Best practice showcase for the Catchment-Based Approach

Best Practice Showcase for the Catchment-Based Approach

In recent years it has been increasingly recognised that enhancing the delivery of ecosystem services through better catchment management should not only be the responsibility of the public sector, but also the private and third sectors.

Alongside this movement towards shared responsibility, there is also now a growing body of evidence that far greater environmental improvements can be achieved if all of the groups actively involved in regulation, land management, scientific research or wildlife conservation in a catchment area are drawn together with landowners and other interest groups to form a catchment management partnership.

In response to this increased understanding of the potential benefits of participatory catchment planning, undertaken with local stakeholders and knowledge providers, in 2011, Defra announced that the UK Government was committed to adopting a more ‘catchment-based approach’ to sharing information, working together and coordinating efforts to protect England’s water environment.

Now in 2014, there are 109 newly formed Catchment-Based Approach partnerships covering catchments across the whole of England and the cross-border areas of Wales and Scotland.

Westcountry Rivers Trust Rain Charm House, Kyl Cober Parc, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall PL17 8PH

tel: 01579 372140; email: [email protected]; web: www.wrt.org.uk

This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Westcountry Rivers Trust. The copyright of all material remains with the originators unless otherwise stated.

Overview This Catchment-Based Approach collection of case studies has been created using funding from the EU WaterLIFE Project to showcase all of the great work being undertaken by catchment partnerships across the country. By sharing best practice we aim to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure that CaBA Hosts can benefit from all of the lessons that have been learnt over the years by those engaged in catchment management.

To make it easier to find information that is useful to you, we have divided the case studies into four sections and classified the information into three types:

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2

3

4

Engage catchment stakeholders & build effective partnerships...

Use data & evidence to inform stakeholder-led catchment planning...

Deliver targeted & integrated catchment interventions...

Use monitoring & modelling to measure improvements...

Tools & approaches

Help & guidance

Case Studies

Image: River Teign by Nick Paling

An integrated stakeholder-driven assessment of a catchment will enable us to develop a comprehensive understanding of the challenges we face and, following this, to develop a strategic, targeted, balanced and therefore cost-effective catchment management intervention plan.

To achieve this we need to engage with catchment stakeholders and build diverse, engaged and empowered catchment partnerships comprised of environmental practitioners, businesses, community groups and interested members of the public.

Once brought together, these partnerships can work to develop a shared understanding of the issues in their catchment, to build a consensus about what actions need to be delivered and to agree on their shared vision for their catchment in the future.

1 Engage catchment stakeholders & build effective partnerships...

Image: Working on-farm in Devon by Nick Paling


Blueprint for Water & Save Our Waters Blueprint for Water members led by WWF

The Blueprint for Water (BfW), first launched in 2006, is a broad coalition of 16 likeminded environmental, water efficiency and fisheries organisations, brought together by the Wildlife and Countryside Link and all with a bold plan: to revolutionise the way water is managed in England for the benefit of people and wildlife. Together with the members and supporters of its constituent groups, BfW forms a dedicated movement of over six million people.

All of BfW members are passionate about the health of our rivers, beaches, ponds, estuaries and other wild places. All are working to understand the problems facing our water environments and to develop solutions to those problems. They collaborate with Government, water companies, regulators, scientists and other civil society groups to provide sound, evidence-based policy advice.

The previous work of BfW has included the publication of two Blueprints for Water, in 2006 and 2010, which have described the steps needed to achieve a sustainable water environment. However, progress has been slow, and more action is needed. In 2015, a revised Blueprint for Water

will be launched, based on their five main goals: use water wisely, protect and restore wildlife, manage floods, stop pollution and join up water management.

In 2014, BfW has also launched an online campaign called Save Our Waters, which allows individuals and groups to easily respond to the current River Basin Management Plan consultation. The site offers users the option of completing either a short or longer questionnaire (depending on levels of technical knowledge and time capacity) that have been designed in collaboration with the Environment Agency.

Anyone (individuals, organisations) can visit the site and complete the questionnaire. The site provides background detail about the River Basin Management Plans to ensure it is as accessible as possible. Once complete, the response is sent to the Environment Agency. The site is designed for everyone to use. No prior knowledge about River Basin Management Plans is required.

www.saveourwaters.org.uk


The Catchment-Based Approach Website National Catchment Support Group led by The Rivers Trust

The Catchment-Based Approach (CaBA) Support Team is comprised of representatives of some of the environmental Non-Government Organisations who have been most active in river catchment management over recent years, and who have developed a package of support to sit alongside the local Catchment Partnership Fund grants.

The CaBA Support Team organise conferences, workshops and run the website, forum and newsletters to keep CaBA partnerships informed about best-practice, case-studies and training which is available to support their work under the Catchment-Based Approach.

CaBA Film - youtu.be/mtEz4ZMPGP8

The CaBA National Website is designed to fulfil three main objectives: 1) to act as a showcase of best practice and case studies in catchment partnership working; 2) to provide catchment partnerships with somewhere to communicate the work they have done, and 3) to provide an online community forum where members of the CaBA Community from across the country can meet and exchange expertise, experiences and lessons learnt.

www.catchmentbasedapproach.org


Towards Hydrocitizenship Arts and Humanities Research Council Connected Communities Project

Water is a fundamental resource for society, and at present a range of challenging water issues face communities in the UK and internationally. These include concerns over flooding, sea level rise, climate change, drought and supply security, water quality, biodiversity and landscape quality, access for recreation, water and energy (e.g. fracking), effective urban drainage, and waste management.

Towards Hydrocitizenship joins a growing body of academic and policy initiatives which seek to address local hydrospheres (interconnected water flows and exchanges) holistically, in ways which address these interdependent issues on catchment and systems based scales.

This approach is an adapted version of participant action research. The project teams will spend time exploring water issues and resources in the round in a selected area, and social issues, and seek to develop projects with relevant individuals, groups and communities. The projects will be arts based (e.g. film, story-telling, oral history, site specific performance, guided walks) (but can incorporate scientific data) and will seek to generate ‘win-win’ synergies across eco-social challenges with water as a key focus. The work will explore connections

within communities and between communities – those connections ranging between harmonious and conflictual, and latent or extant, human and non-human.

Funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council this project brings together teams from arts, academic, governance, SME and third sector communities to work with local communities on a range of water based eco-social issues.

For more information contact Prof. Owain Jones at Bath Spa University. Email: [email protected]

www.hydrocitizenship.com


Downstreams CIC Simon Redding & Anthony Parsons

Downstreams is a non-profit social enterprise that uses an online platform to help to build connections between communities along a river.

Downstream communities can be affected by floods, environmental pollution and biodiversity issues from their river. Upstream communities are often the source of these issues, but do not have the capability to create change and improve the situation.

Downstreams' aim is to alleviate these problems by joining individuals and businesses along the river together both socially and financially - to look after their river and protect themselves, just as they are joined together by the water that passes them by.

Downstreams relies on the provision of open data about geography as well as information about risks and impact to communities from flooding, biodiversity loss, pollution and about projects that might partially mitigate them.

Downstreams take a joined up view of the ecosystems around a river, taking nature concerns and flood resilience concerns together when trying to find the best solutions. It's clear to them that the best solutions do not come from professionals

who are a long way from the catchment, but from people who live in the area and know the local environment.

Their role is not to deliver solutions, but to explain problems associated with the river in an area and elicit solutions that contribute towards solving these problems. They specifically look for solutions that can prevent the problem rather than mitigating impacts.

Downstreams are a national organisation who facilitate action in local catchments. As such, they are interested in making contact with local organisations and community initiatives that would like to work together - on specific schemes or on a catchment-wide basis.

www.downstreams.org

@downstreamsCIC


South West Catchment Information Gateway Westcountry Rivers Trust

The South West Catchment Information Gateway aims to provide up-to-date information and resources relating to all aspects of catchment management and catchment partnership working in the South West of England.

The site is designed for Catchment Partnership Hosts to engage and communicate with environmental professionals, community groups and interested individuals from across their catchments.

The site has information pages for each of the catchments, summaries about all of the environmental projects underway across the region, a Q&A for catchment partners and all of the latest news from across the South West Catchment Partnerships.

Anyone who wants to get involved in one of the South West’s nine catchment partnerships can use the site to make contact with the catchment hosts or they can simply use it to keep up-to-date with all of the latest activity in each of the catchments.

www.swcatchments.info


Ribble Life Ribble Rivers Trust & the Ribble Catchment Partnership

Ribble Life is a DEFRA funded pilot scheme aimed at exploring better ways to engage with people and organisations to help improve the water environment at a local catchment level. It is part of a new catchment-based approach to river basin management to help deliver the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).

The Ribble Rivers Trust is working in partnership with the Environment Agency to support the delivery of a holistic approach to catchment management, including the sustainable use of the catchment’s rivers, as well as the habitats and species they support.

The high quality of the Ribble catchment’s water resources gives it great value – as a habitat for wildlife, for drinking water, as a recreational environment, as a basis for tourism and salmon fishing, and as a central asset underpinning the local economy.

Ribble Life involves coordinating the efforts of local stakeholders (incl. local communities, farmers, public sector organisations and businesses) in the common aim of restoring habitat and water quality throughout the Ribble catchment.

The development and implementation of the Ribble Catchment Management Plan is central to the project. The Ribble catchment Action Plan will be launched by December 2012 and will be developed to guide the management of the catchment’s water environment in a joined up way.

Ribble Life objectives

To ensure that improvements to rivers in the Ribble catchment support a healthy local economy

To share information and communicate effectively across the Ribble catchment

To work together to maintain and improve the biodiversity of the Ribble catchment

To reduce pollution and improve the quality of water in the Ribble catchment

To enhance the amenity value of the Ribble catchment.

www.ribblelife.org

Image: Ribble Rivers Trust


The Saving Eden Coalition Eden Rivers Trust & the Eden Catchment Partnership

The Eden catchment and its rivers and lakes, like many others in the UK are under threat. These threats come from all of society and the demands we place on our natural resources. Development, agriculture, sewage, invasive species and sometimes just neglect and ignorance have all taken their toll. We all want healthy rivers and lakes, they provide us with clean drinking water, recreational opportunities, high quality wildlife habitats and flood protection, but none of us can achieve this on our own.

We now urgently need to work together to safeguard the future of the Eden’s rivers and lakes which is why the Saving Eden Coalition has been formed. By bringing people together in a partnership the Coalition aims to get better co-ordination, communication, shared objectives, targets and accountability in place to ensure we are all doing the best we can to drive better and faster outcomes for the Eden catchment.

Hosted by Eden Rivers Trust, the Saving Eden Coalition is an organisational partnership. It is open to representatives from the key audiences who influence and affect the River Eden Catchment

and its rivers and lakes. These audiences are: Farmers & Land Managers; Communities; Politicians and Planners; and Investors.

www.savetheeden.org

Image: Icy Eden by See Like Click (Flickr CC 2.0)


Love Your River Coventry Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

Love Your River Coventry is a pilot project run by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and funded through the Environment Agency MURCI (Midlands Urban Rivers and Communities Initiative) Programme that addresses urban diffuse pollution.

The pilot is focused on raising awareness about misconnected appliances in people’s homes, which send polluted water straight into local rivers and streams.

The project encompasses a public awareness campaign and a free 10-point plan leaflet making it simple for anyone to help check for misconnections on their property as well as taking other easy steps to address pollution in the urban environment.

The Project Team worked with schools, colleges, volunteers and local partners to raise awareness of the day-to-day impact on our rivers and running practical sessions to improve our rivers too – taking out trolleys, bikes, bins, plasterboard and all manner of other potentially polluting items. We also produced a comprehensive report on the state of all of the brooks and rivers in Coventry to help guide future work to improve those water courses

for wildlife. This report highlights some exciting projects the Trust is exploring in more detail with the Environment Agency to help reduce the impact of dirty surface water from some of the city’s roads.

www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/love-your-river

Image: River Sowe by Amanda Slater (Flickr CC 2.0)


Rate My View South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Rate my View has been developed by the South Devon AONB in partnership with Plymouth University as part of the Cordiale project. It is designed to gather pictures and feedback from people as they photograph the protected landscape.

The app, which is free, and available on both Apple and Android platforms, automatically uploads pictures taken on smartphones or tablets to the Rate my View website. It uses GPS technology to pinpoint the users location and make sure they are in or near the AONB area, even detecting the direction the person is facing.

Users then rate their view by giving it between 0 and 5 stars; and submit words or short phrases that sum up their view. This could include landscape features “network of Devon hedgebanks”, qualities “tranquil”, feelings “inspiring”, events “battered by waves” and much more.

Roger English, Project Officer at South Devon AONB, said: “The app’s simple nature enables a participative approach to collecting, sharing and understanding a range of public perceptions of local landscapes in and around the South Devon

AONB. We’re hoping that over time it will enable us to build up a picture of how the AONB is perceived.”

Dr John Martin, of the University’s School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, said: “The app helps to burrow into public perceptions, finding out what people really think about the area’s coast, estuaries, countryside and villages. Over time, with the changing of the seasons, and as change takes take effect it will enable us to better understand how we view our landscapes and discover what we particularly value.”

The South Devon AONB is one of 46 AONBs in the country, and stretches from Brixham to Wembury, and includes towns such as Kingsbridge, Dartmouth, Salcombe and Modbury in addition to the spectacular coastline, estuaries and farmed countryside.

www.ratemyview.co.uk


Love the Lea Thames 21

The rivers in East London’s Lea Valley are amongst the most polluted in Britain. The Lea, Salmons Brook, the Pymmes Brook, Turkey Brook, the Rivers Ching and Moselle and the Stonebridge Brook are being damaged by sewage, household chemicals and oil on a daily basis.

Thames21’s ‘Love the Lea’ campaign is proposing three key solutions that will improve the health of the Lower Lea’s rivers into the future. The first focuses on the development of a comprehensive network of natural drainage systems in parks, next to roads, blocks of flats and at all new developments. These will cut the amount of rainwater that enters sewers and thereby reducing sewage overflows to rivers.

Countless homes are misconnected with pipes from showers, dishwashers, washing machines and toilets incorrectly plumbed into the surface water sewer, instead of the foul sewer for treatment. The campaign is crucially raising awareness of the issue amongst local people, something which is missing from many efforts to tackle misconnections.

Engagement with local communities has found that people simply don’t know what a

misconnection is, and most are horrified if they discover they are polluting their local stream.

