Category Archive

We’re running  a series of balsam pulls over the next few weeks – here are the dates confirmed so far. More will be added as time goes on. If you’d like to join in, please let us know via events@riverfosssociety.co.uk so that the leader knows who to expect and can contact you if there are any changes due to weather … Read More

Alan Robertshaw is leading a bid to create a hay meadow in the grassy area behind West Nooks. He says: “City of York Council has now agreed to support the creation of a woodland wildflower meadow as part of the area of land between West Nooks and the River Foss. In the short term a relatively small area has already … Read More

We talk a lot about Water Voles on the Foss, and from time to time we see traces of them, though the last time was in 2018. The survey done at the behest of the Environment Agency in the area of the Strensall flood alleviation project was quite depressing with no confirmed sightings or active burrows. So here are some … Read More

  Have you got any old photos of the Foss carefully (or even carelessly) stashed away?   Would you like to share them with the RFS and through us with the wider world? (Not essential – we can just keep them in our archive if you prefer.)   We’ve got three reasons for asking you.   One is for a … Read More

I’m sure you’ve seen and heard quite a bit about otters and mink, recently regarding Covid in farmed mink, but also over many months concerning the effect each of them has on the environment. We have both of these mammals along the Foss from time to time, and have had quite a few reports, as well as photos and videos, … Read More

We’ve got three new videos on the site for you to enjoy, have a look under “The River” 1) Water Monitoring – carrying out the monthly check of water quality 2) Litter picking – a glimpse of the last water-borne pitter pick 3) Slow ‘TV’ – a trip along the Foss from Huntington Road in a kayak.

The RFS has for quite a while been trying to get the waymarking of the Foss Walk improved and the path maintained. Council budgets did not allow for such activities before Covid, thanks mainly to government cuts, so now it’s going to be impossible for the foreseeable future. We’ve been talking to NYCC for a while and the culmination of … Read More

A lot of members collect litter as they walk alongside the Foss, either as a useful adjunct to their walk, or as its main purpose. Without these efforts I can’t imagine what state the riverbanks would be in. Tim went one stage further and used a grapnel to haul out a selection of old bikes and supermarket trolleys – the … Read More

Water Voles. A couple of years ago a group of members together with volunteers from St Nicks waded up most of the Foss from Yearsley baths to Towthorpe and found recent or active water vole traces in several places. We intended to repeat the exercise this summer, particularly as the water levels were very low, but Covid put a stop … Read More

The photos here were taken by Lynne Kinder along Huntington Road recently. It just goes to show that invasive non native species can be pretty – you can see why they are bred for their fur But their voracious appetites and the absence of predators to control them is dangerous It’s no coincidence that we have had no reports of … Read More