Comments on: Can we trust The National Trust?

By: Martin Cassidy

Martin Cassidy — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:40:47 +0000

Not only on mainland UK is the National Trust distrusted. Check out our NdTNI – National disTrust Northern Ireland and start with the links page. The campaign is growing by the day.
http://nationaldistrust.blogspot.com/p/ndtni-links.html Keep up the good work, excellent site.

By: keir

keir — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:48:59 +0000

The NT actually recieves payments and funding from DEFRA for keeping waytercourses clean. I wonder if that money is being diverted elsewhere!

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:36:56 +0000

The photograph was taken in the wet summer of 2008 but I agree with your point and am depressed to see how much fertilizer is spread on Greenwich Park. It is bad for the native grasses and the park looks more beautiful when it is not bright green. I think the general problem is that parks are run by technicians instead of by (design) strategists. As Churchill used to say, scientists should be on tap and not on top.

By: Lara Hurley

Lara Hurley — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:27:13 +0000

The grass looks extremely green… Chemical run-off from over-zealous fertiliser applications could be to blame for the excessive algal bloom. We have an obsession in the UK for manicured lawns, often to the detriment of the beautiful reflections in our ponds.

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:04:18 +0000

curiously the trust were using barley at Oxburgh Hall some years back to keep the moat clear of Algae.

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:37:30 +0000

The National Trust spent a lot of money, some years ago, on repairing the edges of the Moon Pond. One wonders if this affected the biological balance in the water. There is no sign of spirogyra in the old Country Life photographs of Studley Royal.

By: Adam Hodge

Adam Hodge — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:34:28 +0000

I heard last year that the NT was very close to going bust..maybe they havent got the mullah to clear the weedah !

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:40:53 +0000

It would seem that blue-green algae is not just a problem in heritage landscapes. It also impacts the recreational and visual amenity of beaches and the health of the environment and ecosystems.[http://criticalmiami.com/2006/11/13/AlgaeinBiscayneBay]

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:00:19 +0000

I agree about scooping out the spirogyra – a man with a broad-brimmed hat in a punt would even be a picturesque addition to the garden scene. I have a photograph of such a scene in the Garden of the Humble Administrator.
They could probably get a volunteer to do it – and would be much more likely to do so if they had a Yorkshire Trust instead of a National Trust!

By: Aaron Hinds

Aaron Hinds — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:43:42 +0000

Barley straw at the water entry point is not nearly a glamorous enough way of spending their, clearly, hugely over funded budgets! Of course the lack of oxygen in the water is the problem and pea straw does help alleviate this, but I dont know if there is a water entry point and I think this forms part of the NT’s argument for spending £1m in the future. The hydrology in this garden was designed by an ‘amateur’ and the ponds are too shallow etc etc.

I dont think the reasons (as valid as they be) are relevant. Deal with it now by simply scooping it out with a swimming pool sieve, it is that simple, or not?. I think this example is symptomatic of a sick organisation, too much time standing around looking at the why and making excuses, while all the time the algae is multiplying and not being dealt with.

‘Better write another report and submit it to the committee…Slime? What slime? Isn’t this report on potential algae blooms interesting though?…We must circulate it to all our property managers…after passing it by the circulation committee first though’…

I am pleased to find that I am not the only one disillusioned by the NT. I thought them banning hunting from all their properties a few years ago was bad enough (this coming from advocates of our cultural heritage!).