WITH just a few days to go before the WYE JULY event, on Sunday, July 10 the Friends of the Lower Wye are busy ensuring the day is a great success.

The showcase is being held on the Green, next to Monnow Bridge in Monmouth from 11am to 3pm with many local clubs, groups and organisations that all have a connection to the river and valley joining in.

The idea of the event is to show how important the river is to all of us and the wildlife.

Run-off from fields that have been spread with chicken manure, which have proliferated in Powys and Herefordshire, is causing unprecedented damage to the river and its ecosystems.

An enormous surplus of chicken manure from Intensive Poultry Units is being spread on to fields surrounding the Wye and its tributaries, fields that are already saturated with nutrients.

These soils then wash into the river provoking algal blooms that starve the river of oxygen.

Changing farming practices and land use are also increasing soil loss in the catchment. Habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity is being witnessed along almost the entire length of the river.

Those attending WYE JULY include, Gwent Wildlife, Woodlands Trust, AONB to The Meadows group, Monmouth Rotary Club, SARA river rescue and Monmouth Angling club, plus many more.

Wye Valley Meadery will be launching a new special beer just for the event. It will be a cloudy, algae-free beer named ‘WYE’. Cloudy being the operative word in the river!

There will be wood fired pizza, plus kids corner and art from the valley, plus poetry and music.

Friends of the Lower Wye, citizen scientist will be assisting people to test the river checking the pollution levels.

The event will commence with an exciting procession from Shire Hall at 10.45am to the rousing rhythms of a Samba band and will include the ‘Algae Monster’. Supporters are invited to ‘Come join in and dance down to the river! Bring the sunshine with you! Come along for a great family day!’

Mike Dunsbee and Nick Day, founders of ‘Friends of the Lower Wye’ said: “It’s important that the authorities and both Welsh and English governments see that people do love the river and valley.

‘‘It’s time that these people make a decision to act before it’s too late. The river is being polluted in the main by agriculture (60 per cent of the pollution).

‘‘We have to work with the farmers and land owners plus the major chicken companies to have the manure taken out of the catchment area. We believe that all farms that have land that runs down to the river should become regenerative. We know it works and is profitable for the farmers. See you there, Sunday.July 10.’’