 |
|
|
|
|
The River Swere Project
Location: Oxfordshire
The River Swere is 15.8 miles long. It arises from a spring in Over Norton parish and flows to the River Cherwell on the eastern edge of Deddington parish.
The project is documenting the natural and social heritage of the River including woodland, ponds, marshland and water mill sites. Eight water mill sites are mentioned in the Domesday Book, some of which are being included in the investigation.
The river is important to a number of villages in the area and volunteers have been recruited from these villages to help in the project, carrying out wildlife surveys and investigations into the profiles of the river and marshland. Many of these volunteers are experts in their fields and are led by Walter Meagher with an expertise in botany and by Peter Sheasby a botanist and wildlife photographer.
The inspiration for the project was the question, ‘Where does this river come from?’ and the impetus was Peter’s heart attack. He had to take regular exercise and for three times a week in good weather he and Walter walked along a section of its banks and over time literally got the picture of the river. ‘The River Swere is the great unifier in our landscape. It was here long before human habitation.’
The group have led river walks of local schoolchildren and villagers that have been very popular and they have created an exhibition of their work that was shown at the annual conference of the Botanical Society of the British Isles that attracted a lot of attention. ‘People saw what we had done and said, ‘We could do this…’ There are many places where a small river runs near or through their village and we are keen to show others what we have done because if we can do this, anybody in Britain could do it too. We hope that our work can be an example and inspiration to others.’
The book of the project should be ready for publication by mid 2004.
Group Name |
|
The River Swere Project |
| Project Postcode |
|
OX15 0TD |
| Finishing Date |
|
1st May 2004 |
| Local Community Involvement / Partnerships: |
| The Dyson Society, Local School, University of Oxford |
| Grants: |
Heritage Lottery Fund: £9,520
|
|
|
|
|
