What would the magic of Egypt be without the Nile? When you think of Paris, you think of the Seine. The Danube is so big Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Croatia, Germany, Serbia, and Moldova ALL have it!
What do we have?
We have the Irwell, and it's quite beautiful, if you hadn't noticed, as this wonderful short film shows.
'Stories of the River Irwell' was made in an effort to raise awareness of the river, which was once known as the dirtiest in the UK (and in many ways, that perception continues today). The idea of catching fish in it was a joke for many years, but the Irwell stands as one of the best unsung conservation stories of the last century.
The film was produced in conjunction with the Irwell Valley Sustainable Communities Project which aims to engage communities across East Salford to help people to adapt to the effects of climate change and to support communities to live more sustainably. This includes subjects such as flooding, community growing, biodiversity and recycling.
'Stories of the Rover Irwell' was made by Dr Luke Blazejewski, an award-winning wildlife photographer living in Salford. He specialises in urban biodiversity, uncovering the hidden secrets of our post-industrial landscapes and documenting the biodiversity we share our everyday lives with. He is also the organiser of Nature in Salford, a local community project which seeks to educate people about their natural environment by organising wildlife walks to teach about the plants and animals found in Salford.
Stories of the River Irwell (2014) from Luke Blazejewski on Vimeo.
Luke says
'Not many people know it, but Salford is actually 60% green space. Today you only need to walk along the river to see kingfishers, little grebes, herons and cormorants, all feeding on the abundance of fish we now have in the river. The riverbank is also host to a fascinating range of insects, including the hummingbird hawk moth (which migrates to Britain from Africa) and the holly blue butterfly, as well as the infamous pink grasshopper found here earlier in the year, which gained international fame around the world in a number of newspapers.
We've had some wonderful feedback on the film, which has gone on to be officially selected and screened at film festivals around the country, demonstrating that people do care about their local environment. Rivers are incredibly exciting features to have in a city, but unfortunately perception can take much longer to change than reality, and many people still believe the Irwell to be beyond saving. Some days I find this heartbreaking, but every time I see a kingfisher fire past me I'm gently reminded that the River Irwell is the greatest river in the country.'
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Find out more about what's going on in Salford from Time Out.