‘Love the Lea’ is also encouraging London’s local authorities to do more to improve the health of rivers. At present, too few people know that what goes down the drain can end up in a river if the system isn’t working properly, and councils are well placed to help spread this message.

Natural Drainage systems can help to cut the chemicals that get washed into rivers from roads, such as oil, fuel and metals, when it rains. Roadside verges can be turned into green filters for storm water whilst car park bays can be turned into rain gardens.

The Love the Lea campaign is engaging widely across communities, embracing too local councils and other key stakeholders. A poster, online pledge and Facebook page all help to spread the message.

www.thames21.org.uk/love-the-lea


Our River Wear Wear Rivers Trust, Durham Wildlife Trust, Groundwork NE & Durham County Council

The Lower Wear pilot (through a collaboration between the EA and Durham University) undertook a study to evaluate different approaches to engage local stakeholders and to develop an understanding of their priorities for the catchment the values people derive from it and the barriers they perceived to enjoying the river environment and becoming involved in its management.

Following this pilot, the partnership wrote a joint plan for working together for a healthier river Wear. The plan focuses on the lower part of the river and its tributaries. It is the product of a unique initiative to bring together people, communities and organisations that all have a connection with the river and care about its future. It has been made possible through the formation of a partnership of passionate and enthusiastic people who have developed this plan and a vision to work towards: "By 2020 Durham's rivers will run clear, teeming with wildlife and enjoyed by all."

Our River Wear is an educational and engaging website that urges people to value and enjoy the River Wear and everything it has to offer.

www.ourriverwear.org.uk

Image: River Wear by Mr Gareth M (Flickr CC 2.0)


Thames River Watch Thames 21

A three year project delivered by Thames 21, this citizen science project seeks to engage community groups, individuals, schools and riverside businesses along the tidal Thames from Teddington to the Thames Estuary.

The project aims to raise awareness of the environmental issues that the river faces and enable people to provide pro-active support and involvement in improving the health of the tidal Thames. This project supports the Your Tidal Thames project which is part of the Catchment Based Approach to delivering the Water Framework Directive through active engagement of the local community.

The health of the tidal Thames is widely misunderstood. Some people see it as a ‘dirty old river’ – dead, polluted and to be ignored as much as possible. This perception is hard to overcome when floating litter persists and raw sewage flows into the water during heavy rain events. Some believe that the estuary is dirty because it’s brown instead of blue. However other people see the tidal Thames as a system that has fully recovered over the last 40 years and is now clean, an idea

reinforced by media reports when the Thames won the International Theiss River Prize in 2010. The reality is somewhere in between. Thames River Watch seeks to tackle the challenge of helping Londoners better understand the tidal Thames.

Thames River Watch started in July 2013 when the initial focus was on developing the monitoring protocols and online data management system. In the remainder of 2013 work turned to developing the project brand and publicity materials, training sessions for volunteers and working with pilot groups to test and refine the delivery approach of the project. Early in 2014 the Thames River Watch project formally launched and began engaging Londoners in monitoring and understanding the health of the tidal Thames.

www.thames21.org.uk/thames-river-watch

Image: Thames Mud by Leon Brocard (Flickr CC 2.0)


Integrated Local Delivery (ILD) Framework FWAG South West, Countryside & Community Research Institute & Natural England

Within Gloucestershire, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) and the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire have developed an integrated local delivery (ILD) framework, implemented in a range of situations, that enables those with local skills and environmental land management knowledge to contribute to the management of sensitive and key environmental sites.

The first project delivered using the ILD framework was in the Parish of Uley, Gloucestershire, where the objective was to support the village and local farmers in the restoration and long-term protection of Uley Bury Hill Fort and surrounding grassland.

The ILD framework was developed in 2004 from a landscape-scale project that outlined the urgent need for a simple mechanism that valued local knowledge and connected this knowledge and all levels of strategy to delivery by providing local relevance through a simple transferable process.

The concept of ILD is that each community could be inspired and enabled to look after its piece of

the global jigsaw to deliver multi-strategy objectives at a local level. The ILD approach has been so successfully used in Gloucestershire for over 10 years, to restore key environmental protected sites, that the approach is now being applied to deliver water security through integrated catchment management.

The Upper Thames Catchment Pilot is a pioneering initiative, supported by Defra, set up to develop ways to achieve these aims. The partnership is committed to identifying related actions, many of which are already in progress in the catchment, and linking them together through the steering group to deliver integrated management of land and water.

The partnership used the ILD framework to embed this collaborative working both in the development of strategic priorities and on-the-ground delivery through a shared problem-solving approach.

www.fwagsw.org.uk

Image: Lakeside morning at Cotswold Water Park by Mark Philpott (Flickr CC 2.0)


River Wiki The RESTORE Partnership (incl. the Environment Agency & River Restoration Centre)

The River Wiki has been set up by the River Restoration Centre to consolidate river restoration case studies from all over Europe. Currently there are 819 case studies from 31 countries published on the website.

You can search through the case studies using a number of different variables depending on the type of project you are looking for.

You can also search by cost, techniques used, reasons for failures as well as geographically.

This project aims to showcase completed restoration projects as well as to act as a tool to guide future projects. Its wiki format allows any registered user to upload their own projects and comment on other projects.

It is hoped that by allowing this transparency, fresh ideas will emerge and benefit rivers worldwide.

This project was created by the RESTORE partnership for river restoration in Europe and funded by the European Commission's Life+ programme.

www.restorerivers.eu


CaBA Mentoring Programme The Rivers Trust, Westcountry Rivers Trust, the Evidence & Measures Team

The aim of the CaBA Mentoring Programme is to build capacity and resilience within the CaBA family making an evidence-based approach within the CABA movement sustainable in the long term.

To achieve this a small, multi-organisational, mentoring team will work with CaBA partners helping them to move forward in their catchment. This team will work by drawing out solutions from the team itself and from partners’ own experience, including that gained in other CaBA catchments.

By working on individual catchments the mentoring team will gather relevant intelligence on common issues and barriers, which can then be escalated to the CaBA National Support Group.

Furthermore, as each member of the mentoring team moves from one catchment to the next they will also look for any opportunities to link neighbouring catchments with common issues or skills requirements The small initial team will need to identify and promote the network of expertise which already exists within the CaBA family if the service is to become sustainable in the long term. The CaBA website, Forum and data sharing infrastructure will all be critical tools to support this

work, promoting a 'one to many' approach where possible to maximise the reach of the mentoring resource across all CaBA catchments.

Some of the key principals of mentoring:

The mentor must start the process by listening to the technical support needs of the partner organisation.

The mentor must identify the most cost effective way to move them forward on the partnerships agenda and submit a one page proposal. The proposal should identify the partner contact and the mentor contact.

The partner is then responsible for contacting the mentoring team to secure the work. This ensures that the partnership is in control and only commissions work that it has agreed to.

The mentor must pass on freely, relevant experience gained from other CaBA catchments. Preferably, outputs should be passed from CaBA partner to CaBA partner rather than via the mentor or shared via the CaBA website.

Email: [email protected]


Not Another Consultation Involve

Do you feel like you are not getting the true views and opinions of the public you are engaging with? Maybe you feel you see the same faces at all meetings and are not hearing from all the groups or individuals in your community.

If so, and you are committed to tackling the issues within your area, perhaps it is time to try something different.

The charity INVOLVE, which specialises in public participation, have produced a practical guidance document designed to help you plan and deliver informal engagement events that combine a community fun day with appropriate engagement methods.

The guide is especially focussed on health related engagement with local authorities, but the contents are likely to be useful for anyone interested in new ways of involving the public in services or decisions. It provides practical guidance on how to develop and plan informal engagement events. It is a set of guidelines rather than a strict blueprint. In order to be successful, any public engagement activity that aims to improve any aspect of an area must be designed

to suit the local context in which it occurs. What works for one event or one community may be inappropriate for others.

www.involve.org.uk


Ketso Dr. Joanne Tippett, University of Manchester

Ketso means ‘action’ in Lesotho, where it was invented. It has been refined over two decades of action research with communities across the globe. With Ketso everyone can participate and be more creative.

Ketso offers a structured way to run a workshop, using re-useable coloured shapes to capture everyone's ideas, and is unique in that each part is designed to act as a prompt for effective engagement.

Ketso is for anyone who needs or wants to get great results from working with a group of people. These groups might be large (e.g. a consultation with a hundred participants) or small (e.g. a focused meeting with three people).

Ketso is great if you want to:

Work in groups (meetings, workshops, etc)

Make effective and productive use of people's time

Engage with others (e.g. stakeholders)

Support collaboration, learning or creativity

Turn talk into action

Ketso is accessible to virtually anyone and is particularly useful for people who need to work together on an issue or plan within a limited time frame. Ketso helps everyone to be a more effective facilitator and extends the capacity and speed of those who already run successful workshops.

Ketso is not just a re-usable ‘workshop in a bag’. It comes with a growing range of free, open-source support resources, including workshop plans that you can customise to suit your needs. With Ketso you have decades of practical research and experimentation at your fingertips.

www.ketso.com


‘Fish’ in the Classroom

Various: incl. the Wandle Trust, Westcountry Rivers Trust & the Clyde Foundation

Bringing fish into the classroom is a fantastic, interactive method of getting children excited about nature as well as introducing them to the issues facing the natural environment. Several river and catchment groups are having great success with this approach and regularly set up aquariums in schools.

The Wandle Trust

Trout in the Classroom has been the Wandle Trust’s award-winning education project since it began in 2001 in partnership with Thames 21. Every year they visit local schools and set up aquariums with Trout eggs in the classroom. The children get to see the hatching process and rear the juveniles until they are due to be released into the river. This ties in with most areas of the national curriculum and leaves the children with a great sense of achievement and a newfound enthusiasm for river ecology.

www.wandletrust.org

Westcountry Rivers Trust

The River Exe Salmon in the Classroom Project has just completed its fourth year and over 350

primary school pupils in the catchment have now been involved. As an introduction to rivers and wildlife, the children investigate the water quality of their local river by looking at the invertebrates living there. They then eagerly await the arrival of their salmon eggs which are soon ready to be transported from the hatchery. Just weeks after their arrival, the eggs hatch and 3-4 weeks later they emerge as swim-up fry ready to be released back into the river at Easter time.

www.wrt.org.uk

Clyde River Foundation

Clyde in the Classroom is an annual scheme where hatcheries are installed in classrooms for two months and brown trout eggs are hatched and raised ready for release into the River Clyde. The project filters into all areas of the curriculum and inspires artwork and poetry as well as learning about trout development and river ecology. So far the Foundation has had hatcheries in 57% of the schools within the Clyde catchment and has engaged with over 16,000 pupils.

www.clyderiverfoundation.org


Yellow Fish Environment Agency & various partners

Yellow fish is simple project where yellow fish are painted next to drains to remind people that what is put down a drain impacts aquatic life. Road and surface water drains are designed to allow rainwater to drain into the nearest waterbody, but these drains can be a large source of pollution with substances like engine oil, paint, detergents and litter being put down them. Once these pollutants enter a waterbody they can be incredibly harmful to fish and other organisms that live there.

Led by the Environment Agency, once permission is obtained from the landowner (usually the local authority), local community groups receive a pack including a stencil and guidelines for raising awareness in the local community. These groups can be local conservation groups or school groups.

This is a brilliant, active way of getting young people interested in conservation. The project can be shaped to suit the group, being equally suited as the foundation of a whole Key Stage or as a stand alone activity. Raising awareness within the community via leaflets and newsletters also Makes Yellow Fish fantastic for developing learning, thinking skills and citizenship awareness.

Participant’s are encouraged to send in a feedback form in order to get their project marked on the EA’s yellow fish map, showing all the places where this scheme is being carried out.

Skelton Primary School, York

Skelton Primary School’s Eco Team is one of many schools that has been involved with the Yellow Fish Scheme. In conjunction with Tees Valley Wildlife Trust the children spent an afternoon marking yellow fish next to drains. The children also went to the local river to see the possible effects of pollution. Jo Feary from Redcar and Cleveland Council also came along to explain to the children the work that had been done around the river by the council as well as local residents groups.

[email protected]


The First Tweet: Guide to Social Media

Unity Trust Bank & Social Misfits Media

When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to deny that social media has become a ubiquitous part of how the world does business. Ninety one percent of online adults worldwide now use some sort of social media regularly.

In the UK alone, there are 41 million Facebook users, and 10 million people on Twitter. The question of whether or not social media is important has been answered., but has social media become a critical part of how the world does good?

At Unity Trust Bank and Social Misfits Media, they engage every day with charities, social enterprises, and other organisations who they think are unmatched in their devotion to making social change. And yet, many of them are not strategically using the free tools that are available online to broaden their audiences, spread their messages and, crucially, raise more funds to support the work they do.

They surveyed 186 small- and medium-sized UK charities and social enterprises (all with an annual turnover of less than £5 million) to find out their thoughts on social media – if they felt they were

using it strategically for communications and fundraising, what platforms they used and how often, and what they felt their challenges were. The results probably won’t surprise you. Generally, they found that these organisations are not using social media as efficiently, effectively, or strategically as they would like – not due to lack of desire, but rather lack of skills, time, or understanding.

Having done this research, they then created their guide, “About that First Tweet,” to help these organisations take the next step – or in some cases, the first step – on their social media journey.

In this guide you will find interviews with social media experts giving their top tips on how to best engage with the platforms they provide; real-life examples from large and small organisations on how they used social media to achieve an offline goal; a checklist of reminders; and a list of resources for further reading.

www.unity.co.uk/guide


Rural Economy & Land Use (RELU) Programme Various (University of East Anglia, University of London, Westcountry Rivers Trust)

The interdisciplinary RELU Programme, funded between 2004 and 2011, had the aim of harnessing the sciences to help and promote sustainable rural development and advance understanding of the challenges caused by this change today and in the future. Research was undertaken to inform policy and practice with choices on how to manage the countryside and rural economies.

The findings of several RELU projects highlighted the need for more sustained and two-way communication with stakeholders about land management. The researchers have demonstrated that new ‘knowledge-bases’ can be established that combine local knowledge with external expertise.

The research has also identified a number of techniques that enable stakeholders, who may start with different views and levels of understanding, to redefine the issues collectively in a way that can help them find innovative solutions with multiple benefits.

