Community river action UK

The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of UK community agency networks (CANs) and community groups activism to restore and enhance the health of our rivers.

News

Video

Events

Networks, river groups and support organisations

• Friends of the Upper Wye, "Our long-term goal is to restore the ecological health of the river for local communities, for visitors to the region and for all the invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds that also call it home. We will pursue all means to make the Wye a clean river, properly protected, so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come."
• Citizen Science Groups, Wye Catchment Partnership, wyeuskfoundation.org
• Windrush Against Sewage Pollution
• Eden Rivers Trust, environmental charity dedicated to improving and protecting the River Eden, its tributaries and lakes in the Eden Valley, Cumbria making it a better place for people and wildlife.
• Ilkley Clean River Group, campaigning to protect the River Wharfe from pollution
• Unlocking The Severn, conservation and river engagement project led by Canal & River Trust, and partners: the Severn Rivers Trust, the Environment Agency and Natural England. It is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the European Union LIFE Nature Programme...Press release, Jul 28, 2021, unlockingthesevern.co.uk, added 14:47, 22 December 2021 (UTC)

Organisations working with communities

From Wikipedia:The Rivers Trust

The Rivers Trust (RT) is an environmental charity No. 1107144, and an umbrella organisation for 60 member trusts concerned with rivers in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. The Trust's headquarters are in Callington, Cornwall. The Rivers Trust along with its members work to protect, promote and enhance freshwater ecosystems for both people and wildlife.

• The Rivers Trust, "The Rivers Trust bring together the people, knowledge, data and intelligence to empower communities to take action and be part of the solution; ensuring rivers thrive."...Our core values at The Rivers Trust, theriverstrust.org.
• State of Our Rivers, theriverstrust.org

Visions

• "France has 1,300 bathing lakes and rivers, proving that clean, swimmable rivers is an achievable goal."...positive.news, August 23, 2022

Community Action Projects

• River clean ups
• River Keepers, information from bioregion.org.uk (South Devon / Plymouth)
• Citizen Science

From Citizen Science

Citizen science refers to the involvement, participation and engagement of citizens in local or online (global) scientific work relevant to the citizens' interests, usually as a hobby, often as a passion.

Citizen science can include such activities as:

• Reviewing photographs or data online and spotting patterns, anomalies, things of interest etc.
• Taking field samples in local areas such as water from creeks/rivers, monitoring air quality
• Taking note of and listing species spotted, to help scientists assess decline or increase in species in certain areas; for example, see Big Garden Birdwatch as one example of such an activity
• Going through old scientific records and finding relevant data from the past and/or digitizing data for future use
• Taking measurements, keeping specific records, noting changes, etc. related to the local environment
• Sharing scientific information with other citizens in layperson's terms to spread understanding and engagement

Resources

How to's

• River rescue kit by River Action, How to make the most impact, kit.riveractionuk.com added 17:50, 2 August 2025 (UTC)

Advice

• River Restoration Centre, "national expert advice centre for best practice river restoration, habitat enhancement and catchment management."

Information from gov.uk

• Floods destroy. Be prepared.

Campaigns

• River Action UK, campaigning body committed to addressing the severe problem of river pollution, added 12:40, 18 February 2021 (UTC),

• Nature Based Solutions from riveractionuk.com
• River Action newsroom, riveractionuk.com
• Video: River Action UK on youtube.com

See also: Climate action UK, Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle UK, Urban sustainability UK

local information can be found, or shared, via our many UK location pages