell