It was an honour to be nominated for the South Norfolk District Council’s Environment Champions Award 2024, and an honour to win it against such strong competition.

Two of our committee members – myself and Carol Sharp – went along to the award supper at Bawburgh Golf Club. We were entirely unprepared to make a speech to camera (please move swiftly on if you see it on social media!).

Yet it was an honour to be nominated and to win. The most often cited achievement was the work at Browick Road Community Orchard and Ketts Park. However, people we talked to also knew of Friarscroft Wood, our work on Rothbury Park, river testing and clearing. So it’s a big shout-out to all those in the community who make those projects possible. The award is for you.

And our other celebration? Our test kit to check the levels of e-coli in the Tiffey has arrived, and will be put through its paces before a roll out of a regular testing programme later this month.

We are very grateful indeed to Councillor Suzanne Nuri-Nixon, who used part of her councillor’s ward funding to purchase the equipment. For those citizen scientists among you, our kit consists of sample bottles, syringes and petri dishes, with a specialist mini-oven to heat the samples.

We’ll also be discussing the best way to publicise the results so people are aware of any risks and can rest assured that they are fully informed.