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Welcome to our website!Helping communities to help rivers across the UK and Ireland |
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The
world's rivers have
never been under such stress. Even in the UK and Ireland, rivers are
under
huge pressure from human activities. River picture by Ryan Hagerty courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife Service |
What's new?
Here are some new things on our website and elsewhere...
Wild Swim: River, Lake, Lido and Sea: the Best Places to Swim Outdoors in Britain: is a brilliant new book by Kate Rew published in May 2008. Yes, you really can swim in rivers if you use your common sense, and if people provide good, clear information on safety and risks. Hopefully this book will give the growing, outdoor swimming movement the boost it needs. I'll be ordering my copy as soon as I've stopped typing this!
- Make a breathing space near you: Breathing Places is a major BBC Learning campaign to inspire and motivate you to create and care for nature-friendly green spaces where you live. Visit the website to find ideas for things to do and places near you where people are making a difference.
- If you're concerned about
dwindling fish stocks in our seas (and if not, you jolly well should be), take a look at
the brilliantly helpful MCS Fish Online website. It lists fish you can eat
and fish you should avoid.
- We're continuing to develop our educational pages.
We've just collected together new pages of pollution photos and
river photos for students. Need to find out about water pollution? Check out
our ever-popular Pollution page.
Don't forget these older pages, which are still popular favourites:
- Interested
in setting up your own river group, campaign, or project? Check out
our new guide: Adopting a river: How to
get out, get dirty, and make a difference.
- Want to get involved with local river conservation projects? Take a look at our
ever-popular Network page.
We've now (finally) got an interactive map of all the UK river groups we know about.
Latest news from the riverbanks
Picture by Ian Britton from FreeFoto.com.
Our river news is updated at least once a week.
If you use RSS (a way of getting news headlines delivered automatically to your web browser), why not try our new
RSS feed.
Feel free to serve news on your own website using our feed, but please be kind enough to make a link to this page if you do so.
Thu, 8 May 2008:
Surfers celebrate Tintagel sewage victory: Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaigners have today welcomed Hilary Benn, Secretary Of State for the Environment decision to refuse South West Water permission to carry on dumping raw sewage at Tintagel and Bossiney.
Wed, 7 May 2008:
Hundreds of UK power stations and treatment plants at flood risk: BBC News has seen a confidential government report detailing infrastructure sites at risk from floods.
Wed, 7 May 2008:
Green Belt loss a daily reality despite government pledges: There has been significant loss of Green Belt land since 1997 and more is planned, despite the stated commitment of the Prime Minister to robustly protect it, according to CPRE.
Tue, 6 May 2008:
Recreational boat owners urged to protect wildlife: A new WWF-backed DVD will help recreational boat owners to reduce the number of injuries and deaths of animals from boat collision.
"The vast majority of boat owners take to the water to enjoy the natural world, and would never wish to cause harm to its wildlife. Yet by being too eager to get a good view, this can be the end result," said Colin Speedie, director of Wildlife Safe (WiSe), the training and accreditation scheme for UK tour boat owners that organise trips to see marine wildlife.
Tue, 6 May 2008:
Early warning could have saved Welsh fish: Earlier contact from the public could have limited the number of fish killed in a pollution incident at a river in St David's last week, as Environment Agency Wales launches a full investigation into the incident.
Tue, 6 May 2008:
Mangrove loss may have worsened Burma cyclone toll: Removal of coastal mangroves may have exposed Burma's coastline to the force of last weekend's cyclone.
Sun, 4 May 2008:
Mayfly making a comeback in Scottish rivers: But elsewhere, mayfly are declining. The Highlands could become a stronghold for the species in future according to Buglife.
Fri, 2 May 2008:
Sheffield stream gets new lease of life: Wyming Brook near Sheffield is being given an environmental boost on Tuesday May 6 when the Environment Agency stocks it with small fish called bullhead. The bullhead will help to restore the natural ecology of the stream as they are an important food species for a wide range of predators, particularly brown trout, herons, kingfishers and dippers.
Thu, 1 May 2008:
Helping our salmon and sewin to come home: Salmon and sea trout (sewin) are entering our Welsh rivers as they begin their Spring "run". This year many will find new stretches of river open to them for spawning as a result of new fish passes constructed from sustainable Welsh Oak.