Perhaps the best example of this work is the ESRC-funded RELU study, led by Laurie Smith from SOAS at the University of London, which developed the

concept of a ‘catchment area partnership’ (CAP) and the then novel ‘catchment area delivery organisations’ (CADO) approach for the delivery of catchment management in England and Wales.

Piloted in the Tamar and Thurne catchments, the SOAS project established a clear catchment management ‘roadmap’ on how to: create a catchment partnership, integrate scientific investigation with policy; foster decision-making and implementation to resolve conflicts; and to share best practice.

Several of the other RELU projects that looked at catchment management also characterised a positive feedback loop in participatory catchment management planning whereby small initial changes initially yield a small benefit that, in turn, goes on to encourage far bigger changes later in the process. This feedback loop builds local capacity, levering in new resources, including fresh commitments of time, expertise and funding.

www.watergov.org

www.soas.ac.uk/relu

youtu.be/XQsGUNxvyjA

It is vital that participatory, stakeholder-led catchment planning is underpinned by robust data and evidence. Once the data and evidence has been collated, presented and evaluated, a partnership can then work to define areas of the catchment most likely to play a critical role in the provision or regulation of different environmental services.

Robust use of data and evidence created through field-based assessments or computer modelling can enable a catchment partnership to build consensus about what needs to be done and where. This ensures that the catchment management measures included in the delivery plan are targeted into areas where there is the greatest likelihood of realising multifunctional environmental benefits.

1 Use data & evidence to inform stakeholder-led catchment planning...


Participatory Ecosystem Services Visualisation Westcountry Rivers Trust

The Westcountry Rivers Trust, in collaboration with DEFRA and the Rivers Trust, has developed a method for undertaking stakeholder-led spatial visualisation of ecosystem services provisioning areas across a catchment landscape.

During this participatory process, primary, secondary and tertiary stakeholders and technical specialists work with a broker/facilitator to collate and scrutinise all of the data and evidence relating to environmental infrastructure and ecosystem services provision for their area of interest.

Once the evidence has been evaluated, the partnership then works to develop a series of conceptual models or ‘rules’ that can be used to define areas of the catchment most likely to play a critical role in the provision of the different ecosystem services, singly or in combination. These priority areas are locations where a programme of measures may realise the greatest enhancement in the provision of multiple ecosystem services.

Fundamentally, this is a data visualisation and evidence exploration process that facilitates the development of a shared vision and language in a catchment group.

WRT first developed this approach during the Tamar Partnership Pilot in 2012. Since then, the approach has been adopted in four further catchments in the South West River Basin District and WRT are also working to assist two others. Furthermore, six catchments in the Severn River Basin District and two catchments in the Anglian River Basin District (the Cam & Ely Ouse and East Suffolk) have also used this approach in their catchment partnerships to date.

To view all of the ESS Visualisation Map Books produced so far please visit the WRT Issuu page.

issuu.com/westcountryriverstrust


EcoServ

Durham Wildlife Trust, Sussex Wildlife Trust & various partners

Durham Wildlife Trust created a toolkit for Ecosystem Service mapping that uses nationally available datasets. This system is called EcoServ-GIS. The final toolkit for this was released to other Wildlife Trusts in August 2014.

The toolkit is one of the Wildlife Trust’s contributions to the national work that has been promoting the Ecosystem Approach. EcoServ-GIS has been showcased at a past Ecosystem Knowledge Network event and the final toolkit has outputs for 12 Ecosystem Services: Carbon Storage; Local Climate; Noise Regulation; Pollination; Water Purification; Accessible Nature; Aesthetics; Community Cohesion; Education Knowledge; Wildlife Watching; Timber; Food Provision (pending) and as a function of all these, multifunctionality.

For each of these services carefully constructed models are created, based on datasets of known quality and decision processes established in the National Ecosystem Assessment. Outputs are created for service ‘capacity’, ‘demand’ and ‘provision’.

Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) (through the Sussex

Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC), became, along with Somerset and Northamptonshire, pilot areas for the toolkit, as it was utilised for the first time outside Durham. The experience of these three pilots could then be fed back to Durham Wildlife Trust so that they could use the shared experiences to refine the final version of the toolkit.

The Sussex Local Nature Partnership are keen to promote the understanding of Ecosystem Services to organisations and projects operating in Sussex. It is therefore hosting an event to establish what uses these maps can be put to, and thus how the maps should be presented, as products, and to whom. There is a raft of locally generated information and data that can be used to enhance the EcoServ-GIS outputs, and experts will be consulted to seek the optimum presentation of the data so that the EcoServ-GIS maps can fulfil their maximum potential in the area.

The outputs of this event will be shared on the Sussex LNP website and if you are interested in attending please visit follow the links on the Sussex LNP website.

wwww.sussexlnp.org.uk

Image: South Downs by SkipnCLick (Flickr CC 2.0)


Habitat Resilience Tool Devon Wildlife Trust & The Met Office

The purpose of this tool is to help the user to understand how resilient habitats are anywhere in the county. This is important because vulnerable, less resilient habitats are less likely to deliver the range of services we need (flood prevention and clean water for example).

Species that rely on these vulnerable habitats are less likely to bounce back when their populations fluctuate. The challenge for all sectors is therefore clear; to restore habitat resilience, to restore the components required to secure habitats that are increased in number, larger in size, better quality and more joined up.

The most important range of factors influencing resilience have been modelled. These include: Habitat Status, Habitat Management, Habitat Connectivity, Response to Climate Change, and Topography.

Each layer has a 50m resolution and is allocated a resilience score from 1 to 10. The user can then define which layer, or combination of layers, to scrutinize and uniquely apply weightings to each. New map outputs are produced at each step.

The map tool is web based and anyone can access and use it. Map outputs show user defined choices that are made providing a clear decision trail.

The map will be accessible from Devon Biodiversity Records Centre and also the Local Nature Partnership webpages in the near future.

www.dbrc.org.uk

www.naturaldevon.org.uk

Image: Devon Wildlife Trust


Catchment Data Explorer

Environment Agency

The catchment data explorer is a data download and visualization tool designed to support the consultation on the update to the River Basin Management Plans. Users are freely available to navigate the site and explore catchments across the UK.

Users can search for catchments of interest using a map or by postcode, grid reference and place name.

Each catchment in the UK has through summaries and are further categorised in into operational and management catchments. Data can be downloaded from the site and there is also a list of useful web links.

The underlying data in the Catchment Data Explorer is stored as linked data and is made available under an Open Government License for reuse. The site is currently under development as a “beta”, and will be improved with user feedback over the coming weeks and months.

The site is open to all, and can be accessed here:

environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning


Invasive Species Apps: PlantTracker, AquaInvaders & SealifeTracker

Environment Agency & various partners

The Environment Agency have developed three free mobile apps, which use ‘citizen’ collected data to map, track and in the future monitor treatment of Invasive Non Native Species (INNS).

The apps provide reference guides to help people identify species. The maps that these apps produce can contribute towards a catchment action or delivery plan for INNS.

The Plant Tracker project is a collaboration between the Environment Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Nature Locator team and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

The main aim is to locate incidences of high priority invasive plant species. There is currently a lack of information on exactly how serious the problem presented by invasive plant species really is. With your help we hope to build the most complete picture yet and provide the raw data to those that need it most in (almost) real time.

Obtaining accurate data about the distribution of invasive species is of paramount importance when it comes to assessing impact and formulating a response, but data provision is often patchy and

records are usually unverifiable and lacking accurate geographic reference.

The PlantTracker project has addressed these problems by combining the development of a smartphone application with the power of crowd-sourcing data collection; that's to say the app enables real data to be collected by interested members of the public in the field.

Critically, each record collected is verifiable since it is comprised of a photograph along with other relevant metadata. Records are also accurately geo-located since the app utilises the phone’s inbuilt GPS capabilities. Another benefit of the app is that includes photographic ID guides so that people can distinguish non-natives from our similar looking indigenous plants.

Data collected by the PlantTracker app is passed through to the Biological Records Centre's iRecord system and verified data is passed onto the NBN Gateway

planttracker.naturelocator.org

naturelocator.org


The Rivers Trust Mapping Portal

The Rivers Trust & various partners

The Catchment Mapping Portal is a resource that can be used by anybody who is interested or involved in catchment planning, to view a range of different datasets concerning river catchment quality or status.

The portal contains Water Framework Directive status and Reasons for Failure information for river, estuarine and coastal waterbodies across the UK, as well as supporting information such as the fish classification scheme, riparian shade and potential barriers to fish migration. These are primarily provided by the Environment Agency – some of which are served as live data feeds, directly from the EA’s DataShare (Geostore), while others are re-hosted by the Rivers Trust.

Anyone can register to access the portal, but they must provide details of their intended use of the data to help identify user requirements, tailor any future updates and meet licencing requirements.

After registering, you will receive an email containing your username and password – use these to access the portal via the link below.

While the Catchment Mapping Portal primarily contains national datasets, it also contains some

While the Catchment Mapping Portal primarily contains national datasets, it also contains some local, specific data stored in the “Local” folder, which has been provided by various CaBA partners.

The Rivers Trust also hosts a number of other mapping portals. The Tyne Mapping Portal is an open access portal (no registration required) and has been developed for Tyne Rivers Trust to share the outputs from their catchment plan with their stakeholders and members of the public.

There is also a pilot Barrier mapping portal, which is aimed at rivers trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is used to identify and assess river obstructions and barriers to fish migration collaboratively with the Environment Agency and other catchment management stakeholders. The first phase of the project will allow trusts to edit, amend and audit barrier information from the EA, as well as add records from their own local information and surveys. Future phases will incorporate more sophisticated analyses and species porosity assessment.

www.maps.theriverstrust.org


GeoVisionary Virtalis & the British Geological Survey

GeoVisionary was developed by Virtalis in collaboration with the British Geological Survey as specialist software for high-resolution visualisation of spatial data.

The initial design goal was to ensure that data sets for large regions, national to sub-continental, could be loaded simultaneously and at full resolution, while allowing real-time interaction with the data.

One of the major advantages GeoVisionary offers over other visualisation software (3D & 4D GIS) is its ability to integrate very large volumes of data from multiple sources, allowing a greater understanding of diverse spatial datasets.

GeoVisionary Version 2 brings exciting new capabilities, including:

Visualisation of voxels for the interpretation of volumetric or block models.

The ability to render point clouds from laser scan data.

The mapping of 4D or time series, allowing data gathered from different time periods to be compared and trends analysed.

A plane tool which allows geoscientists to measure and visualise outcrops to assess the orientation and geological relationships of rock strata

GeoVisionary is a valuable and unique software tool for the visualisation, analysis and interpretation of large and complex, multi-source datasets.

www.virtalis.com/geovisionary


MAGIC Interactive Map

Defra Family Organisations

MAGIC (also known as Nature Map) is an online tool which provides geographic information about the natural environment from across government.

The MAGIC website was originally launched in 2002, and in 2012 the website was updated and re-launched in May 2013.

The information covers rural, urban, coastal and marine environments across Great Britain. It is presented in an interactive map which can be explored using the various mapping tools provided.

Natural England manages the service under the direction of a Steering Group who represent the MAGIC organisations, these include: The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, English Heritage, Natural England, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, and the Marine Management Organisation.

It is presented in an interactive map which can be explored using various mapping tools that are included. Users do not require specialist software and can access maps using a standard web browser, but there are options to download some

datasets when available. MAGIC is now managed by Natural England :

www.magic.gov.uk


Bathing Water Explorer Environment Agency

The Bathing Water Data Explorer is an application designed to enable people to explore information about English and Welsh designated bathing waters that has been produced by the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.

The Bathing Water Data Explorer homepage provides two ways to find a bathing water. You can search by name of a bathing water (beach) or names of counties or districts that contains bathing waters or a full postcode. As you type in the search box names of all those districts, counties and bathing waters that contain the search term so far will appear, at any point you can click on one of the results to make a choice. Clicking on a bathing water’s name will take you to the bathing water’s profile page.

Alternatively, you can use the controls on the map or your mouse or pointing device to pan and zoom to a region of the map. The icons show all of the bathing waters in that area. Hovering the pointer over an icon will show the bathing water’s name. Clicking on an icon will take to you the bathing water’s profile page.

Once you have located a bathing water, you can

read its Bathing Water Profile, which includes a summary description and photograph of the beach and detailed information about the surrounding area, rivers and streams feeding into the site and a pollution management plan.

They also include maps of the locations of natural drainage catchment and of locations of water quality related features including as surface water outfalls, emergency or storm overflows and treated sewage works outfall.

The bathing water profile pages also contain a summary of annual bathing water quality compliance results (measuring the overall water quality for a given year) for the last five years and the most recent in-season sample assessment result.

www.environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/explorer


EcoSpatial GIS e-Learning Resource

Westcountry Rivers Trust & the Scottish Fisheries Coordination Centre

The use of spatial data and geographic information (GI) in evidence-based policy and decision making has seen a rapid expansion in recent years. Ecological and conservation organisations such as rivers/fisheries trusts, wildlife trusts and many others are increasingly being required to collate, manage and interpret spatial data and evidence in their work.

The best way to encourage and facilitate the use of the spatial data in GIS applications is to train practitioners to develop their GIS and spatial data skills and, in so doing, build capability in their organisations.

To meet the growing demand for subject-specific and relevant GIS training courses Westcountry Rivers Trust have developed a series of intensive GIS short-courses specifically tailored to develop and disseminate best practice and technical GIS skills in the use of GIS, in practitioners engaged in catchment management planning, landscape ecology, fisheries science, river restoration, ecology and conservation biology.

To support or enhance the delivery of face-to-face training the Westcountry Rivers Trust have also

developed an online GIS training resource: EcoSpatial Training. The e-learning resources developed include:

Video demos of key theory and approaches

Video tutorials and demos of key techniques

Webinar presentations, online surgeries and discussion sessions

A broad suite of easily accessible case studies show-casing the application of GIS in the catchment/ fisheries/wildlife management sector

Online help and technical support post training – help forum, email/phone support.

www.ecospatial.info


Ecological Monitoring: Invertebrates Various

The evaluation of invertebrate communities living in a river or stream is one of the best methods we have for assessing the impacts of environmental stress on the health of an aquatic ecosystem.

To assess the ecological health of the invertebrate communities in a river, samples are collected using a standardised method and the organisms found are identified to the level of taxonomic family or species. In addition, the approximate abundance of each group found in the sample is also recorded and this combined data is used to calculate so-called biotic indices, which are used to draw conclusions about the condition of the river and to make comparisons between sites on the same or different rivers.

