Lord Deben to become Patron of the River Deben Association

The River Deben Association (RDA) is delighted to announce that Lord Deben will become its patron from October 2024, supporting the association in its efforts to understand and protect the River Deben and conserve it for all users.

The RDA invited Lord Deben to support the association as patron following a very successful talk last autumn titled ‘Net Zero – where are we now?’ on climate change and why it matters, and we are honoured that he has accepted the invitation. Many of our more than 900 members attended Lord Deben’s thought-provoking talk and for those who missed it a report is available on the RDA website.

Continue reading

Artist and printmaker Angela Harding finds inspiration on the Deben

The intricate, stylised linocut designs of wildlife, rivers and landscapes created by the artist and printmaker Angela Harding are instantly recognisable.

First used widely in greetings cards and magazine illustrations, the images have also featured as distinctive book covers. There was the iconic image for ‘The Salt Path’ by Raynor Winn, the series of PD James crime novels and recently the cover for ‘Blossomise, the new book by poet laureate Simon Armitage, and the illustrated version of ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree.

Continue reading

River Deben Association Autumn Talk – Confessions of a Serial Litter Picker

Jason Alexander has established an award-winning UK social enterprise dedicated to inspiring long-term positive changes in attitudes towards littering.

Based at the UK’s first Vintage Litter Museum located just off Jetty Lane in Woodbridge, Jason hosts a variety of community groups, clubs and events designed to give people the knowledge, skills and encouragement to live a litter-free lifestyle.

The River Deben Association is really pleased to have Jason come to talk about his vision, experiences and achievements. He will be bringing exhibits from the museum, and there will be plenty of time for questions after the talk.

Entry is free for RDA members and under 18s, £5 for non-members.
Free refreshments will be served.
Tickets are available from Eventbrite
For more information on membership, see here.

Deben Forum Report July 2024

by Colin Nicholson

24 organisations from across the Deben Estuary were represented with 27 attendees discussing issues and suggesting solutions. On this occasion speed was seen as a major focus. 

Following a Covid-related hiatus, The Deben Forum was again convened by the River Deben Association (RDA).  The Deben Forum took place at The Quay Church, Woodbridge with costs borne by the RDA membership.  With the Deben Forum falling within the busy holiday period, it is hoped that even more organisations can be present next time.

 The Deben Forum acts as a useful body to get all the Estuary’s Fairways Committees (amongst other organisations) together in one place to coordinate policy, share experience, increase awareness of other parts of river and share best practice.  An example would be the co-ordination of views on speed limits and an agreement on a buoy scheme to promote low wash which was achieved in just 20 mins at the Deben Forum after months of inactivity.

Colin and Matt

 Led by Colin Nicholson (RDA Co-Chair) and Matt Lis (RDA Business Interests) representatives introduced themselves, their organisation and items of interest/seen as issues leading to a ranking for the subjects of most interest.  Ben Grundy, Chair of the Kyson Fairways Committee and RDA Committee member would also have led discussions but work commitments forced his absence.

Continue reading

Dicotyledonous Plants  of the local Shingle Seashore

By Peter Jones

Background to this article

In 2022 Julia Jones took photos of some plants growing on the beach on the Bawdsey Side of the river deben and asked members of the RDA to help with identification [Plants of the Deben – a plea for help – River Deben Association]. 

Bawdsey Beach, July 2022

One of the problems of doing so was because some of the photos were not very sharp.  The usual reason for this if they were taken on a smartphone is not the quality of the camera but because smartphones are very light, have to be held away from the body in order to see the screen, are difficult to keep absolutely still,  particularly if it is windy (which it usually is at the seaside), so move very slightly during the exposure (the problem varies slightly with the lighting conditions – exposures are longer in lower light conditions, so even very slight movement can cause slight blurring). 

I therefore offered to try to obtain clearer photos using my DSLR camera which is heavier and held against the face in use.  I did not make special visits to take photos and it happened that I was never there when the few and sparsely scattered grasses were in flower, so they have not, so far, been included.   There are also some patches of lichen to be found here and there and I have neither expertise nor reference books to enable accurate identification of these (I suspect this is a group of organisms, like some larger fungi, where amateurs make quick confident identifications but experts are more guarded.).

Below are photographs of 14 species of dicotyledonous plants but there are certainly more, including a vetch (or perhaps two) photographed along with other plants but unidentifiable because they were not in flower and some other plants which were either before or after flowering at the times of my visits.  To compile a comprehensive list would require systematic searching of the area on visits at reasonably close intervals over an entire growing season or more.

Editors note: Dicotyledonous plants are one of the two main groups of all flowering plants. They typically have two embryonic leaves either side on the seed head Continue reading

Liz Kennedy 1929-2023 – A tribute

By Gareth Thomas

If ever there was a woman with the River Deben in her blood and Waldringfield in her system it was Liz Kennedy who passed away on December 22nd2023, having attained the grand age of 94 and having retained true independence until just over a year before.

On January 25th 2024 her family, her friends, her recent carers and the residents of Waldringfield turned out in huge numbers at All Saints’ Church, overflowing into a packed Church Hall to celebrate her life. She was a true lover of the River Deben and well-known to many members of the River Deben Association.  

Liz Kennedy at the helm of her clinker-built dinghy, Check  (photo by Roger Stollery)

Continue reading