Thu, 1 May 2008:
Invading mitten crabs could be exported: The Natural History Museum suggests Chinese mitten crabs could be "sent back" to China as food.
Wed, 30 Apr 2008:
New summit to save Africa's Niger river: Nine west-African nations meet this week to consider a 20-year plan for rescue the Niger, one of the world's greatest rivers, on whom the lives of 110 million people depend.
Wed, 30 Apr 2008:
Fighting climate change in homes and communities: More noisy initiatives to help us tackle climate change from the government that keeps on giving us more airports, roads, and other drivers of climate change.
Tue, 29 Apr 2008:
Making a noise about peace and quiet: Countyside campaigners CPRE are making a noise today about the need for peace and tranquillity to protect our health and well being. Since the 1960s the area of England affected by noise and visual intrusion has doubled. Parts of our cities are now 10 times noisier than a decade ago.
Tue, 29 Apr 2008:
Slurry: come and get it!: Environment Agency Wales is offering Welsh farmers free advice about slurry storage and spreading. Slurry is an important fertiliser source, and good storage and spreading can increase the profitability on any farm.
Tue, 29 Apr 2008:
Pollution in County Tyrone river kills 870 fish: A major spill of farm effluent into the Fardross river, a tributary of the Blackwater, has killed hundreds of fish including brown trout and salmon.
Mon, 28 Apr 2008:
Diving for clues to climate change: Daniel Schweimler of the BBC reports on how scientists are studying climate change impacts on the oceans.
Mon, 28 Apr 2008:
Environment Agency gives rare water beetle a helping hand: When it comes to choosing a home, the brown diving beetle is fussier than most. First he needs water, but it has to be swift flowing. It also needs to be shallow with no over-hanging vegetation. And as if that isn't enough, the river bed must be made of flint or gravel.
Thu, 24 Apr 2008:
SAS go 'Turdabout' in Guernsey: It's election day in Guernsey and SAS are urging the electorate to vote for those candidates that support a move away from the raw sewage 'pump and dump' philosophy currently used on the island.
Mon, 28 Apr 2008:
Climate change: Arctic impact accelerates: A new study by WWF warns that climate change is having a greater and faster impact on the Arctic than previously thought. The report shows that the melting of arctic sea ice and the Greenland Ice Sheet is severely accelerated, prompting concerns that both may be close to their 'tipping point'; the point where, because of climate change, natural systems may experience sudden, rapid and perhaps irreversible change.
Wed, 23 Apr 2008:
New approach to stocking to boost native trout: Protecting native brown trout is at the heart of a new Environment Agency approach that will benefit both anglers and the native trout population in rivers and lakes throughout England and Wales.
Tue, 22 Apr 2008:
"Accidental river improvements" lead to huge watersports boost in Oklahoma: Improve your river and everything else will surely follow, as politicians and civic leaders have discovered in Oklahoma City.
Mon, 21 Apr 2008:
Environment Agency successfully eradicates Top Mouth Gudgeon: An alien fish that threatened to wipe out the local fish population in two East Devon lakes and the River Otter has been successfully removed by the Environment Agency.
Fri, 18 Apr 2008:
Byelaw reminder for Sea Trout and Salmon Anglers on Eden and Border Esk: Sea trout and salmon anglers on the Rivers Eden and Border Esk, and their tributaries, are being reminded that new byelaws are now in place to help conserve these species. Anglers are now only allowed to kill a maximum of two sea trout per day within the River Eden and Border Esk, and all their tributaries, from 1 April to 30 September.
Fri, 18 Apr 2008:
Pollution kills 5,000 fish in River Gipping: Local malt manufacturing company, Muntons, has been prosecuted for causing a major pollution of the River Gipping at Stowmarket in July 2007 killing thousands of fish.
The UK Rivers Network store
If you like books and DVDs on fishing and other river-related topics, you might like to browse through the new UK Rivers Network store. The wide selection includes:
- Books on fishing, rivers, oceans, green issues, conservation, and global warming
- Children's fishing books
- DVDs about fishing, surfing, and other watersports
- Bird feeders and other wildlife products for your garden
Everything else