For their statutory assessments of river condition for the EU Water Framework Directive, the resulting data is entered into a software package called the River InVertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS), which was developed by the Institute of Freshwater Ecology (IFE). The RIVPACS package takes physical and geographical information recorded about the sample site and makes a prediction of the

invertebrate assemblage that is ‘expected’ to occur in a river of that type in that geographic location. This predicted score is then compared with the score that was actually recorded from the river sample taken to calculate the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) for the site.

The EQR score is then used as an indicator of the ecological health of the river for its WFD invertebrate classification. The current biotic index used for the WFD Invertebrate Classification is termed the ‘average score per taxon’ (ASPT) index.

The power of invertebrate assessment as an indicator of river condition and for identifying what pressures are causing aquatic ecosystem degradation, has, in recent years, been further increased by the development of several new indices. These indices, which include the Proportion of Sediment-sensitive Invertebrates (PSI) index and the SPEcies At Risk from Pesticides (SPEARPESTICIDES) index, allow the impacts of these specific pollutants on the invertebrate communities living in the river to be evaluated.

www.fba.org.uk


Catchment Invertebrate Fingerprinting

Wessex Chalk Streams & Rivers Trust

The WCSRT Catchment Invertebrate Fingerprinting approach examines the responses of invertebrate communities, in the water environment, to four environmental stresses; low-flow impacts, fine sediment, organic pollution and total reactive phosphorus.

The degree of impact that these four stresses are having upon specific locations within the catchment can be identified through analysis of EA invertebrate data sets. The resulting mapping can be used to identify and target areas for further study or for remediation action. Further sampling can be undertaken to look into species level data to provide a finer level of detail on the impacts of the stresses within the catchment.

The technique takes historic EA invertebrate sampling data and analyses the community structure for each site against four biometric indices: LIFE (low-flow impacts), PSI (fine sediment), Saprobic (organic pollution) and TRPI (total reactive phosphorus index).

Each of these environmental impacts induce characteristic reactions within the invertebrate community, such that it can be scored on any occasion for degree of

impact on each index. Each site is colour-coded for each index, where blue is clean, through to red – heavily impacted. The arrows in each coloured box indicate, over the available run of data, whether the impact is getting worse (up arrow), better (down arrow) or staying the same (level arrow).

Under licence, anyone can access the historic EA sampling data. WCSRT employed Dr Nick Everall of Aquascience Consulting Ltd to assess the invertebrate community data and compute the relevant biometric scores.

www.wcsrt.org.uk/invertebrate-fingerprinting


Riverfly Partnership Various

The Riverfly Partnership is a network of nearly 100 partner organisations, representing anglers, conservationists, entomologists, scientists, water course managers and relevant authorities, working together to: protect the water quality of our rivers; further the understanding of riverfly populations, and actively conserve riverfly habitats.

The Riverfly Partnership interest focuses on three key groups of riverflies: the up-wing flies or mayflies (Ephemeroptera), caddisflies or sedges (Trichoptera) and stoneflies (Plecoptera) in whatever habitats they occur (rivers and still waters).

Riverflies (and other freshwater invertebrates) are at the heart of the freshwater ecosystem and are a vital link in the aquatic food chain. Riverfly populations are affected by many factors, predominately water quality, habitat diversity, water level and flow rate. Their common characteristics of limited mobility, relatively long life cycle, presence throughout the year and specific tolerances to changes in environmental conditions make them powerful biological indicators to monitor water quality, and are commonly referred to as ‘the canary of our rivers.’

The Riverfly Partnership spearheads an initiative to allow interested groups to take action that will help conserve the river environment. This initiative provides a simple monitoring technique which groups can use to detect any severe perturbations in river water quality and puts them in direct communication with the local Ecological Contact of the EA, SEPA, NRW or NIEA.

The monitoring scheme, used alongside the routine monitoring of these organisations ensures that water quality is checked more widely and action taken at the earliest opportunity if any problem are detected. Successful schemes are underway within catchments in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Organisations interested in joining the initiative must have an individual prepared to act as a local coordinator and have members attend an official one-day Riverfly Partnership workshop, run by an accredited Riverfly Partnership Tutor. The training workshop includes presentations and practical demonstrations.

www.riverflies.org


Comet Assay for DNA Damage

Plymouth University

One target system to diagnose the effects of contaminant exposure on organisms in the environment is to monitor biological damage by examining effects on their DNA. Contaminant-induced damage results in breaks in the DNA structure. Such breaks could give rise to heritable changes and thus, population level effects, notably reproductive success (i.e. fertility and fecundity).

The Comet assay is a simple method to measure DNA damage. The principle of the technique is to induce relaxation of the negatively-charged DNA supercoils where breaks are apparent. The higher the amount of DNA breaks leads to the greater distance of migration within the gel using electrophoresis.

The relative amount of DNA migrated provides a simple method to measure the DNA breaks in an individual cell. The aptly-named Comet assay is due to the appearance of ‘comet heads’ containing the high molecular weight DNA and the ‘comet tail’ containing the leading end of molecular fragments.

The Comet Assay has been used to identify DNA damage in a number of invertebrate taxa in recent

years, including three bivalve species: the common cockle, Cerastoderma edule; the blue mussel, Mytlius edulis and larvae of the pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas during two case studies in the Tamar Estuary. Work is now continuing to examine DNA damage in a number of other candidate organisms in freshwater and coastal ecosystems.


Image: Comet Assays by Awantha Dissanayake


Aquatic Risk Management Toolbox (ARMT) University of Brighton in the AquaManche Project

The Aquatic Management of Catchments for Health & Environment (AquaManche) Project aimed to deliver practical tools to improve prediction, mitigation and management of river, estuarine and coastal waters in the France (Channel) - England region using the innovative application of microbial source tracking (MST).

The Aquatic Risk Management Toolbox (ARMT) brings together monitoring, microbial source tracking, catchment modelling tools and a web-based public information system, in order to predict risk and inform future management within river catchments in the cross-border region.

This ‘toolbox’ approach, in which a number of methods are used in combination, provides important information regarding the most likely sources of faecal contamination present within water samples from different sites within a study catchment.

www.about.brighton.ac.uk/aquamanche


Assessing the condition of fish populations

Various

Electrofishing is one of the most effective methods available to quantify, assess and monitor fish populations; within and between waterbodies.

Electrofishing involves creating an electric field in the water that temporarily immobilises the fish or influences the direction in which they swim, making them relatively easy to capture with a net.

Electrofishing surveys can either be qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative electrofishing is used to capture a snapshot of the fish population, giving an indication of the species present (or any notable absences) and their age classes.

Quantitative sampling requires a more structured approach, with a defined area, typically 100m2, fished repeatedly having been isolated using stop nets at the top and bottom of the river section.

This method allows an accurate count of the number of fish to be made and, by recording the species, age and size of the fish caught, the results are entirely comparative between different sites and over time.

Semi-quantitative electrofishing is a method that concentrates on recording the presence or absence

of different species, the sizes of the fish caught and the abundance of juvenile fish. Unlike quantitative electrofishing surveys, semi-quantitative surveys are comparable because they are always undertaken for a fixed time period of five minutes and each site is surveyed with the same level of effort. The advantage of this approach is that it is quick to undertake a survey and so multiple sites across a catchment to be surveyed each year without prohibitive cost implications.

Results recorded from electrofishing sites across a catchment can be used to assess the distribution and density of juvenile fish, which in turn enables us to estimate the number of adults that were present the previous year and the health of the fish population. The results can also be used to compare tributaries in the same catchment or sections within the same river, which is particularly important in identifying where density is below desired levels and ensures that river improvement works are targeted into the right locations and that any improvements are accurately recorded.

www.ifm.org.uk www.wrt.org.uk/fisheries.html

Image: WRT


Fisheries Walkover Surveys Westcountry Rivers Trust & various other Rivers Trusts

While there is now a wealth of data sources available to help characterise our river catchments and prioritise where to start tackling issues, there is no substitute to getting out on the ground and undertaking a walkover survey to properly understand the local environment.

Ground surveys tend to capture the highest level of accuracy and resolution of environmental data, which is necessary for identifying specific problems and targeting measures. In addition, field work will provide an opportunity to begin engaging with local landowners and communities which will be essential for implementing any land use changes.

The objective of the Fisheries Walkover Survey is to gather information about the location and extent of the various physical habitat features present along and immediately surrounding a river, so that an assessment can be made about habitat quality and quantity (in-stream & bankside) for fish (especially salmonids). This should allow factors which may be limiting salmon productivity to be identified and recommendations made regarding habitat restoration techniques.

The survey methodology developed by the

Westcountry Rivers Trust is adapted from the techniques outlined in the Environment Agency document Restoration of Riverine Salmon Habitats: A Guidance Manual (Hendry & Cragg-Hine, 1997).

During the survey, the boundaries of different in-channel habitat classifications are drawn onto a map to represent the areas of individual habitat types using the symbols provided in the key. In this manner, a mosaic of different habitat types and features of interest can be compiled and assessed for the whole section of river and any interventions required can be identified. www.wrt.org.uk/fisheries.html


River Habitat Survey

Environment Agency & various others

The River Habitat Survey (RHS) Project was initiated at the beginning of the 1990s by the National Rivers Authority in England and Wales. The aim of the project was to produce a method for recording habitat features of importance to wildlife and to provide an assessment of habitat quality along rivers in England and Wales.

The method was initially developed and implemented by a group of geomorphologists, ecologists, statisticians and experienced environmental managers from across England and Wales.

The overall idea was to try to capture in a quantitative or semi-quantitative way the physical diversity of rivers. The survey methodology was based on fluvial geomorphology and ecology. The focus of the survey methodology was not provide an inventory of features specifically linked to known species but to record forms and habitats that are the results of natural geomorphological and biological processes. The survey was applied to more than 24,000 sites in the UK and abroad.

The RHS field method is a systematic assessment of the physical structure of a watercourse. Data

collection is based on a standard 500m length of river channel. Information is collected for each site, including: grid reference, altitude, slope, geology, height of source and distance from source.

During the field survey, features of the channel (both in-stream and banks) and adjacent river corridor are recorded. In all, more than 200 compulsory data entries are made at each site, in the form of the presence, absence and (in some case) extent of specific features, collectively building a comprehensive picture of habitat diversity and character. Both the map-derived and field data are computerised, thus allowing easy access to a database, and rapid analysis of the information collected.

To establish a community of RHS researchers, environmental managers and practitioners, a website has been developed to improve awareness and knowledge on species and habitats and their links to catchment processes and human activity.

www.riverhabitatsurvey.org

Image: WRT


Pollution Tracing Walkover Surveys Various (incl. APEM, the Environment Agency & various Rivers Trusts)

Several organisations have now developed walk-over survey methodologies for locating sediment pollution in river catchments.

The exact methodologies involved vary, but they all involve walking along watercourses (usually in wet weather), looking for sediment or other pollution entering the watercourse and tracing it back to its source in the landscape.

Once sources of pollution have been identified, interventions can be delivered to mitigate them or disconnect the pollution pathway carrying pollutants to the watercourse.

It is important to note that these surveys give a very quick snap-shot of the situation in a catchment (which by their nature are highly transient) and solutions must be enacted immediately to ensure success.

Perhaps the most extensive surveys of this kind have been undertaken by APEM on behalf of the Environment Agency. The APEM methodology has now been used by them and others to assess over 14,000km of river in the UK and they now offer training in the application of this method.

In addition, a number of other groups have developed their own versions of this approach to this kind of river corridor assessment: most notably Severn Rivers Trust and Ribble Rivers Trust.

www.apemltd.co.uk/field-surveys

www.severnriverstrust.com

www.ribbletrust.org.uk/volunteering/river-walkover-surveys

Image: WRT


Urban Pollution Monitoring

The Wandle Trust (now part of the South East Rivers Trust)

The Environment Agency is helping Wandle Trust volunteers to spot pollution alongside the River Wandle in South London by creating a partnership to care for the river.

After receiving training, Wandle Trust staff and volunteers are able to attend minor incidents on the river, assess the severity and report them to the EA, who will then react to the incident accordingly.

Pollution incidents that affect water quality are a contributory factor in holding the Wandle back from achieving Good Ecological Potential under the Water Framework Directive. Depending on circumstances, the EA is not always able to respond to lower impact pollution incidents. The aim of the project is to enable the Wandle’s Carshalton arm to reach Good Ecological Potential by 2015, and make progress towards moving other parts of the catchment to good status.

When notified, the Wandle Trust volunteers will provide a first line of response to assess the situation and report back to the EA. It is hoped that this newly established partnership will enable local Wandle Trust volunteers to keep an eye on the river, facilitating a more efficient response to all

pollution incidents.

The information gathered by the Wandle Trust is used to update the EA’s incident management system and enhance understanding of the River Wandle, including details of river pollution trends, and gaining knowledge of where habitat improvements are needed.

This initiative is just one phase of the Wandle Delivery Plan, which will integrate the delivery of habitat and fish passage projects with measures to reduce and monitor diffuse pollution, and will increase confidence that the habitat measures will be successful and that deterioration will not occur.

The volunteer based scheme will be managed by professional Wandle Trust staff, and is being run as a pilot on the Wandle. If successful, the scheme may be rolled out across the South East and nationally.

www.wandletrust.org

Image: Oil on the Wandle by Simon Bisson (Flickr CC 2.0)


Sediment Fingerprinting Various (esp. Plymouth University & Rothamsted Research, North Wyke)

There is increasing interest in tracing the key sources of sediment in river channels to support the targeting of mitigation actions that aim to reduce sediment delivery to surface waters.

Sediment fingerprinting technology relies upon identifying significant differences in the chemical properties soil from different sediment sources. Catchment sediment fingerprints can differ owing to a range of natural and anthropogenic processes reflecting underlying geology, landuse and contamination. Subsequently, the properties of channel sediments can be matched to those of the potential sources to identify the main areas contributing sediment (and contaminants) to the river channel.

Sediment fingerprinting studies are carried out using the source-pathway-receptor framework and study sites are initially assessed to determine the potential source components such as agricultural surface soils, road-derived or quarry material for example. Key pathways (e.g. drainage gullies; farm tracks; road surfaces) are identified and also the main receptor component of interest (e.g. river channel reach or lake waters). Samples of sediment are taken from each site using a pre-

defined sampling strategy and the geochemical properties of the sediment then form the basis of fingerprinting approach.

