Raven - Rainow

Rainow ScoopsNew Cheshire AwardNot many people in Rainow know anything about Essar –the big Indian oil company – but the company has neverthelesshad an impact on us. Last year it bought Shell’sStanlow Refinery, Britain’s second largest refinery whichemploys nearly a thousand people, mostly in CheshireWest. So how is this relevant to us? The answer lies in the factthat Shell’s legacy contained not only the refinery but theresponsibility for the prestigious Community Pride Competitionopen to every village and small town in Cheshire which Shell ranfor several years. Raven readers will remember that our mostrecent big successes in the Shell competition were celebrated onthe cover of our Autumn issue three years ago when we won theCommunity Spirit Award (and when the Raven won its firstaward as Best Community Newspaper!) In that year’scompetition we also picked up a Little Gem Award for thePleasance Garden.Essar teamed up with Cheshire Life to keep this popularcompetition going and also kept the same standards for thejudging process. Judges visited us twice during the year andwere able to see the village as it really is, not specially madeover for the inspectors. This year the competition retained theBest Kept Village format but added a new award for the villageshowing the most improvement during the past year.The good news is that Rainow scooped up this new award – thatof “Best Kept Village Improvement” – plus two further awards; asecond Community Newsletter award for the Raven and anotherLittle Gem Award for the Mill Pond and Waterfall. In ourpopulation group we featured in the top five in Cheshire for theoverall Best Kept Village Award, won in the end by Tattenhall.Out of fifty Cheshire villages, Rainow was the only one to walkaway with three awards.John Cantrell and Carole Harveypick up the plaque!The awards are a closely guarded secret until the night of thepresentations and it was good that two of our Parish Councillors,John Cantrell and Carole Harvey, were on hand to receive theawards. Both were needed as the giant plaque for the mainaward needed two to hold it! Local MPs David Rutley andGraham Evans were both at the ceremony to see Rainow takethe awards and congratulate the councillors.Winning the main award is down to the work of ParishCouncillors and other volunteers whose hard work during theyear has born fruit and to the efforts of householders with a pridein their village. The plaque will become a familiar sight in thevillage alongside the commemorative plates which record pastawards but this time we will hold it for twelve months. Next yearwe try again for another big one!Every year Macclesfield RSPB Wildlife Explorers hold a TreeDressing event to remind children of the importance of treesfor wildlife and in our history and culture. Children gathernatural materials; add clay and a healthy dose of imaginationto decorate trees with mysterious faces, the figures of woodlandsprites and all manner of creatures invented and real.This year’s event will be particularly poignant as trees have beenhitting the headlines recently. Chalara fraxinea is a fungus thatcauses Chalara dieback, a serious disease of ash trees that oftenresults in death of the tree. It is believed to have entered thecountry on plants imported from continental Europe althoughsome outbreaks are proving more difficult to explain and thespread of fungal spores by other means is also being considered.Ash trees with their distinctive black buds are important trees ofour woodlands and hedgerows that support a wide range ofwildlife. They grow up to 100ft tall and can live for 200 years.Even the timing of ash leaf burst is immortalised in folklore:Oak before ash – we're in for a splashAsh before oak – we're in for a soakWe have faced similar threats before – if you grew up in thesixties you will remember how Dutch Elm disease ravaged ourcountryside – but we can't make a direct comparison with the twodiseases as in Dutch Elm disease the fungus responsible was4If you go down to the woods todayby Tina Hanak (Group Leader, Macclesfield RSPB Wildlife Explorers)transmitted by a beetle. We don't know what the introduction ofChalara will mean for our ash trees although the experience inDenmark where 90% of their trees were affected makes it difficultto feel optimistic. Nature often has a way of springing back –some trees may develop resistance to Chalara and maybeforestry industry and public awareness will limit its spread in thewider countryside.Perhaps the biggest lesson we can learn from this outbreak isthat we should be questioning where the plants we buy aresourced. If you have ever purchased a native tree from a gardencentre, you probably assumed that it was grown in a nursery inthe UK. Imports of ash trees were stopped too long after thedisease was first reported here – we should encourage ourgovernment to react more quickly and decisively in the face ofsuch ecological threats.Perhaps this should also serve as a timely reminder that weshouldn't take our trees, woods and natural spaces for granted.Let's walk, play, explore and enjoy. We can't predict the changestomorrow will bring to our landscape so we should make themost of it today.For inspirational wildlife activities for children and young peopleplease check out the website: www.macclesfieldrspb.org.uk.Follow the group on Twitter@Maccwildlife