FOMV

What started as a little spring cleaning, light exfoliation just off the path next to Orion’s Orchard spiralled into soon the Meddy’s newest seating area. Now that the bags and bags and bags of household waste have gone, we can NOW SEE THE RIVER! ‘What the ****, didn’t even know that was there!’ is probably the best feedback you can get.

Displaying the River Medlock where possible is crucial, as much of the river’s course above and below the LMV remains in a concrete culvert (Under Man city parking) or extremely lowered (Oxford Road Train station). These techniques are ye’ oldy and done to hide a river full of Manchester’s finest industrial run-off, with the LMV area historically contributing with riverside dyeworks and limekilns. But like I said this is historical stuff, so the river is all big sunshine and rainbows now, right? Weeeeeelllll whilst I’ve been extremely lucky to see Herons, Brown River Trout and the flash of a Kingfisher I’ve also seen poo poo and its slimy trail of flushable wipes. I don’t know about y’all but I’m not keen on poo poo in the river, and think Mancunians deserve better and don’t we all know that we pay council tax.

Therefore, whilst increasing river visibility displays the surprising ecology, it also means locals can see the occasional mistreatment of their ecological asset, with the following appropriate outrage…are you listening Bev G? Keep an eye out for some new signs around the river which will offer resources on how to respond to what you see on your Medlock.

Anyway, it is far from all poo poo, we are enjoying the last bits of summer colour before the dreaded Manchester winter sets in, harvesting the bright red San Marzano tomatoes and sunshine yellow squashes from the community allotment, truly Beswick’s Best.

We’ve also got some cool stuff starting up behind the scenes which I don’t want to jinx, but the Medlock is definably starting to find its new rhythm…

See you about,

Alex, FOMV