Properties that can be used to discriminate sources are: (i) fallout radionuclides (137Cs, 7Be and 210Pbxs) which enable discrimination of surface, subsurface and cultivated sources, (ii) major and minor element geochemistry, which is related to geological substrate but also modified by soil formation processes and weathering and hence has potential to discriminate landuse, (iii) mineral magnetic properties, which are sensitive to soil formation processes and pollution, and (iv) contaminants from industrial or other anthropogenic activities e.g. heavy metals.

Among the leading experts in the field of Sediment Source Fingerprinting are Prof. Will Blake (Plymouth University) and Prof. Adrian Collins (Rothamsted Research) who have recently collaborated in a detailed source apportionment investigation of sediment sources in the River Taw.

www.wrt.org.uk/projects/crf.html

Image: WRT


Passive Sampling for Pesticides

South West Water, University of Portsmouth & Westcountry Rivers Trust

Taking samples of river water using the conventional method of filling bottles by hand can be costly and time-consuming. The results obtained from these ‘spot’ samples can, at best, only provide a snapshot of the concentration target compounds which may be present at the time of sampling.

Subsequent interpretation of the analytical results obtained is also difficult (was it the leading edge of a pollutant plume, the peak, or the trailing edge..?) and the time lag between these results and repeat samples or remedial action inevitably means the environmental investigation is reactive in nature.

Recently, a number of alternative and innovative monitoring strategies have been proposed to overcome these challenges. In particular, research is focusing on the use of passive samplers which can be deployed alone or, more often, in conjunction with spot sampling to provide addition data on water quality and pollutant loads in rivers.

Recently, a research collaboration between South West Water, the University of Portsmouth, Natural Resources Wales and the Westcountry Rivers Trust has been established to use the ChemcatcherTM

passive sampler (developed at the University) to investigate water quality in this area. Chemcatcher™ is a small plastic device fitted with a specifically tailored receiving-phase disk that has a high affinity for the target compounds of interest.

In practice, the receiving phase disk is overlaid with a thin diffusion-limiting membrane. These devices can be used to obtain the equilibrium concentration of the pollutants or more typically the time-weighted average (TWA) concentration over the sampling period.

The first riverine trials using the ChemcatcherTM involved investigating pesticides along the River Exe; a river designated as a WFD Article 7 Drinking Water Protected Area (DrWPA) with additional Safeguard Zone (SGZ) status that requires a formal ‘action plan’ to be drawn up by the Environment Agency. In 2014, the first field deployments of passive samplers has been undertaken by Westcountry Rivers Trust in the Tamar and Fowey Catchments.

www.wrt.org.uk/passivesampling.pdf

youtu.be/f7Xzr4FIJmg

Image: WRT


In Situ Nutrient Monitoring Sea Bird & Wavelength Environmental

A huge amount of information can be obtained using un-attended in situ water quality monitoring equipment. Recently two submersible data-loggers for phosphate and nitrate have become available that allow high frequency measurement of nutrient concentrations in watercourses.

The Cycle PO4 Phosphate Sensor (below left and centre) is a submersible, phosphate analyser with built-in data logger that provides unparalleled precision and accuracy. Ideal for unattended monitoring the Cycle PO4 includes keyed, pre-mixed on-board reagent cartridges and calibration standards that click into place. Each set of reagents is sufficient for just over 1000 measurements.

It uses the established ‘molybdenum blue’ method. A small volume of sample is filtered and drawn in by precision micro-pumps, reagents are injected and mixed - if there is phosphate in the sample a blue colour will develop. The higher the phosphate concentration the deeper the colour. The controller software is easy to use but the unit should be set up by an expert user. Ongoing maintenance can be done by anyone.

The SUNA V2 Submersible Ultra-Violet Nitrate

Analyser (below right) is a submersible sensor for the measurement of nitrate concentrations in water. It has built in data-logging and can be fitted with an automatic cleaning unit to enable long term, unattended deployments. It can be easily interfaced to telemetry units to enable remote collection of data.

The SUNA V2 uses the chemical-free ultra violet absorption principle to measure nitrate. It is available with 10cm and 5cm path-lengths and uses adaptive sampling techniques (adjusts the light source in response to turbidity) so that it can be used in more optically challenging environments.

The SUNA is best operated by someone with at least some previous experience with water quality sensors. Training and instruction and ongoing support is provided.

wavelength-environmental.co.uk


In Situ Fluorimetry to Identify Organic Pollution Sources

Turner Designs, Eureka & Westcountry Rivers Trust

There is increasing interest in the use of fluorimetry in water quality research owing to its ability to provide an efficient means of tracing organic inputs to water courses. Upon excitation with an energy source, a typical river water sample will display a range of fluorescent emissions, which include protein-like (e.g. tryptophan) and fulvic/humic-like fluorescence. These emissions occur at very distinct wavelengths and are therefore readily identifiable in emission spectra.

The presence of tryptophan in water is related to microbial activity and the intensity of tryptophan fluorescence has been shown to correlate strongly with Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and, as such, the use of fluorimetry may provide a useful alternative to the time consuming traditional approach to characterising BOD.

Numerous studies have successfully used protein-like fluorescence to identify farm and household-based sources underlining the potential for fluorescence as a tool for source apportionment in river systems.

Fluorimetry can also be used to detect Optical Brightening Agents (OBA). OBAs are a common

component of laundry detergents and, thus, provide a useful indicator of sewage or grey water inputs to watercourses. Whereas tryptophan fluorescence is likely to be associated with both agricultural and sewage sources, OBA signatures are confined to sewage. The ability to detect both tryptophan and OBAs during water quality analysis, therefore, provides a unique opportunity to determine the source of organic inputs.

Recent advances in the design of fluorimeters have enabled the development of submersible units, which are compact and easily deployed during field investigations.

Turner Designs have produced the Cyclops 7 fluorimeter, which can be programmed to focus upon the excitation-emission wavelength pairs of interest. For deployment, the sensors are incorporated into the Eureka Manta 2 Sonde platform, which has the capacity to house multiple sensors.


High Resolution Conductivity Monitoring Various (esp. Wavelength Environmental & Westcountry Rivers Trust)

Conductivity is a general measure of water quality. Streams have a relatively constant range of conductivity and significant changes indicate that a discharge or other source of pollution has entered a stream. A failing sewage works would raise the conductivity because of phosphate and nitrate; while an oil spill would lower the conductivity.

Smart sensors for conductivity are relatively low cost so can be deployed in greater numbers giving higher spatial resolution over a catchment. Deployed at key points (e.g. upstream and downstream of known sources) sensors can indicate the activity of that source. Water quality sampling or the use of other sensors can then be targeted at problem sources once key areas have been identified.

Smart sensors for conductivity, temperature and depth (another useful parameter) are simple to calibrate and deploy, they require little maintenance so can be used by those with little or no experience with in situ water quality monitoring sensors.

In 2013/14, Westcountry Rivers Trust and researchers from Plymouth University deployed six

INW AquiStar conductivity, temperature and pressure Smart Sensors alongside automatic water samplers along a 5km section of the Fingle Brook (a tributary of the River Teign) in order to assess the impact of contaminated road runoff from the A30 and to assess pollution loads derived from other sources in the catchment (2x sewage treatment works and historical mine works).

The data-loggers in the Fingle Brook recorded clear conductivity fluctuations that could be characterised as both flow related pollution events derived from the road surface and historic mining workings, and diurnal signatures derived from sewage effluent discharges at various locations along the watercourse.

This data allowed more detailed monitoring work to be targeted at the most likely sources and for tailored mitigation measures to be designed and implemented.

wavelength-environmental.co.uk/case-studies.html


Source Apportionment GIS (SAGIS) Tool

UKWIR & Environment Agency

The Source Apportionment-GIS (SAGIS) modelling framework was developed through UWKIR research project WW02: Chemical Source Apportionment under the WFD (UKWIR, 2012) with support from the Environment Agency. The primary objective of this research was to develop a common modelling framework as the basis for deriving robust estimates of pollution source contributions that would be used to support both water company business plans and the EA River Basin Planning process.

The SAGIS Tool quantifies the loads of pollutants to surface waters in the UK from 12 point and diffuse sources including wastewater treatment works discharges, intermittent discharges from sewerage and runoff, agriculture, soil erosion, mine water drainage, septic tanks and industrial inputs (UKWIR project WW02).

Loads are converted to concentrations in river waters using the SIMulation of CATchments (SIMCAT) water quality model, which is incorporated within SAGIS, so that the contribution to in-stream concentrations from individual sources can be quantified.

Diffuse sources of nutrient pollution are incorporated into SAGIS from the Phosphorus and Sediment Yield Characterisation In Catchments (PSYCHIC) model (developed by a consortium of academic and government organisations led by ADAS Water Quality).

The SAGIS report and tool are available to purchase from UKWIR (£600 + fees for additional data licencing), but is also made available to water companies and the Environment Agency have made some outputs available through the CaBA Data Package.

www.ukwir.org/ukwirlibrary/94997


Fieldmouse Environment Agency

The Fieldmouse modelling tool helps you target landscape sources of diffuse pollution, it routes and decays diffuse loads from Farmscoper and similar through the catchment and provides an easy visual assessment of which sources contribute most to the observed concentration.

It has been designed to provide within catchment targeting for the CSF project.

Fieldmouse is a steady-state, spatially distributed catchment model. It uses outputs from the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to estimate losses and decay during transport through the landscape.

Development work is underway to allow Fieldmouse to run within the GLUE framework allowing probabilistic outputs.

The conceptual simplicity and visual outputs of Fieldmouse give the model the ability to be used in a participatory modelling environment. The benefits of participatory modelling in terms of improved model acceptance by stakeholders and policy makers have been widely recognised.

The Fieldmouse model and the input data required

can be obtained freely, under an EA open license with CaBA hosts. However access to ArcGIS Desktop software and the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension are required to use the model.



Scottish Borders Land Use Strategy Pilot

Scottish Borders Council (Tweed Forum & Dundee University)

The National Land Use Strategy (LUS) seeks a more integrated approach to land management decision making, in recognition of the increasing number of pressures and demands placed upon the countryside.

The Scottish Borders LUS pilot aims to develop a map based tool and Framework. The tool will be hosted on the Scottish Borders Council website. The background framework will be no-statutory and non-regulatory.

The LUS involves widespread stakeholder engagement. The LUS approach records the Scottish Borders natural assets/capital resource in map format and identifies where opportunities might exist for the enhancement and expansion of particular ecosystem service functions.

Stakeholders have identified 7 land use priorities for opportunity mapping: i.e. food production, native woodland expansion, timber production, flood water management, areas for biodiversity enhancement, soil carbon storage and diffuse pollution control.

Areas where multiple ecosystem benefits can be achieved (and where constraints may arise) are also

being mapped.

An explanatory Land Use Strategy pilot Framework is being drafted to sit alongside the mapping tool. It is intended for use by anyone involved in land management decision making and their advisors. The developing Framework could be used to help target future Scottish Rural Development Programme priorities.

The LUS pilot is due to report to Scottish Government in March 2015. The findings will be used by the Scottish Government to inform the National Land Use Strategy for the period 2016-2021.

www.tweedforum.org/lus

Image: Tweed Forum


SCIMAP Sim Reaney, University of Durham (with various partners)

SCIMAP is a risk-mapping framework designed to identify where in the landscape diffuse pollution is most likely to be originating. SCIMAP does not try to make quantitative predictions in real world units (e.g. mg l-1) but rather works in relative terms across the landscape and identifies the most probable sources of the observed problem.

SCIMAP is based on the identification of locations of critical source areas within the landscape. These areas are where there is a source of a problem (fine sediment for example) and a connection from the source location to the river or lake. The locations of the source areas and connection are calculated from a detailed digital elevation model, land cover and rainfall information.

For the desktop version of the software, some GIS knowledge is required to handle the spatial data. The web based version will require less GIS knowledge and integrates with Google Earth for visualization of the results.

The software is free to use for non-commercial use (i.e. when you are not charging someone else to use the software). Commercial licenses are available from Durham University. The required

data needs to be purchased separately.

All of the information required to use SCIMAP, including a series of tutorial videos, conference presentations and all of the original scientific research papers can be found on the SCIMAP website.

www.scimap.org.uk


Catchment Water Quality Risk Assessments

Westcountry Rivers Trust & The Rivers Trust

Between 2011 and 2013, South West Water engaged the Westcountry Rivers Trust to undertake all 17 of their National Environment Programme (NEP) Catchment Investigations. The project objective was to provide SWW with detailed pollution risk assessment and source apportionment evidence to inform their proposed future catchment management projects that are designed to achieve raw water quality improvements.

In order to deliver the Catchment Investigations, WRT developed a scalable methodology that can be adapted to meet the specific requirements of any study catchment.

The investigations also provide targeted and fully costed intervention strategies for each of the study catchments, which are designed to achieve the most significant improvements in water quality using the most cost-effective and resource efficient approach.

The outputs from these investigations have fed directly into the SWW PR14 Business Plan and the EA’s Drinking Water Protected Areas Safeguard Zone Action Plans.

More recently in 2014, the WRT Data & Evidence Team have delivered two pilot Natura 2000 Catchment Risk Assessment Reports for Natural England. These reports, prepared for the River Axe and Camel catchments, have further developed the weight of evidence approach to determine the pressures causing/threatening degradation of designated site ecological condition, to determine the sources of these pressures in the catchment and to develop a targeted and costed programme of interventions to mitigate their impact.

The reports produced are intended to be working documents that become a shared resource used by local groups to deliver tangible measures on the ground.

In 2014/15, WRT and The Rivers Trust are now continuing their work with Natural England to create Water Quality Risk Assessments for 8 additional Natura 2000 catchments across England and are exploring the potential for applying the approach in other catchments with different downstream drivers of water quality improvement.

youtu.be/R1RZ76otayc


Evidence & Measures Defra, Environment Agency & other partners (e.g. Eden Rivers Trust)

The Evidence and Measures ‘approach’ is not a model or fixed method, but more a mind-set. It uses information that is already available and turns the relevant bits into evidence related to suspected causes of problems. It then helps stakeholders reach consensus on the main causes and agree what to do about them (measures).

Evidence and Measures take the stakeholders' list of suspected causes to the catchment's problems, gather relevant information (Environment Agency datasets, old reports, anecdotal information, GIS layers etc.), do some processing in Excel and GIS and draw out evidence for or against suspected causes. They then summarise this evidence for stakeholders in Evidence Tables so they can efficiently evaluate it in a workshop and then move to setting remedial measures.

