what does the westcountry rivers trust do?

Westcountry Rivers Trust

Data Visualisation and Mapping

We are passionate about rivers and are always on the look

out for ways to help understand these complex systems

better and show them off to the world!

From maps and models to graphs and infographics, we are

always exploring innovative ways to visualise the data we

have gathered for each of our rivers.

At the Westcountry Rivers Trust, we are highly experienced

in GIS mapping, which we use to help us interpret,

understand and display various sources of data so we can

build up a picture of what is going on in our rivers. As well

as working in the West Country, we have been supporting a

wide range of organisation across the country in mapping

projects.

It is our use of the latest technology, whether in data

visualisation and mapping or for monitoring, surveying and

improving our rivers, that underlies the success we have at

the Westcountry Rivers Trust as a leading river management

organisation.


Bringing our rivers to life for the

benefit of all by protecting

habitats and species, balancing

land-use and reconnecting people

with their local river

Rain-Charm House, Kyl Cober Parc,

Stoke Climsland, Cornwall, PL17 8PH

[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Walkover Surveys

There is now a wealth of data available to help characterise

our river catchments. But there is no substitute for heading

down to the river and seeing the state of our rivers for

ourselves.

At the Westcountry Rivers Trust we carry out walkover

surveys so we can properly understand the local

environments in and around our rivers.

These walkover surveys help us to accurately capture how

and where the various physical habitat features change

along the river and its banks. Therefore we can identify

specific problems for fish populations (especially salmonids)

and more effectively target our river restoration efforts.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Electrofishing

Westcountry rivers are a stronghold for iconic wildlife. As

the health of our rivers improves across the region, we are

working hard to look after our fish stocks and ensure that

the magnificent salmon and trout populations continue to

return from the sea to spawn in our rivers.

Electrofishing is crucial to our efforts and our ongoing, high

density electrofishing campaigns are now running across six

catchments.

Every year electrofishing surveys give us essential

information about the state of fish stocks in each river. This

knowledge is important for indicating the health of our river

systems, allowing us to identify and target work.

We are thrilled that our electrofishing surveys have already

proved the success of our weir removal and fish passage

improvements in allowing fish to access and spawn in new

areas.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Farm Visits and Advice

Not only do we ask farmers to produce food from their

land, but we also need them to manage a number of other

outputs for which they do not get paid: providing clean

water, creating space for wildlife, storing flood waters,

protecting the character of the landscape and storing water

during drought.

At the Westcountry Rivers Trust we work with farmers to

help them provide the food they sell and these services.

As part of the South West Water funded ‘Upstream

Thinking’ project, our experienced farm advisors offer farm

visits, advice and support for farmers.

With our ‘win-win’ approach, we work with local farmers to

reduce the loss of nutrients and chemicals from the land

and, at the same time, bring financial benefits, whether

through reduced expenditure on fertilisers or through grant

funding.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Ecology

From oak woodland and peat moorlands to culm wetlands

and spectacular moorland streams, the West Country is

steeped in stunning natural habitats and home to a wide

array of iconic wildlife.

Many of these species have been struggling but in recent

years we have seen their fortunes improve. We want to

ensure that these improvements continue.

Whether by reducing water pollution, improving fish access

or restoring the natural mosaic of river and bankside

habitat, we aim to give aquatic wildlife the best chance of

thriving in our West Country rivers.

We are always on the look out for new ways to protect

nature in the region. We are currently working to restore

critically endangered freshwater pearl mussels in our rivers

and, as part of our ‘Salmon in the Classroom’ project, we

have teamed with local schools to hatch salmon eggs and

release them into the River Exe.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Westcountry Angling Passport

The West Country has a host of beautiful rivers and fishing

is a great way to enjoy the wildlife and scenery on offer.

The Westcountry Angling Passport Scheme offers fishing for

wild brown trout, sea trout, salmon, grayling and coarse fish

in unrivalled surroundings. There are 33 beats in the area as

well as Token Fisheries and the extensive Dartmoor Fishery

on the East and West Dart and tributaries.

With our token scheme offering a source of income for beat

owners, we not only open up more of our Westcountry

rivers for the enjoyment of anglers, but also help flag up the

benefits of looking after our rivers.

We’ve also produced a series of iGhillie films to encourage

everyone to give fishing a go and we are always on the hunt

for new ways to get people out on the river and find their

love of fishing.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Fish Access

WRT are dedicated to removing barriers in our West

Country rivers so migrating fish can once again have full

access to their spawning grounds.

Over the last few years our team have been busy

investigating weirs and investing time and resources to

remove these barriers and improve fish access.

