Show your conservative values - volunteer and help nature

To me conservative values have always been about community, engagement and the environment. These principles are enshrined in the conservative tradition, dating back to the 18th century works of Edmund Burke, the founder of modern conservatism. They can also be seen in David Cameron’s work on the Big Society and in Boris Johnson’s levelling up agenda.

Bertie Ballinger, CEN Ambassador

When I moved back to Worcester in 2023, I was keen to put these values into practice and get involved in the local community and, in turn, local politics. 

I soon came across the Friends of Laugherne Brook. Working in the local Worcester community, they are both environmental and - because they embrace so many of these principles we all hold dear - mostly conservatives themselves. 

Working together with them, our mission has been to improve the water quality of the local brook - a problem all too often experienced by local communities up and down the country. 

Citizen science is one of the best weapons in our arsenal against pollution. Once trained, we can look after our environment for future generation, through water testing, bug survey etc. With additional data sources, we can find issues, raise the alarm, and hold polluters to account. After all, government and non-government organisations cannot be everywhere to monitor issues. 

And in September 2024, we showed just how important citizen science and community-led initiatives like this are so important to protecting our local environment. 

Volunteers at the Friends of Laugherne Brook, and across the country, took part in the Great WaterBlitz campaign. The aim of the campaign was to collect water samples across the country and see what the quality of the water was, specifically, the nitrate and phosphate levels. During this testing it was found that the Laugherne Brook had very high nitrate and phosphate levels, consistently throughout the brook, and in concentrated areas along its watercourse.

This discovery has allowed us to drum up local support and hold those responsible accountable, forcing the Environment Agency to visit and explain how regular measurements would help us track the brook’s health and help identify the causes. 

We then went further, taking the data to members at the Worcester City Council’s Environment Committee in January to ensure they take action. We asked them to work more with the local volunteer groups and use their powers to hold Severn Trent and other polluters accountable. The issue of water quality continues to be very salient with the public, so strong media coverage followed, helping to spotlight this important issue.

As a result of our locally-led campaign, in February Severn Trent installed a new phosphate sensor at their Sewage Discharge Station on the Laugherne Brook in Hallow, demonstrating that determination and local campaigning can lead to important changes.

Now in May, we have tested the waters again and found that the levels of nitrate and phosphate have both dropped, significantly in the case of phosphate. This was the news I had been waiting for. Proof that the campaign was paying off in a meaningful way. 

But we’re not stopping there. I will be speaking to other district and parish councils along the Laugherne Brooks watercourse to encourage more volunteers to come forward to help. Together we can make our brook and environment better for us and the future generations.

I feel incredibly proud of the achievements of our small group of volunteers. The Laugherne Brook is healing, and we will soon be better equipped to collect and share data on its health and hold polluters to account. More still needs to be done, but it's good to celebrate the little things. 

For Conservatives struggling with the losses to Reform and the Green Party at the local elections, it’s important to see that Conservatives can lead in fighting for our environment, through grassroot activities and local pressure.

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