Using the outputs for guidance, Evidence and Measures think all CaBA groups could use part (or all) of this evidence-based approach: for thorny issues, problem areas of a catchment or where the stakeholders disagree about what to do.

The experience of the project team is that the subsequent release of funds for measures agreed

by stakeholders is about ten times the cost of the initial Evidence and Measures work.

Perhaps the most well known application of the approach was the 2010 the River Petteril Evidence and Measures Project (funded by DEFRA and Environment Agency) The aim of the project was to bring together people with different sources of knowledge and information about the river to work out what had caused its water quality and wildlife to decline and what could be done about it.


vimeo.com/62155911

In a stakeholder-led catchment planning processes we can work together to develop a common understanding of the current and future issues that relate to the environmental health of the catchment. We can also work to identify what needs to be done and where it should be delivered to a create healthy, functional ecosystem that deliver the optimal blend of benefits that they want and need now and in the future.

Having developed a targeted and tailored plan of what needs to done and where in a catchment, we then need to go and deliver catchment management interventions that will achieve the best possible environmental and economic benefits for all of the interested parties.

3 Deliver targeted & integrated catchment interventions...

Image: WRT


Catchment Sensitive Farming Defra, Natural England & Environment Agency

Funded by DEFRA and the Rural Development Programme for England, Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) is a joint initiative between the Environment Agency and Natural England that has been established in a number of priority catchments across England.

Overall, CSF has two principle aims: (1) to save farms money by introducing careful nutrient and pesticide planning, reduce soil loss and help farmers meet their statutory obligations such as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, and (2) to deliver environmental benefits such as reducing water pollution, cleaner drinking water, safer bathing water, healthier fisheries, thriving wildlife and lower flood risk for the whole community.

To achieve these goals CSF delivers practical solutions and targeted support which should enable farmers and land managers to take voluntary action to reduce diffuse water pollution from agriculture to protect water bodies and the environment.

Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers work with independent specialists from the farming community to deliver free advice tailored to the

area and farming sector. This advice includes workshops, farm events and individual farm appraisals. CSF also offer capital grants, at up to 60% of the total funding, to deliver improvements in farm infrastructure.

As part of the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme, Natural England have also undertaken an evaluation study to demonstrate the benefits that the delivery of advice and measures have realised. In addition to a summary report, Natural England have also produced a number of case studies and technical reports covering specific areas; such as, advice and education delivery, water quality monitoring and environmental modelling.

www.gov.uk/catchment-sensitive-farming-reduce-agricultural-water-pollution

Image: WRT


Upstream Thinking

South West Water & various delivery partners

South West Water (SWW) in collaboration with a group of regional conservation charities, including the Westcountry Rivers Trust, the county Wildlife Trusts for Devon and Cornwall and The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, have established one of the largest and most innovative conservation projects in the UK: the ‘Upstream Thinking Initiative’.

This project will deliver over £9 million worth of strategic land restoration in the Westcountry between 2010 and 2015, and an even greater amount over the 2015-2020 funding programme.

The ‘provider is paid’ funding mechanism used in Upstream Thinking is, perhaps, the most innovative aspect of the project. SWW have recognized that it is cheaper to help farmers deliver cleaner raw water (water in rivers and streams) than it is to pay for the expensive filtration equipment required to treat polluted water after it is abstracted from the river for drinking.

SWW believe that water consumers will be better served and in a more cost-effective manner if they spend money raised from water bills on catchment restoration in the short term rather than on water

filtration in the long term.

The Upstream Thinking Initiative has seen a wide array of innovative catchment management and other environmental interventions delivered, including: mires restoration, culm grassland restoration by Devon Wildlife Trust, pesticide advice and guidance by Cornwall Wildlife Trust and a reverse auction by Westcountry Rivers Trust in partnership with the University of East Anglia.

In the first scheme of this kind in the UK, an auction was successfully used to distribute funds from a water company to farmers, investing in capital items to improve water quality. The scheme offered SWW the opportunity to work directly with researchers from the University of East Anglia to devise an innovative mechanism for paying for the delivery of ecosystem services via their Upstream Thinking scheme.

www.upstreamthinking.org

www.wrt.org.uk/catchments.html

Image: WRT


Sustainable Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP) United Utilities & various delivery partners

The aims of the SCaMP initiative are to help; (1) protect and improve water quality, (2) reduce the rate of increase in raw water colour which will reduce future revenue costs, (3) reduce or delay the need for future capital investment for additional water treatment, (4) deliver government targets for SSSIs, (5) ensure a sustainable future for the company's agricultural tenants, (6) enhance and protect the natural environment, and (7) help these moorland habitats to become more resilient to long term climate change.

In addition to their work on SCaMP, United Utilities have also commissioned an number of catchment investigations in recent years and they continue to develop plans for a programme of catchment management in their currently business plan.

corporate.unitedutilities.com/scamp-index.aspx

The Sustainable Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP), has been developed by United Utilities in association with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The programme aims to apply an integrated approach to catchment management across all of the 56,385 hectares of land United Utilities own in the North West, which they hold to protect the quality of water entering the reservoirs.

Through the delivery of SCaMP United Utilities is recognised within the UK water industry as being at the forefront of water company-funded catchment management scheme that are aiming to secure multiple benefits at a landscape scale.

Over the last 30 years there has been a substantial increase in the levels of colour in the water sources prior to treatment from many upland catchments. The removal of colour requires additional process plant, chemicals, power and waste handling to meet increasingly demanding drinking water quality standards. To address this, expensive capital solutions are often required at a water works which result in significant increases in annual operational costs.

Image: United Utilities


Wessex Water Catchment Management

Wessex Water

Wessex Water's award winning catchment management initiative began in 2005, with the objective of stabilising and then reducing the levels of contaminant at water sources so no additional treatment is required. They work with local farmers and landowners in the catchment areas of the boreholes and reservoirs to safeguard the quality of ground and surface waters.

Working together with local farmers and landowners means they can influence and implement changes in agricultural land use and practice to reduce the levels of nitrate and pesticide that enter the ground and surface water environments. Methods adopted include data sharing, advice, practical help and, in some circumstances, financial incentives. They also liaise closely with various organisations including the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) on catchment management initiatives.

Since the Wessex Water catchment management programme began in 2005 there have been no nitrate exceedances in treated water at any of their ‘at risk’ catchments. In addition, they no longer require additional treatment for pesticides and

metaldehyde removal at one groundwater site and two surface reservoirs.

These real, measurable outcomes not only provide cost savings for Wessex Water and its customers, but also for catchment farmers in terms of optimised and reduced use of nutrients and pesticides.

Wessex Water have published a report which explains their programme, includes case studies and sets out proposals for the future.

tinyurl.com/ntjzabo

Image: River Piddle Dorset by Jim Linwood (Flickr CC2.0)


Environmental Stewardship Defra, Natural England & various delivery partners

pollution has affected local rivers, farmers will be able to apply for funding to reduce soil erosion and run-off from their fields.

The existing Environmental Stewardship and England Woodland Grant Scheme will be brought together into a universal scheme that will be open to applications from both farmers and foresters.

During EU negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy, the UK pressed for each country to have the option to channel a greater proportion of CAP funding into delivering environmental benefits. As a result, £3.1billion of funding will be available for environmental schemes in England which is a higher proportion of the CAP budget than ever before.

Defra has announced plans for England’s EU’s Young Farmers Scheme to give extra support to farmers under forty years of age and their intention to apply this support to the maximum land area of farms.

tinyurl.com/kaebdyy

Environmental Stewardship is a land management scheme that provides funding to farmers and other land managers in England to deliver effective environmental management on your land. There are currently 3 levels to the scheme:

Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) – includes Uplands ELS (UELS): simple and effective land management agreements with priority options (now closed for new applications)

Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS) – includes Uplands OELS: organic and organic/conventional mixed farming agreements

Higher Level Stewardship (HLS): more complex types of management and agreements tailored to local circumstances

From 2016, the new environmental land management scheme will be targeted so that farmers can help deliver environmental priorities specifically related to their local area, focussing particularly on increasing biodiversity, helping wildlife and improving water quality.

For example, if one area is home to rare farmland birds, farmers will be reimbursed for enhancing this habitat. If, in another area, agricultural

Image: WRT


LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming)

LEAF

LEAF is the leading organisation promoting sustainable food and farming. They help farmers produce good food, with care and to high environmental standards, identified in-store by the LEAF Marque logo.

LEAF attempts to build public understanding of food and farming in a number of ways, including; Open Farm Sunday, Let Nature Feed Your Senses and year round farm visits to our national network of Demonstration Farms.

LEAF is also an industry partner in the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE), which is an opportunity for their members to demonstrate their commitment to protecting and enhancing the farmed environment.

As part of the Campaign, farmers are asked to ensure that a third of their ELS points come from a list of key target options. These include options which result in cleaner water and healthier soil, protect farmland birds and encourage wildlife and biodiversity.

LEAF also provide a wide array of educational and best practice guidance resources on their website, including their Water Management Tool, which

offers farmers a complete health check for water use on their farms, and the Simply Sustainable Water Guidance booklet and film.

The Simply Sustainable Water booklet has been produced to help farmers develop an effective on-farm management strategy for efficient water use and to improve their farm’s contribution to protecting water in the environment. It allows farmers to get the best from this valuable resource, improve awareness of the importance of water and track changes in water use and quality over time.

Based on Six Simple Steps to help improve the performance, health and long term sustainability of their land, farmers are encouraged to set a baseline by assessing their water use and their water sources. The six key measures are: (1) water saving measures, (2) protecting water sources, (3) soil management, (4) managing drainage, (5) tracking water use, and (6) water availability and sunshine hours.

www.leafuk.org

Image: WRT


Voluntary Initiative Various sponsors & partners

Establish a low-cost sprayer testing scheme (NSTS) with a nationwide network of 294 testing centres and 465 certificated testers.

Establish the National Register of Spray Operators (NRoSO), through which spray operators can demonstrate a commitment to best practice in pesticide handling and application.

Create a series of Environmental Information Sheets as an aid to risk management for all products sold by members of the Crop Protection Association.

www.voluntaryinitiative.org.uk

The Voluntary Initiative (VI) began in April 2001. It is a UK-wide package of measures, agreed with Government, designed to reduce the environmental impact of the use of pesticides in agriculture, horticulture and amenity situations. Initially a list of 27 proposals, the programme finally included over 40 different projects covering research, training, communication and stewardship.

The combined cost of the programme between 2001 and 2006 to the farming industry, the crop protection industry, the water industry and others was estimated to be £45-47m, but during that time they worked to:

Improve awareness among farmers of the potential environmental risks arising from pesticide use; improve the competence of advisors, improve field practices of spray operators and optimise their machines.

Engage the farming unions and establishment of Crop Protection Management Plans (CPMPs) as a self-audited means of assessing and planning the environmental aspects of crop protection activities across the whole farm.


Nature Improvement Areas

Various

Nature Improvement Areas (NIA) have been established to create joined up and resilient ecological networks at a landscape scale.

They are run by partnerships of local authorities, local communities and landowners, the private sector and conservation organisations with funding provided by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Natural England

The 12 winning NIA projects were chosen after a competitive process announced in the Natural Environment White Paper. These are areas that have:

Opportunities to establish and improve ecological networks by enlarging, enhancing and connecting existing wildlife sites and creating new sites.

A shared vision for the natural environment among a wide partnership of local people, including statutory and voluntary sectors

Surrounding land that can be better integrated with valued landscapes by restoring wildlife habitats and support natural processes adapt to climate change impacts

Benefits to urban areas and communities, with, where appropriate, ecological networks extending into urban areas

‘Win-win’ opportunities that offer multiple benefits, such as for: the water environment and Water Framework Directive objectives; flood and coastal erosion risk management, and the low-carbon economy

Opportunities to inspire people through an enhanced experience of the natural environment

The Northern Devon Nature Improvement Area (NIA) is one example of a highly successful partnership of 15 organisations working on the river Torridge catchment, led by Devon Wildlife Trust. The NIA is already delivering impressive results, demonstrating that large and ambitious landscape scale approaches really work and deliver added value and multiple benefits to the community living in the Torridge catchment.

www.northerndevonnia.org

youtu.be/q2wMk1s4dyc

Image: WRT Image: Gilles San Martin (Flickr CC2.0)


Working Wetlands Devon Wildlife Trust

as well diluting diffuse pollutants and other discharges into smaller headwater streams.

Wet tussocky Culm grasslands have been shown to store 5 times more water than intensively managed grasslands. Their soils are less compacted, much deeper and richer in organic matter allowing them to store and gradually release rainwater like a leaking bucket.

Even when saturated, the rough tussocky structure allows water to be stored above ground in between and within the tussocks. These landscapes also have fewer drainage routes for excess run-off to reach the river network, thus storing more floodwater in the landscape. These landscapes also have much lower levels of nutrient and other inputs from farming practices.

This technique is relevant to those managing land in the headwaters of the Tamar, Torridge, Taw and Exe catchments and is specific to the geology and soils of the Culm NCA, but similar approaches to wetland restoration would be effective in other areas.

www.devonwildlifetrust.org/working-wetlands

Devon Wildlife Trust's Working Wetlands Project is now in its seventh year. New funding from a variety of sources has enabled work to expand into new areas and further their Culm grassland restoration work in the Culm National Character Area.

Culm grasslands are the wet tussocky grassland found on the poorly drained, clay soils of the Culm. Elsewhere in the country, similar habitats are referred to as Rhos Pasture, and there are other strongholds in SW Wales and the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland where the climatic and soil conditions are similar.

They are an internationally important habitat, and home to some of the nation’s most threatened wildlife, such as the marsh fritillary butterfly and the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth.

Restoring extensive wet tussock grasslands in river headwaters in the Culm National Character Area (NCA), is shown to increase the water storage capacity in the upper catchment, reducing peak flows during high rainfall, and ensuring more constant base flows during droughts.

Healthy base flows are key to maintaining invertebrate and fish populations during droughts,

Image: Devon Wildlife Trust


Futurescapes

RSPB

Futurescapes is a project run by the RSPB; it has a large partnership of fellow environment organisations including local communities, businesses and government bodies.

Due to decades of habitat loss, the most threatened UK species are hemmed into fragmented habitats, mostly in protected areas. However, it is evident from current conservation research that this method of conservation is not enough.