With all our hard work, it’s great to see fish return to rivers

once barred for fish. It’s only been one year since we

removed a weir on the River Lerryn and we’ve already seen

the return of brown trout, bullhead and eels!









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Education

We, ourselves, are passionate about rivers and fascinated by

their history, nature and role in our communities. We are

also passionate about sharing this understanding and

spreading our excitement across generations.

We have developed a wide range of educational activities

including running vocational courses, community talks,

advisor training and college modules.

This year we were delighted to become a STEM partner with

Lewannick Primary School, working with their Eco Warriers

group.

We have also been busy meeting and chatting to people at

numerous festivals and fairs, getting children involved with

invertebrate monitoring and catchment management (with

the help of our catchment model, complete with rainfall and

cocoa powder pollution!)









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Citizen Science

We know that when people have the opportunity to get

down to their local river, learn about its vital role in our lives

and take a hands-on approach to making it a better,

healthier place; that’s when we can make the greatest

improvements.

Our Citizen Science programme gives people the tools, skills

and knowledge they need to care for their local river

themselves and also to support us as we do the same.

Between our FreshWater Watch scheme, River Buffs project

and various projects and partnerships with schools, we are

excited to see a growing body of people getting involved

and engaged with their river and contributing to its

improvement.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Monitoring

We are always on the hunt for the best evidence to help us

understand our rivers here in the West Country. What can

we do to improve their health? How do we know we are

doing the right thing?

As part of our extensive monitoring programme for the

South West Water funded ‘Upstream Thinking’ project, we

use the latest technology to build up our knowledge of our

river systems. Our farm advisors regularly test water quality,

helping us to capture any differences in the health of our

rivers from place to place and see how this changes

throughout the seasons and over the years .

We combine this ‘spot sampling’ approach with data from

our high resolution data loggers (which are left in the river

to take 96 measurements a day), Chemcatchers, biological

surveys (mainly focussing on fish and invertebrates) and our

Citizen Scientists.

This constant stream of information is what gives us the

best chance of helping our rivers.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Chemcatchers

We’re always keen to use the latest technology to monitor

our rivers and Chemcatchers were an especially exciting

new discovery for us. As part of the South West Water

funded ‘Upstream Thinking’ project, Chemcatchers are left

in the river for a two week period where they are designed

specifically to absorb any pesticides within the water.

When two weeks are up, the Chemcatchers are analysed

and we can discover where pesticides are reaching the river

and then trace this back through the landscape to pinpoint

specific areas where we can focus our efforts.

This is all part of a major drive to reduce pesticides and

other agro-chemicals being washed into our rivers.

Pesticides cause serious damage to river health and wildlife

and require expensive treatment when it comes to ensuring

we all have safe drinking water in our taps.

Pesticides are also a huge expense for any farmer and we

are working with Westcountry farmers to make sure as

much of their fertiliser stays on the land, where it matters,

as possible.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Ecosystem Services

Engrained in the way we think of the environment at the

Westcountry Rivers Trust is an understanding of the wealth

of services that nature provides.

We might not realise it, but our rivers inspire and sustain us

all in our everyday lives. They are steeped in our history,

embody our natural heritage and will be a vital element of

our future health and prosperity.

We are passionate about sharing this understanding of how

important our rivers are in the West Country and the

ecosystem services approach is one way in which we are

drawing attention to this.

Over the last few years we have been exploring innovative

ways to map and visualise ecosystem services across the

South West and explore how these can be enhanced for the

benefit of everyone.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Urban

Natural capital in the urban environment brings a wide array

of benefits, improving people’s lives, the environment and

economic prosperity.

By enhancing the quality and supply of blue- and green-

spaces in our towns and cities, we can help to improve the

health, wellbeing and prosperity of people living there.

These features can protect us from flooding, improve air

quality, provide us with spaces for recreation and leisure,

protect us from high temperatures and reduce social

deprivation.

Therefore we are working with community-led partnerships,

as well as other environmental professionals and interest

groups, to identify key opportunity areas for enhancing this

natural capital.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

Using Sediment as a Resource

To reduce flood risks and keep waterways accessible for

water based transport, sediment is dredged from our

estuaries.

Much of this sediment is subsequently dumped as waste

but, as part of the USAR project, we are working alongside

other European partners to develop more resource-efficient

ways to manage dredged sediments.

By working with communities and harbour authorities, we

aim to reduce sediment input and therefore reducing the

need for frequent dredging. Alongside this, we are working

to reduce the amount of pollution contaminating the

sediment that does reach the estuary and therefore

increasing its potential for soil reuse.









[email protected]

01579 372140

www.wrt.org.uk

what does the westcountry rivers trust do?

Environment