This report details the results of the 2015 Loe Pool boat and grapnel survey, part on an ongoing programme of macrophyte monitoring undertaken on this lake since 1999. The Loe is currently eutrophic and in unfavourable condition. It fails to meet Natural England’s conservation objectives for the macrophyte community composition, macrophyte community structure and…
Can your soil cope with rainfall? Book your place on the Soil Awareness Day – 25th Feb, near Helston
Helston periodically experiences flooding, caused by high amounts of surface runoff from the increasingly urbanized catchment flowing into a small and modified channel. Beatrix Webb (Masters student at Camborne School of Mines) spent 2015 investigating whether the geophysical technique of electrical resistivity can be used as a low cost method to improve the accuracy of flood prediction. The technique…
Huge congratulations to Cornwall Wildlife Trust for winning ‘Best example of Environmental Growth’ along with Westcountry Rivers Trust for our collaborative ‘Upstream Thinking’ project funded by South West Water. Shortlisted applicants spent the evening at the Headland Hotel in Newquay and were treated to an inspiring talk from environmentalist Jonathon Porritt before the awards were…
In 2013 Peter Nicholls, as part of his MSc at Camborne School of Mines, investigated the factual basis for the commonly held belief that Helston was historically a port town with access to the sea. Peter Nicholls successfully achieved his aim, of determining if Helston was historically a port town, through rigorous primary data collection cross referenced with…
Since 2014 Loe Pool Forum have been collaborating with Camborne School of Mines (CSM) on research in and around the Loe Pool. In 2015 Annabel Pardoe submitted her Master’s dissertation on Loe Bar and its changing geomorphology. Annabel’s dissertation was submitted as part of CSM’s Surveying with Land and Environmental Management course. Annabel’s investigation of Loe Bar…
We featured in the November issue of the MOD’s Sanctuary Magazine! Thanks to Sarah Maiden (Environmental Manager at Kelda Water Services) and Tim Gibb (SHE Advisor at RNAS Culdrose) for writing this article. Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose, located in West Cornwall in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, places great importance in its relationships with the local area and community.…
Since July, I’ve taken on the diverse and interesting role of the Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer for the West Cornwall Catchments which includes the River Cober catchment. My background as a Conservation Adviser for Natural England working across Cornwall has given me a good start in the new area of work. The main aim for…
In 2015 Katrina Threadgill conducted her MSc Geography dissertation on different ways people value the Cober catchment. You can read the full report here: Mapping social and biophysical values of ecosystem services on a catchment scale: a case study of the River Cober catchment, West Cornwall. Kindly Katrina has also summarised her research and findings for this…
Loe Pool Forum’s partnership with Exeter University’s Centre for Geography, Environment and Society has enabled mutually beneficial research opportunities. Geography students are granted data access and assistance on real world catchment problems and Loe Pool Forum benefit from insightful and useful reports. One recent research collaboration has been on the issue of land use and its relationship with downstream…
Loe Pool Forum 