The Futurescapes project aims to reconnect specific areas of land that were formally fragmented to provide a rich habitat for wildlife and diverse, green spaces for people to enjoy.

The project aims to tackle the challenges to wildlife and society in the following ways:

Build a good partnership with stakeholders to develop a shared vision for the future, and to work together to deliver it.

Create more space for nature, by increasing the size of areas that are managed primarily for nature conservation.

Making the countryside a better place for

wildlife to adapt to climate change pressures, and by managing land in ways that help species move in response to climate change

Putting nature conservation at the heart of human responses to new pressures on the countryside, such as bioenergy production and new infrastructure development.

The RSPB currently has nearly 40 Futurescapes initiatives around the UK, and plan to expand the programme to more than 80 places. Two projects are in the Cairngorms National Park. The Badenoch and Strathspey Farmed Floodplain Futurescape encompass grasslands, wetlands, arable mosaics of the floodplain and tributaries of the River Spey. Work has focused on facilitating successful Scottish Rural Development Programme applications, providing training and enabling free use of rush management machinery.

You can find our priority areas on the map on the Futurescapes website.

www.rspb.org.uk/ whatwedo/futurescapes

Image: Grey wagtail by Luc Viatour (Flickr CC2.0)


Keeping Rivers Cool Environment Agency & various partners

To support the identification of key areas to target and increase riparian shade, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data for England and Wales is used to produce accurate maps of riparian tree distribution, indicating where the gaps are. The measure of incoming solar radiation indicates the likely amount of shade created by the landscape as well as shading caused by existing vegetation.

It is recognised that riparian shading is not a stand-alone measure to managing warming in rivers, but it is a low-risk reversible action and a good start to keeping rivers cool.

www.asfb.org.uk/keeping-rivers-cool-new-guidance-for-river-managers

Keeping Rivers Cool is a four year (2012-2016) Environment Agency led climate change adaptation project focused on using trees to keep rivers cool. This approach aims to address the pressures of climate change on freshwater ecosystems. The targeted catchments have been the Wye, Hampshire Avon, Tyne, Ribble, Frome and the Tywi.

Evidence indicates that some salmon and trout populations in England and Wales are under stress from climate change, with some rivers reaching above the lethal limit for salmonids in recent hot, dry summers. It has been shown that riparian trees can help reduce local stream temperatures on hot summer days. Summer mean and maximum water temperatures are on average 2-3ºC lower in shaded versus open rivers.

The Environment Agency has been working with charitable trusts such as the Woodland Trust and the Rivers Trusts to plant trees and install riparian fencing in appropriate sites. The approach aims to create a mosaic of tree cover along riparian banks, rather than a blanket cover which could have a negative impact on other aspects of river ecology.

Image: Keeping Rivers Cool—Ribble Rivers Trust


Water Stewardship

WWF & business partners

From the United Nations to rural communities to corporate boardrooms, water issues are on the agenda as never before. WWF helps governments and businesses work together to better manage this essential resource.

But water stewardship is more than corporate strategy. It touches people's lives and changes the way we interact with nature.

Water Stewardship goes beyond being an efficient water user. It means contributing to the responsible, sustainable management of freshwater resources. WWF's work on water stewardship helps governments, companies, investors and others understand their water footprints and become better water stewards.

But the journey doesn’t end there. Beyond water footprints and reducing the impact of individual water users, WWF urges companies to look outside their own operations. We are helping redefine the role of the private sector in advocating, supporting and promoting better basin governance, for the benefit of people and nature.

In the UK, WWF are engaging with individual businesses to reduce the impacts of their water

use. WWF is the partner of choice for The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller, H&M and Marks & Spencer, among others, to identify opportunities for enhanced water stewardship. They facilitate private sector engagement with public policy to conserve water resources in our priority river basins.

WWF are also promoting public sector water stewardship at the river basin level. This includes measuring water use and impacts at the river basin level, demonstrating solutions for reducing these impacts, and promoting national and international policies that encourage good water stewardship and ensure environmental flows.

tinyurl.com/khcvd8r


Farm Crap App SWARM Knowledge Hub & Rothamsted Research North Wyke

in order to meet the crop requirements.

The image library can be used as a visual reference guide to estimate the spreading rate of manure applied to the field and calculate the amount of crop available nutrients that have been applied.

The app will also keep records of field spreading events which can be emailed to the office computer for inclusion in farm records.

The app is available on Apple and Android devices, through the Google Play or iTunes stores. Click on the relevant picture below to go to the home page for the app.

www.swarmhub.co.uk/fca

fo.am/farm-crap-app

A new manure management application, 'The Farm Crap App' is designed to help farmers and growers value the nutrients found in organic manures.

The app, developed by the SWARM Knowledge Hub in collaboration with Rothamsted Research North Wyke allows the farming community to appreciate the nutritive and economic value of livestock manures.

Farmers are able to visually assess manures and slurry application rates and calculate what is being provided in terms of available nutrients as well as giving an estimate of potential savings in artificial fertilisers.

The data is based on Defra's RB209 Fertiliser Manual values for crop available nutrients along with the industry produced publication Think Manures and allows you to select different seasons, types of manures and crops growing to see what the manure will provide in terms of fertiliser.

Within the app, the calculator determines the amount of crop available nutrients that are found within manures spread at different rates. This helps with decisions on how much to spread


Tweed Natural Flood Management (NFM) Programme

Tweed Forum

A restoration programme has been developed which will both restore natural habitats and help reduce the risk of flooding to the main Border towns.

NFM measures focus on key areas of sub-catchments including the upper valley and hill slopes (which are the main sources of flood water to the river); the valley bottom or floodplain and the channels and habitats of the river itself. It’s primarily about reducing surface water run-off rates and increasing storage.

The project is working in 5 sub-catchments of the Tweed at 59 individual sites. NFM measures being put in place include: Blocking hill drains (mostly in peat bogs), planting hill slope and gully (native) woodlands, placing log jams across minor watercourses, undertaking bankside revetment, creating water retention ponds, re-meandering rivers, planting transverse hedges and planting floodplain (native) woodlands.

Funding for the work comes from a wide variety of public and private sources including; the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP), the

Scottish Government, voluntary carbon contributions and Wind Farm Biodiversity Offset funding schemes.

The scheme is targeted to catchments where there a flood risk (either to settlements downstream or to land and agricultural infrastructure) at specific locations where the most benefit to reducing surface water flow rates can be achieved.

www.tweedforum.org/projects

Image: Tweed Forum


Camel Invasives Natural England & Westcountry Rivers Trust

riparian habitats, the Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) have been working in partnership with Natural England on the INNS issue within the Camel Catchment for several years.

The River Camel INNS work originally began in 2004 and dependent on funding, has continued in one form of project or another for WRT ever since.

The most recent 2014 project follows on from these previous projects in an effort to control the spread of Himalyan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and a single site of American Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) on the River Camel.

The focus for Natural England has been a number of SSSI units which are being pushed into unfavourable and/or declining condition. The project has been delivered using carefully selected methods conducted by experienced contractors. This ensures that the River Camel is managed in an appropriate manner, aiding in the prevention and spread of INNS further down the catchment.

The River Camel is an important catchment which runs from the source on Bodmin Moor to the north Cornish coast, and its tributaries cover varied and valued habitats. It is notable for a number of species such as Otter, Atlantic Salmon and Bullhead which has led to Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status across a large percentage of its length.

Due to the conservation status, the catchment is of great interest to Natural England (NE) in its role to protect and preserve species and habitats, and to encourage farmers and landowners to play a role in its protection also – either statutory requirements such as closely managed operations within SSSIs or through uptake of Agri-Environment Schemes such as Higher Level Stewardship (HLS).

Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) pose a threat to some of our most valued habitats across the UK. On the River Camel catchment INNS are limited, at present, to plant species only as far as records indicate.

As part of a holistic approach to improve river and

Image: Himalayan balsam by Natubico (Flickr CC3.0)


Tweed Invasives Project

Tweed Forum

Invasive species such as Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam, pose a serious threat to our natural heritage by out-competing native species. They can out-compete because the natural checks and balances (e.g. predation) which native species are subject to do not affect non-native species.

The Project uses various elimination methods, including spraying (with certified herbicides) and hand-pulling, to ensure that these damaging invasive species are prevented from flowering each year. For plants such as Giant Hogweed, with a seed-life of up to 12 years, this is vital in ensuring the eventual eradication of the species from the Tweed catchment.

The Project is a close collaboration between Tweed Forum staff and local landowners, farmers, ghillies, fishermen and volunteers. This means that the control work is carried out in partnership, a key factor in the success and longevity of our work.

After 10 years of catchment-wide control, Giant Hogweed coverage is greatly reduced and all plants have been prevented from flowering. This means that the seedbank for this species should be

decreasing year on year making eventual eradication more likely.

Japanese Knotweed has proved more challenging to control, however, it is more widespread than previously thought. A number of control methods have been trialled but the method of manually chopping the Japanese Knotweed down and then spraying down the stems appeared the most successful, with patches treated in this manor vastly reduced in density and abundance.

The status of Himalayan Balsam control in the Till sub-catchment is heartening with a steady decrease in the presence of this species.

During the initial years of control, hand pulling was the method of control adopted, however, this proved to be very slow and costly, making it impossible to cover the whole river. In 2007, the decision was taken to use chemical control and a clear reduction in infestation has shown that this Himalayan Balsam does respond relatively quickly to coordinated control.

www.tweedforum.org/projects/current-projects/tweed_invasives

Image: WRT


Restoring & Managing Wetlands Using Native Eurasian Beavers Devon Wildlife Trust

Currently the use of beavers is restricted to a limited number of fenced sites. However DWT has submitted an application to monitor the impacts of the animals living wild on the River Otter.

www.devonwildlifetrust.org/devon-beaver-project

A wide range of British wetland species depend on the habitats created by this once widespread keystone species.

Beavers create complex wetland mosaics, creating ponds, canals, mires and braided streams, and coppicing trees like willow as aspen to maintain open grassland habitats within the mosaic. Their wetlands store water in headwaters reducing flooding and ameliorating the impacts of droughts, and trapping pollutants.

This vegetarian animal coppices trees to regenerate fresh young shoots, and grazes grasses and other bankside vegetation. Beavers feel safe in water and create canals and ponds to expand, explore and exploit the riparian corridor.

In headwaters they build leaky dams to create open water where little exists. As well as providing extensive habitats for wetland species, the dams trickle water into the headwaters providing healthy base-flows, and reducing flooding.

Further downstream they coppice riverside trees, bringing light to more shaded areas and creating habitats for invertebrates and fish.

Image: David Plummer www.davidplummerimages.co.uk


SuDS for Schools

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Environment Agency & Thames Water

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is working in partnership with the Environment Agency and Thames Water to protect streams and rivers from pollution, and to ease the strain on existing drainage systems

As rainwater flows over hard surfaces such as roofs and roads, it collects pollution, dirt and debris. This water currently flows into underground pipes and can go directly in to your local stream or river, damaging the health of that water body. WWT wants to improve the quality of surface water entering streams and rivers and keep them healthy for the benefit of wildlife and local communities.

The SuDS for Schools Project aims to build Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in ten schools within the Pymmes Brook Catchment in North London. SuDS mimic natural processes by catching and slowing the flow of rain water to streams and rivers, and filtering it to remove pollution along the way. SuDS also aim to keep water on the surface rather than being directed into underground pipes. Examples of SuDS include rain gardens, swales, detention basins, some types of ponds, reedbeds and green roofs.

This project helps schools and their local communities to:

Naturalise and ‘green’ outdoor spaces

Improve the health of local rivers

Provide habitats for wildlife and increase school biodiversity levels

Save water

Reduce local flooding

Develop whole school understanding related to environmental conservation and sustainability

Learn outdoors

Forge closer links with the local community and become a hub for interested parties including businesses and other schools

Increase school profile through local and regional media

Develop community understanding related to environmental conservation and sustainability

www.sudsforschools.wwt.org.uk

Image: Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust


SuDS Guidance & Best Practice Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust & Environment Agency

management options that fit the definition of sustainable drainage. It also reviews their cost and effectiveness in helping to meet the objectives of the Water Framework Directive, to reduce flood risk and adapt to climate change.

The techniques described focus on intercepting run-off and trapping sediment before it leaves the field. This can provide additional benefits such as temporarily capturing water and slowing down flow which can help reduce localised flooding and provide valuable micro-aquatic habitats in the right circumstances. Options explored in the report include trenches, wetlands, retention ponds and buffers and many of these features can be further enhanced by sediment traps as part of the design.

The report contends that whilst rural SuDS may be more complex to create compared to a simple buffer strip, they also provide a number of additional benefits for the landowner and can increase the effectiveness of existing features such as buffer strips, walls and new hedgerows.

tinyurl.com/nm2ywpt

Together with the RSPB, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) have produced a publication detailing how to design and install efficient SuDS. The guide is aimed at aimed at local authorities, (and eventual SuDS Approving Bodies (SABs)), landscape architects, developers, engineers, master-planners and anyone wishing to deliver benefits for people and wildlife through SuDS.

Using best practice case studies, the guide complements existing guidelines and identifies design features and criteria to maximise ecological benefits.

www.wwt.org.uk/conser vation/sav ing-wet lands-and-wi ld l i fe/influencing-action/guidance

In 2012, the Environment Agency published a report on Rural Sustainable Drainage Systems (RSuDS). The report was compiled by Macaulay Institute with the aim of compiling an inventory of Rural SuDS that are appropriate for use in agricultural systems. It also describes their relative cost and effectiveness in farming systems.

The report provides a list of existing land


The Sheffield Waterways Strategy

South Yorkshire Forest, the River Stewardship Company & various partners

The Sheffield Waterways Strategy shows an inspiring vision of Sheffield’s rivers by 2022; once again providing places where people choose to live, work and invest.

The strategy has been prepared by a partnership between voluntary sector groups and statutory organisations, all of whom have an active role in the care and regeneration of Sheffield waterways. The aim of the group is to promote co-ordinated regeneration of our waterways.

Sheffield has over 150 miles of rivers and streams which, to a large extent, are responsible for the character of the city that we know today. Sheffield rivers and streams are major assets to the city and the Strategy will help deliver sustainable regeneration for future generations.

The vision for Sheffield rivers by 2022 includes watercourses and river corridors as defining features of a modern competitive, sustainable and attractive city, rich in wildlife and offering a wonderful quality of life to residents, workers and visitors.

