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Pollution

Pollution is something that is harmful to the environment. The Bourn Brook is quite clean, as there is lots of wildlife in the stream (shrimps, mayfly larvae, sticklebacks). Even so, there is some pollution.

Some of the visitors to Woodgate Valley are not very careful with their litter. There are often plastic bags and sweet wrappers in the stream. Plastic does not rot and is harmful to the environment.
There are sometimes chemicals polluting the stream. There are patches of orange rust, and bacteria feed on the rust. We occasionally see oil on the water, which is washed in from nearby roads. Foamy detergent sometimes gets into the stream, from local houses. These chemicals (rust, oil, detergent) are poisonous to wildlife.