The
River Don, Yorkshire
As with many rivers in the UK, the industrial
revolution had a devastating impact in the
River Don, turning it from a sparkling,
fish filled river into a lifeless channel
of effluent. By the 1900s outfalls of raw
or sparsely-treated sewage and discharges
from the many factories, steelworks and
foundries along its path turned it into
one of the most polluted rivers in Europe.
Over the last 25 years
the Environment Agency has worked with Yorkshire
Water to transform the river back to good
health. As well as major improvements at
Blackburn Meadows sewage treatment works,
where a new plant replaced the inefficient
works and vastly improved its discharges
to the Don, improvements were also made
to over 300 sewage overflows, including
at Porter Brook and the River Sheaf.
Diverse aquatic life
is now flourishing once again, and salmon
– which are extremely good indicators of
water quality – have recently returned to
lower parts of the Don. Local people and
visitors alike are enjoying the leisure
and recreational opportunities now offered
throughout the Don admiring the clear waters
and their diverse surroundings.
Charlestown, Cornwall
Charlestown is a 'must see' destination
for thousands of tourists who visit Cornwall
every year. It's an unspoilt Georgian Port
and home to Porthpean – a large sandy beach
which is a favourite with families.
In the late 1980s and
early 11000s this and several other beaches
repeatedly failed bathing water quality
tests. Investigations at the time found
that crude discharges of sewage from overflows
were the major contributing factor.
A programme of work
to improve bathing water quality by tackling
the sewage overflows began in the 11000s
and as a direct result, a new sewage treatment
plant to deal with waste from across the
area was constructed in 1993. At the same
time, major work was carried out on sewers
in the area. A new tunnel sewer was constructed,
which connected up to the new treatment
works and made it possible for some older
sewage overflows to be shut down.
Since then, sewage treatment
plants in the area have continued to be
improved and updated. As a result of this
work, all beaches in the area passed the
mandatory bathing water standard last year.
Further case studies
are available on request from the Press
Office.
Environment Agency helps
to tackle climate change with a polar bear,
a penguin, and a Christian
A campaign highlighting
the issues of climate change has today been
launched by the Environment Agency.
The campaign features
two winning films, written by students from
universities in the North West, from the
Environment Agency’s short film competition,
Tomorrow’s World.
The winning films were
announced at an awards ceremony and special
screening hosted by Prof. Phil Redmond,
and attended by Oscar nominated actor Pete
Postlethwaite.
The films are designed
to communicate important messages on climate
change to the business leaders of tomorrow.
The competition also provided an opportunity
for students from the region to showcase
their talent.
The two winning films,
written by students from Liverpool John
Moores University and the University of
Central Lancashire, fought off competition
from over 70 entries, to tackle the climate
change issues of flooding and limited water
resources.
Students from Liverpool
John Moores University picked up an award
for their creative response to the competition’s
water efficiency brief, ‘Human After All’.
The film makes use of performance capture
technology, the first time it has been used
in the UK, along with the sound track Human
After All courtesy of Daft Punk. The voices
of Terry Christian and Coolio were also
used as they played an animated penguin
and polar bear respectively.
Martin Langhorne of
University of Central Lancashire received
accolades for his submission, ‘Don’t Expect
a Miracle’, which also uses the voice over
of Terry Christian. The short-film was produced
as an atmospheric animation using a combination
of ‘pop-up’ book style graphics and live
action.
Suzanne Hughes, Regional
Communications Manager at the Environment
Agency said: “Climate change is happening
and the students of today are going to be
the business leaders of tomorrow. They are
the ones who are going to have to live with,
and adapt to climate change. It is important
that they understand the very real issues
which they will face.
“The aim of this competition
was to engage with students and young adults
in an innovative and exciting way. We wanted
to get them involved, spread the word amongst
their peers, and ultimately get people to
think twice about some of their behaviours
and issues.”
Pete Postlethwaite who
is backing the campaign said: “It’s great
to see students getting involved with a
project as vital as this. Obviously it’s
imperative that people realise, first and
foremost, that climate change is actually
happening, and secondly that we need to
act now. The younger generation of today
will no doubt be the leaders of tomorrow.
This inspired competition has given some
of them the chance to get really involved
with these vital issues and speak, through
film making, directly with their peers.
We have the Environment Agency to thank
for this.”
Terry Christian commented: “It is good to
see the Environment Agency engaging with
students in this way, encouraging them to
take ownership of climate change. It’s important
that we all acknowledge the role we can
play in preparing for and adapting to climate
change.”
The films will now be
used as part of The Environment Agency’s
campaign to raise awareness about environmental
issues and help change behaviours.
The winning short films
can be viewed at www.tomorrowsworldcompetition.com
from 29 April 2009.
Ends
More details contact
Ric Coggins
+ More
Notes to editors:
Images, audio and video clip from the films
are available on request.
The films were produced
and directed by Manchester agencies Vivid
and Gate Films, on behalf of the Environment
Agency.
The briefs, rules and
other information on the competition can
be found on www.tomorrowsworldcompetition.com
