No Nets for Trees: the University backs down

updated February 29

There has been a lot of publicity recently around the placing of nets over more than 20 trees at the Whittle Laboratory on JJ Thomson Avenue. They have been placed there by Cambridge University with the aim of discouraging birds from nesting during the planning process.

I deplore this use of netting to cover trees and and have never seen netting used this way before in Cambridge.

I really do not understand the reasoning behind this – the university normally takes long, considered views on their investments and has done so for over 800 years. But in this case, there seems to be an urgency that has resulted in harm to the landscaping and danger to the wildlife.

These trees seem to have no ivy growing on them, no scrubs around them, and the canopies are open so it would seem that the risk of birds nesting was low. This now has to be weighed against the risk of birds being injured by the nets themselves.

I explored what action the Council could take in regard to the netting and it is clear that we cannot.  The trees are privately owned and not protected.  Even if they were protected, currently it is not a criminal offence to use netting on trees or hedges.

While our options are limited, I requested a meeting with the University and expressed my grave concerns by email and in a number of phone conversations.  I wanted to understand why the University thought that netting trees was an acceptable way forward and if they can consider alternatives.

Now the university has acknowledged its mistake and agreed to remove all of the netting. In a tweet they said: We are removing the netting over trees in West Cambridge that have upset people. The decision to use nets to discourage nesting birds ahead of building works was wrong and we unreservedly apologise.

The tweet from Cambridge University

I’m pleased that they have realised that nets are not the way to deal with this issue, and hope that we can continue to discuss how best to resolve this issue in the longer term.

Running with Hedgehogs

Donate here!

Last year I was given the honour of sounding the starting horn of the Cambridge half marathon, but I won’t be able to do that this year, because I’ll be somewhere in the line getting ready to run!

It’s an exciting prospect, and I’ve been enjoying my training, and like many of the other runners, I’m hoping to raise money for a cause I think is important.

For this marathon I’ve chosen to support Cambridge Hedgehogs, a local charity that was formed last year. I got to know the three directors of Cambridge Hedgehogs after the council launched its hedgehog awareness campaign last year, and I was impressed by their concern for the plight of these wonderful small mammals, and the help they offer to sick or injured hedgehogs.

They also support hedgehog mapping through The Big Hedgehog Map to help get a better idea of how many hedgehogs we actually have in Cambridge. Nationally the population has declined 97% since 1945, so it’s very important information to gather.

Continue reading “Running with Hedgehogs”

Dealing with the Water Crisis in the Cambridge Area

Last year I organised a meeting of experts on water management and representatives from water companies and government agencies to discuss the issues that we face here in Cambridge such as low water flows in the chalk springs around Cambridge, especially at the Nine Wells nature reserve, and the potential impact on local biodiversity.

I believe that we are facing a potential ecological disaster if we do not work to ensure that the chalk streams and other tributaries of the Cam are properly managed and have sufficient water flowing through them, and I wanted to hear from experts about the current problems and what we might do.

We have now published the report of the event, and I hope that it will help as we try to decide what measures to take to address this serious issue.

You can download it here as a PDF. If you would like it in another format, please email me at katie.thornburrow@cambridge.gov.uk.

Report on Water Crisis Forum