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Newport Rivers

The Newport Rivers Group is a partnership of organizations and individuals who share a common goal of improving and enhancing the three rivers that flow through Newport for people and wildlife alike. Linking the local authority, the parish council, community leaders, local residents and businesses, the Group is an invaluable mechanism for the delivery of the Environment Agency’s Newport Rivers Project, a regional flagship programme which aims to “conserve, enhance and re-create the wetland capacity of catchments as part of our contribution to rebuilding biodiversity on a landscape scale”.

The rivers in and around Newport – the Medina, the Lukely and the Gunville catchments – have been heavily modified in recent history, leaving them with a limited value both to native wildlife and as an amenity for local people. The Group delivers a wide range of improvements to public spaces in town and in the wider riparian countryside, ranging from large scale engineering projects such as the restoration of Towngate Pond to smaller initiatives such as school projects, walks and tree-planting. The Group was also responsible for the creation of Newport’s popular Riverfest and the Medina Rediscovered programme.

Projects to date include:

  • Pan Mill Meadows
  • Carisbrooke (Eight Bells) Pond
  • Pritchett’s Pond (Hinton Road)
  • Priory Pond
  • Towngate Pond and St Cross Mill
  • Mill Trail Walk

The Newport Rivers Group endeavours to bring lasting benefit to the Island in all that it undertakes. Over the years, it has been the driving force behind the transformation of many of the Newport’s most overlooked riverside sites – turning them into amazing green places that we all appreciate daily and at the same time ensuring an all-important breathing space, even in the most urban areas, for island nature and wildlife.

For more information on the Group’s conservation and community work, or for a copy of the popular Mill Trail walk, please contact Claire at claire.hector@naturalenterprise.co.uk or call 01983 201566

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