Just bumping this scheme with the text and a few more photos from my recent Descent article (in case folk don't read it). We've a few rewards to announce from recent posts in the next few days. If you've been cleaning up anywhere why not write up your efforts here both to encourage others and maybe earn yourself some free gear.
I like Gavel Pot. It?s a great caving trip. From the huge open entrance punched into Leck Fell, to the classic, clean washed vadose pitches which lead to the sump it is fun, fun, fun all the way. A side passage off the main streamway leads to Glasfurd?s, a well decorated chamber and phreatic tunnel which hints of further discovery. I have had many trips down this classic pothole over the years mostly just for fun but also carrying diving bottles to the sump and on several occasions to Glasfurd?s to look at the potential for digs.
I accompanied some friends there shortly after the founding of the Cave Conservation Reward initiative and with fresh eyes I was able to see all the junk that littered this fine section of cave. It had been there for a long time and I had seen it on many occasions but somehow I had always chosen to ignore it. This is a popular trip so I know I am not alone in this. Clearly all this gear was abandoned but it only really struck me now, how foreign it was and shouldn?t be there at all.
Four of us decided on a follow up trip to clear it all out. There were three specific sites in Glasfurd?s of concern. Upstream from the entry point was a long length of yellow ?gas main? pipe. About 30m long it ended buried and silted up into a muddy sump. Even with four people pulling, the end could not be dislodged from the mud and it had to be hacksawed off underwater. Downstream from the entry chamber was another abandoned dig. Here was a large sack of ?gone hard? cement. A bottomless metal bucket, some rotten ?clothes? in plastic bags, plastic buckets and other bits and bobs. To the east, at the end of the well decorated phreatic tunnel was the majority of abandoned gear from a project long past. Before the end, a long length of garden hose lay tangled and half buried in a dried up pool. A broken bang wire tied around objects headed to the choke at the end. Here, was an assortment of rusting tools, plastic pipe and rotten wood, two ladders, one metal and one wooden which fell to pieces as it was moved back down the passage and other scraps of dig paraphernalia.
It took a lot of effort to ferry all the gear out of the cave and twelve journeys to get it all up to the car park. At the bottom of the second pitch we picked up even more gear including the broken bucket mentioned in the last issue of Descent. It seemed to emphasise the point as every visitor to the cave had to practically step over it, but no one, including myself, had thought to bring it out. Afterwards I pondered what had put me off clearing this up before, not even bringing out that single broken bucket. Perhaps it was because the emphasis has always been placed on not touching other peoples gear rather than questioning why it was there in the first place.
Also it is important to note, that there is no blame game here, it doesn?t matter who took this gear underground all those years ago, the important thing is to remove it now and try to prevent the same thing happening in the future.
This is what the initiative is all about, clearing out the abandoned junk from our caves and changing attitudes about taking more back down in the future. The BCA Minimal Impact Code suggests that diggers should;
?Make a plan right from the beginning to remove all redundant equipment upon completion of an exploratory dig. If the dig fails ?to go? provision should be made to clear up before all interest is lost. Leave the dig in a safe and tidy condition. Seek help from other cavers if necessary.?
This is common sense but hasn?t always happened. Perhaps the emphasis should be on the diggers to take more responsibility of the gear that they take underground so that it isn?t left up to others to remove decades later. The question of when digging gear is in use, when it is abandoned and when it is somewhere in between is challenged by the ?if in doubt ? bring it out? slogan and worries were expressed that well-meaning cavers may remove some essential gear. Of course cavers should make checks before removing anything they think may still be in use, it is not so hard and a little common sense goes a long way. A better slogan for the future may be ?Cave Conservation Rewards? ? ?Changing Attitudes Underground?.
The emphasis of this report has been on abandoned digging gear, but then there is so much of it about. However, clean ups can come in many forms from litter picking to clearing up washed in flood material and removing old carbide dumps to jet washing mud splashes. A quick tally suggests that some 40 bags of rubbish have been removed from 18 caves so far. Rewards given away so far include, Petzl Classic tackle bags, Exped Work and Rescue waterproof rucksacks, Berger books, a Petzl Spatha knife, waterproof socks and more. Let?s get cleaning.
At the moment the scheme is supported by;
The Buttered Badger Potholing Club, CAN Geotechnical Ltd, Mark Wright Training, The Berger Book, CNCC Conservation Volunteers, Hitch n Hike and Ukcaving.com. More are welcome.
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