It is hoped the Strategy will help re-engage local people, inspiring them to volunteer with their local

friends group by joining river clean ups, attending river themed community events and supporting future funding bids.

One of the key delivery partners in the Sheffield Waterways Strategy is local The River Stewardship Company who work to improve the waterways for people and wildlife in and around Sheffield.

The RSC passionately believe in the value of well maintained waterways

As beautiful places for people to relax and enjoy

As rich habitats for wildlife

As desirable settings for businesses and residents

The RSC are committed to delivering high quality practical riverside management work on behalf of private, public and third sector customers.

The RSC campaign for better care of our waterways and run projects to inform and involve local young people and volunteers in waterway improvements and fun waterside activities and events.

www.southyorkshireforest.co.uk

wwww.the-rsc.co.uk

Image: Five Weirs Walk in Sheffield by Tim Ellis (Flickr CC2.0)


Regenerating Parks in London Local Authorities, Environment Agecy & local delivery partners

all designed to create more sustainable drainage and reduce flooding. This restoration also gave the park a new entrance, adventure playground and tennis courts.

tinyurl.com/nbcgao6

The restoration of the Mayes Brook in Mayesbrook Park, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, has created an ecological and community focal point within a broader environmental regeneration project. It was designed to produce the UK’s first climate change adaptation public park. The restoration of an urban river within a barren park landscape is also a good example of an approach that combines flood storage, biodiversity enhancement and adaptation to climate change within a city environment.

thamesriverstrust.org.uk/projects/mayesbrook-climate-change-park

Ladywell Fields, originally Ladywell Recreation Ground is a public park in the London Borough of Lewisham created from three historic fields. The park, which consists of three adjoining fields, extends to 22 hectares (54 acres) and follows the course of the River Ravensbourne.

The River Ravensbourne is the major natural feature of the park's three fields, but previous work to reduce flooding had affected its aesthetic, recreational and environmental value. The park underwent enhancements in 2007/8 to the northern Field to divert the river into main area of the field creating a wonderful natural space where river dipping and paddling is popular in the Summer months.

Then in 2010/11, a major £2m project was funded by the London Development Agency and won ‘best new public space’ in the London Planning Awards 2011. Renovation, which was undertaken by BDP and East Architecture, included redesigned footpaths, river viewing platforms, an orchard and meadows. The river channel was modified to create a more naturalistic setting incorporating backwaters, wetlands and riverside tree planting –

Image: Ladywell Field, Lewisham by Ellis Munro (Flickr CC2.0)

The principal, over-arching aim of any catchment management work is to improve the water quality in our freshwater ecosystems and to make a significant contribution to their attainment of good ecological status in accordance with requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive. It is therefore vital that sufficient evidence is collected to provide an objective and robust assessment of the improvements delivered.

Ultimately, we must be able to justify that the money spent and the interventions delivered across the landscape have delivered significant improvements in water quality (and have therefore made significant contributions to the delivery of good ecological status of river catchments) and have generated significant secondary financial, ecological and social benefits.

4 Use monitoring & modelling to measure improvements...

Image: WRT


Ecological & water quality monitoring Various

paired monitoring sites are immediately above and below the point of intervention in connected directional systems (i.e. rivers and streams). Such sites are typically close together and can be demonstrated to be the same or different prior to intervention. Changes following intervention can then be detected in the downstream site while the upstream site will not be effected by the measures.

It is worth noting that, while these monitoring approaches have been used very effectively to demonstrate the effectiveness of environmental measures in numerous small-scale experiments, as the study site grows in size increased noise in the system will tend to mask any improvements that have been achieved. This problem means that the demonstration of landscape- or catchment-scale improvements through the delivery of interventions is extremely challenging without a sufficient level of delivery being achieved.

Having said this, a number of catchment-scale programmes, such a the Defra Demonstration Test Catchment Initiative have attempted to gather evidence of this type.

Perhaps the best way to demonstrate the benefits of a catchment or environmental management programme is to undertake monitoring before and after the intervention is delivered. In theory, if the baseline (pre-intervention) condition is well characterised, then it should be possible to detect the changes resulting from the action taken.

The monitoring taken at these sites can be designed to look at biological measures (such as behaviour, biodiversity, community composition or ecological health), variations in the chemical composition of the water or soil (such as concentrations and loads) or the physical properties of the environment (such as hydrology, temperature, morphology).

An alternative and/or additional approach to this temporally controlled evaluation is to use matched spatial control sites. These sites are identified as having a similar baseline condition and character to the test site, but do not receive the intervention. Both sites are monitored before and after intervention and differences between them after intervention are recorded.

The simplest spatial control is achieved when the

Image: WRT


Defra Demonstration Test Catchments (DTC)

Various partners in each DTC consortium

Demonstration Test Catchments (DTC) is a UK government-funded project designed to provide robust evidence regarding how diffuse pollution from agriculture can be cost-effectively controlled to improve and maintain water quality in rural river catchment areas.

The DTC project is currently working in four study catchments in England, which are representative of 80% of UK soil-rainfall combinations and the major farm types in England and Wales.

The catchments were selected in order to build on existing infrastructure, datasets, knowledge and farming contacts developed through previous and ongoing initiatives, which have not previously been well linked.

The catchments are also undergoing enhanced monitoring through the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative.

The Eden in Cumbria

The Wensum in Norfolk

The Avon in Hampshire - and the Tamar on the Devon/Cornwall border in close association with the Westcountry Rivers Trust.

DTC was established to address the gap in empirical evidence on the cost-effectiveness of combinations of diffuse pollution mitigation measures at catchment scales. By setting up as a platform with a community of researchers working closely with local stakeholders (practitioners and policy-delivery agents) and policy-makers.

DTC has three main roles:

As a programme of linked and co-ordinated research projects to provide underpinning research, from farm to catchment scale, that informs policy and practical approaches

As a research platform: to host longer-term collaborative research on diffuse pollution from agriculture

As a demonstration and co-ordination activity to demonstrate scientifically robust approaches to diffuse pollution mitigation

www.demonstratingcatchmentmanagement.net/

Image: Clouds over the Avon by Allan (Flickr CC2.0)


Effectiveness of Measures to Mitigate Diffuse Rural Pollution Scottish Government & Sniffer

likely effectiveness of policy mechanisms in meeting WFD objectives in 2015.

tinyurl.com/o3pafeb

In 2013 a second phase of this project was concluded that aimed to predict the effectiveness of SEPA/Scottish Government measures to mitigate diffuse pollution and contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The hypothesis to be tested in this project is: ‘the measures and approach described in the Rural Diffuse Pollution Plan for Scotland will achieve WFD objectives for catchments impacted by diffuse pollution’.

Results from a modelling exercise will be used as part of the overall assessment of the effectiveness of measures and will subsequently help develop policy for the next basin plan and Scotland Rural Development Programme.

The overall objective of this project was to provide an independent, evidence-based assessment of the extent to which available policy implementation options will tackle diffuse pollution by 2015.

The first phase of this project investigated the feasibility of developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) based screening tool for diffuse pollution at the national scale, involving a review of available modelling methodologies and datasets.

Relevant models to address individual pollutant pressures and appropriate datasets were found to have been developed in the past, but application of a screening tool at such a large scale, covering both rural and urban pressures, and considering all pressures, had not been attempted before.

Nevertheless, it was concluded that a basic-level screening tool for Scotland and Northern Ireland was practicable and would be a significant contribution to the characterisation of water body catchments under the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

The initial report produced, therefore, provides an overview of diffuse pollution and an analysis of the

Image: Sean Dugan (Scottish Fisheries Coordination Centre)


Quantifying the Benefits of Catchment Management Initiatives

UKWIR

This report presents a framework and supporting toolkit for assessing the benefits of catchment management schemes.

Specifically it develops an approach for quantifying the benefits; provides structured, step-by-step guidance on undertaking a benefit assessment; offers practical advice and guidance on assessing effectiveness and monetising resulting benefits; signposts further guidance, resources and tools; and discusses how the results of the benefit assessment may be used in a cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analysis.

The framework may be used to undertake a qualitative, quantitative or monetary assessment of the benefits (or negative dis-benefits) resulting from a specific management intervention. The framework may also be used in an appraisal to forecast the benefits of one or more options before a decision is made, or in an evaluation to measure the benefits realised by an operational scheme.

This information may be an end in itself, but is more commonly input into a cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analysis to judge whether a scheme is

economically viable or to decide where to invest in catchment management. This set of four Volumes comprises a Benefit Assessment Framework, an Overview Report, a Review of the Effectiveness of Catchment Management Initiatives and Case Studies.

www.ukwir.org/ukwirlibrary/95165

tinyurl.com/lqtus5r

Image: WRT


Catchment Management Evidence Review Westcountry Rivers Trust

The principal, over-arching aim of any catchment management work is to improve the water quality in our freshwater ecosystems and to make a significant contribution to their attainment of good ecological status in accordance with requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive. It is therefore vital that sufficient evidence is collected to provide an objective and robust assessment of the improvements delivered.

In this review, Westcountry Rivers Trust explore the data and evidence available, which, taken together, demonstrate qualitatively and quantitatively that the delivery of integrated catchment management interventions can realise genuine improvements in water quality. To support the evidence collected, they have also summarised a number of case studies which demonstrate catchment management in action.

For each of the main groups of pollutants, identified key sources of pollutant loads and examined the impacts these pollutants have on the aquatic environment, including how they translate into a cost or risk to society. They have also identified key mitigation measures for reducing

pollutant loads and evaluated the data and evidence for the efficacy of these measures. This process has also allowed them to identify the interventions for which the evidence of efficacy does not exist or where it does not exist at an appropriate scale.

The review also addresses issues of scale and reviews a selection of modelling tools that can be used to predict the impact of interventions and measures at a larger sub-catchment or whole-catchment scale. It also explores the potential for secondary environmental, economic and societal benefits to result from the delivery of catchment management interventions.

Finally the governance structures currently being used to implement a catchment management-based approach in the UK are reviewed and some of the approaches now being adopted to create catchment management plans are examined.

issuu.com/westcountryriverstrust

tinyurl.com/qc3htrk


CSF Evaluation Natural England

Evaluation is a core part of the Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) project: essential for assessing delivery of objectives and benefits.

As part of the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme, Natural England have undertaken an evaluation study to demonstrate the benefits that the delivery of advice and measures have realised.

Diffuse pollution is a complex issue and there is significant uncertainty associated with measuring the benefits of mitigation.

To address this, Natural England's approach draws on data and information from a range of sources to develop the overall evidence for the benefits of CSF. These include:

Farmer engagement

Farmer awareness and attitude

Uptake of measures to control pollution

Pollutant losses and water quality

In addition to a comprehensive report, Natural England have also produced a number of case studies and technical reports covering specific areas; such as, advice and education delivery, water quality monitoring and environmental modelling.

publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/6538023361576960

publications.naturalengland.org.uk/category/6919090


Farmscoper

ADAS

The FARM SCale Optimisation of Pollutant Emission Reductions (FARMSCOPER) model is a decision support tool that can be used to assess diffuse agricultural pollutant loads on a farm and quantify the impacts of farm pollution control options on these pollutants.

FARMSCOPER allows unique farming systems to be created, based on combinations of livestock, cropping and manure management practices. The pollutant losses and impacts of mitigation can then be assessed for these farming systems.

The effect of a potential intervention is expressed as a percentage reduction in the pollutant loss from specific sources, areas or pathways.

The tool utilises a number of existing models :

Phosphorus and Sediment Yield Characterisation in Catchments (PSYCHIC)

National Environment Agricultural Pollution-Nitrate (NEAP-N)

National Ammonia Reduction Strategy Evaluation System (NARSES)

MANure Nitrogen Evaluation Routine (MANNER)

IPPC method for methane and nitrous oxide.


Extended Export Co-Efficient Model (ECM+) University of East Anglia & Westcountry Rivers Trust

Location and area of lakes and reservoirs with modelled impact on pollutant load at outflow.

Farming practices: current uptake of Best Management Practices and effectiveness in reducing pollutant export.

What makes the ECM+ model such a powerful tool is that it is constructed with the participation of farmers, water company representatives and other stakeholders in the catchment and this allows all of the input data to be ‘ground-truthed’ before it is added into the model. The model is also calibrated at the sub-catchment level with real-world, in-stream measurements of pollutant load derived from Environment Agency monitoring data.

Another important component of the ECM+ model is that, once it has been built, it is then possible to develop and run a number of scenarios with the stakeholders (which can include different blends of both Best Management Practices on farms and improved sewage treatment measures) and observe their effects on the export of pollutants to the watercourse.

youtu.be/XQsGUNxvyjA

The Extended Nutrient Export Coefficient Model (ECM+) has been developed by the University of East Anglia under the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Programme and part-funded by the Westcountry Rivers Trust.

ECM+ has been developed to predict the effects implementation of Best Management Practices (BMP’s) (Cuttle et al. 2007) will have on sediment, faecal indicator organisms (FIOs), phosphorus and nitrogen inputs into watercourses.

Put simply, the model uses export coefficients for different land-use types to calculate exports of these pollutants based on the following input data:

Landuse distribution—including urban and various agricultural landuses.

Livestock numbers—including numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.

Population served, treatment levels and locations of Sewage Treatment Works (STWs).

Population not served by STWs: i.e. septic tanks.

Road and track density.

Rainfall and hydrological data combined with in-stream processing of pollutants.

WaterLIFE Working with communities, business and

government for healthy rivers

In this collection of case studies we have attempted to create a showcase of the tools, approaches, best practice guidance and projects currently being delivered by organisations, groups and individuals engaged in Defra’s Catchment Based Approach Initiative.

It is hoped that this collection will continue to grow as further case studies are contributed and all of the material presented here will also be placed onto the Catchment Based Approach website.

This document has been produced through a collaboration between the Westcountry Rivers Trust, The Rivers Trust and the Catchment Based Approach Community and with funding from the EU LIFE Programme as part of the WaterLIFE Project. WaterLIFE aims to help local communities engage with River Basin Management Plans and to deliver on-the-ground improvements that support accelerated delivery of the Water Framework Directive.

Westcountry Rivers Trust Rain Charm House, Kyl Cober Parc, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall PL17 8PH

tel: 01579 372140; email: [email protected]; web: www.wrt.org.uk

This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Westcountry Rivers Trust. The copyright of all material remains with the originators unless otherwise stated.