The River Wye is the fourth longest river in the UK, running along the border of England and Wales, and designated as a Special Area of Conservation. Despite this protected status the river is in a catastrophic state. Officially downgraded to "unfavourable decline", this means that water health in many parts of the river is critically bad.
On 12th October I will attempt an ultra marathon to beat the Fastest Known Time for running the 219km Wye Valley Walk, following the River Wye from its source in Plynlimon to the estuary by Chepstow. This is by far the furthest I have ever attempted to run.
I am taking on this daunting challenge to raise awareness and funds for the campaign, led by the Friends of the River Wye, to restore the river: ‘for all the wildlife that calls it home, for the local communities who depend on it, and for the visitors who come to enjoy this beautiful river landscape.’ The funds will be used to train, equip and support Citizen Scientists who are gathering data on the state of the river. Already Citizen Scientists have had successes, for example by providing consistent data showing the worryingly high levels of phosphate along the course of Cage Brook, which joins the Wye, consequently contributing to Welsh Water being fined for the poor performance of one of their nearby sewage treatment works.
But there is so much more to do to rescue the Wye and its tributaries. It has already suffered great biodiversity loss due to suffocating algal blooms from excess phosphate levels, and experienced devastating ecological phenomena such as mass fish deaths. Since being officially declared the first Welsh inland bathing water in June, the historic swimming area of the Warren at Hay-on-Wye, is now officially monitored for bathing safety. The first test of the schedule ‘found that the two forms of bacteria used to judge the fitness of bathing waters - Enterococci and E. Coli - were at levels of more than 5 and 7 times the safe limit for bathing, respectively’ and therefore by July the council erected signs advising against bathing there.
I am excited to work with Christina from Christina Transformational Coaching in this project. Christina is the reason I have been able to take on such big challenges, and together we will be exploring the mindsets needed to take on these big challenges that take us beyond our ordinary - as adventurers, changemakers or in our everyday personal and professional lives. You can sign up to the mailing list to keep in the loop about related webinars and events, and additional resources, including support for you to take your own pledge to go beyond your ordinary for the benefit of people, planet and yourself. The first event is a webinar on 18th September find out more and sign up here.
If you are able to donate then please do support this campaign.
Whether you can donate or not, please share with friends, family and colleagues, and make your pledge to do something beyond your ordinary here.