Rambling About Rivers

The latest episode of Rambling About Rivers is all about the return of the Twaite Shad on the River Severn. This iconic species was a common sight in the Severn over 100 years ago, but the construction of a large number of weirs led to populations collapsing. 

Today, Dan and Jayne are joined by Rosie Croggon, Education Officer at Severn Rivers Trust and Charles Crundwell, Senior Technical Specialist in Fisheries at the Environment Agency. Rosie and Charles help us to explore the history of this iconic species, and look at some of the groundbreaking work they have carried out to improve the migratory journey for the Shad fish through their Unlocking the Severn project. This partnership project sees Severn Rivers Trust working with Canal and River Trust, Environment Agency and Natural England, with the goal of restoring 158 miles of river!

How much do you know about sewage in rivers? 

You might remember a previous episode where we spoke to Anneka France from our data team about the Sewage Map they produced, which showed the frequency of untreated sewage being released into rivers. Give episode 9 a listen if you want to catch up. 

Recently, we updated the Sewage Map with 2020 data - so Anneka's back to give us the low-down on the data behind the map.

This time, Dan and Jayne are also joined by Christine Colvin, Director of Partnerships and Communications at The Rivers Trust. They discuss the immense work which went into producing the map, and look at the bigger picture of sewage pollution in rivers.

To view our Sewage Map, click here.

"It's like getting to know a person, but one who can't speak. We felt we had to be advocates for [the] river"

This week, we join Dan and Jayne in conversation with Alison Archer from the Pymmes BrookERS: a group of community volunteers working together to restore their local waterways. Working in conjunction with our local Trust Thames21, the Pymmes BrookERS have made a huge impact on their local environment. The creation of Broomfield Park Wetland—a gorgeous, biodiverse wetland in the centre of Enfield—has been one of their crowning achievements. Tune in to find out more about how communities can come together to restore the natural world.  

This podcast follows on from episode 8: Why wetlands? You don't need to have heard episode 8 to enjoy this episode, but it provides more background if you are interested. 

At The Rivers Trust, we have been stirring some

Our local Trusts play a huge role in the creation and improvement of wetlands. Last year, Thames21 played a part in developing a number of urban wetlands in and around London. They're not stopping there, though, and have plans to create even more wetlands around the capital. So why the big push on wetlands—and what does this mean for the environment and community?

Dan and Jayne speak to John Bryden, Senior Programmes Manager at Thames21.  We speak about the wetlands the Trust has created, and find out more about the process of sculpting an entirely new habitat. In addition, we take a closer look at the benefits that wetlands can deliver - ranging from improved biodiversity to reduced flood risk. There are a number of challenges associated with carrying out this type of work in urban wetlands, and we find out more about these from John.

In part two of this podcast, we hope to speak to the community volunteers involved in one of these projects to find out more about how it has impacted their lives. Stay tuned!

In today's episode, Dan and Jayne speak to Elle Hunt: a freelance journalist with articles in The Observer magazine, Tortoise, New Scientist and a range of other publications. Her Guardian article, "Blue Spaces: why time spent near water is the secret of happiness", serves as the starting point for today's discussion. What do blue spaces mean for our mental health? How has the Covid-19 impacted our appreciation of natural spaces? Find out more in Rambling About Rivers. 

This year, it feels more important than ever to reach out and talk about mental health. Covid-19 is having a huge effect on mental health—whether that’s through the tragic loss of family members, or the jarring effects of lockdown. For many, nature provides a sanctuary during these strange times; a place to find peace and serenity amidst the chaos.

In this episode, Jayne and Dan are joined by Alex Beasley, the Country Manager (UK, Ireland & Nordics) from Patagonia. 

For almost 40 years, Patagonia has supported grassroots activists working to find solutions to the environmental crisis. In this podcast, Alex speaks about why supporting the grassroots community is so important to the Patagonia brand. We learn more about the Patagonia's origin, as well as diving into more detail about their new platform, Action Works. 

In this episode, Dan and Jayne are joined by Floris Boogard, Professor at Hanze University in the Netherlands and one of the founders of ClimateCafé. ClimateCafé is a global citizen science movement, intended to motivate the public to be a part of the solution to climate change. We speak about WaterCo-Governance (WaterCoG), the importance of involving young people in conversations about climate change, and hear more about some of the fantastic solutions ClimateCafé has generated thus far. 

In this podcast, we join Jayne Mann (Marketing and Communications Manager at The Rivers Trust) and Dan Turner (Senior Project Officer at Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust) as they  talk to Ella Foote, a Contributing Editor at Outdoor Swimmer Magazine and keen wild swimmer. During December, Ella completed her "Dip a Day" challenge in which she swam in a different river every day, asking the question "Are our rivers as bad as headlines suggest?". So far, her fundraiser has raised an incredible total of £1,195!

Thank you to the North Sea Region Interreg project, WaterCoG, for sponsoring this podcast.