Latest News Update

Collecting soil samples at a disused mine site by Victoria Benn

In this issue:

Help Us Record Non Native Species in Our Catchments

Support our Volunteers with Earth Raise Fund Raiser

Channel 4’s Dirty Business

Take Part in Community Theatre & Celebrate the River Ure

Great Yorkshire Rivers

How We Use Drone Technology to Support Restoration

Support the River Nidd

Help Us Record the Non-Native Species in Our Catchments

One of our projects is to try and control invasive non-native species (INNS) in key areas where we know it will make a difference. 

If you are walking by a watercourse we would like to encourage you to use an INNS mapping survey to record what INNS you see or don’t see so we can build a record of their presence and their absence . NB. INNS outperform our native plants, impacting biodiversity and often leading to increasing bankside erosion. Sending in photos of what you spot is also helpful! 

The priority species we are focusing on are giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed, American skunk cabbage and Himalayan balsam.

There are some useful videos to help with spotting and recording INNS here .

All these plants start to appear towards the end of March/early April, so recording their presence / absence now will help us plan our treatment programme.  

Target areas are:

• Giant hogweed: Bedale Beck; Markington and Stainley Beck; Crimple Beck

• American Skunk Cabbage: Oak Beck

• Japanese knotweed: on the Swale near Richmond

• Himalayan balsam: Thornton Beck; Timble Gill Beck; the River Burn; Skeeby Beck

If you would like support the control of INNS as a volunteer email: volunteering@YDRT.co.uk . We are also keen to hear from any landowners in these areas about how we can support the management of these plants.

Visit our YouTube channel for INNS ID reels to help you get spotting – see button below:

Photo: Giant Hog Weed

Support Our Volunteers with Earth Raise

From April 22 - 29 we will be raising funds to support our 2026 volunteering programme through the Big Give’s Earth Raise match funding project.

Our goal is to provide essential equipment and training for our volunteers to deliver vital riparian improvement work, including planting trees, restoring habitat connectivity, and tackling invasive non-native species (INNS).

Jennifer Lee our Volunteering and Engagement Officer said:

“Our volunteers make a huge difference to the quality of rivers and water bodies across the region. With regular volunteering sessions we can make a significant difference, be that through tree planting, INNS removal, sampling or litter picking – and having the right equipment and training is key!”

Please keep an eye out for future newsletters and social media posts about this brilliant match funding opportunity - as always, we are incredibly grateful for all donations that help us reach our £5000 target!

Photo: Volunteers Willow Spiling on the River Ure.

Channel 4’s Dirty Business

If you’ve been watching Channel 4’s Dirty Business with David Thewlis and Jason Watkins you’ll be aware that sewage is discharged into our UK rivers on a daily basis. To stay informed about this often illegal practice we recommend bookmarking the Event Discharge Monitoring (EDM) discharge alert map available on on The Rivers Trust website via the button below.

There is also a new water law - the Water Reform Bill - coming in in 2026 which has the potential to overhaul the current system. We whole heartedly support the The Rivers Trust’s plea that people email their MP to ask that this new law cracks down on sewage and intensive agricultural pollution, and fixes the broken system that allows water companies to put profits before people and nature.

Click on the button below to access the Rivers Trust ‘email your MP’ proforma:

Photo credit - Oak Beck Outfall in Harrogate

Take Part in Community Theatre & Celebrate the River Ure!

We are excited to announce our collaborative involvement in a brand-new theatrical production, Tributaries , a 2026 Ripon and Wensleydale Community Play led by Fell-Foss Theatre and created with local people. The production is part of our National Lottery Heritage Funded Rivers4Life project - a three-year project combining the arts and science - to enable our work to reach a wider audience. And, you can get involved! All you need to do is come along to one of its three Open Rehearsals and bring your ideas and enthusiasm - be that for acting, working behind the scenes or supporting musically. Details of the Open rehearsals taking place in March and April can be viewed on the poster and button below - NB. no booking is required for these - just come along!

Tributaries will have its public performances at the Dales Countryside Museum in June and Ripon Workhouse Museum in July to coincide with Ripon Theatre Festival.

Great Yorkshire Rivers

Great Yorkshire Rivers is a partnership of Yorkshire Water, The Rivers Trust and Environment Agency which aims to address all artificial barriers negatively impacting fish populations in Yorkshire, allowing recovery of our native fish species to help rivers and their communities thrive.

YDRT’s Kate Colledge was the first member of staff to be employed and is leading the prioritisation and removal/mitigation of barriers to fish passage  across the YDRT region.

You can find out more about this project via The Great Yorkshire Rivers website via the button below:

Support the River Nidd

All are welcome ato the Nidd Action Group ’ s annual public meeting on Wednesday 18 March in Knaresborough. It is a very significant time for the River Nidd with increased pollution threats but also increased opportunities for monitoring and testing.

At the meeting the main stakeholders for the health of the river (including the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and North Yorkshire Council) will share their plans, actions and concerns, also responding to questions from the public through a live interactive panel.

This is a great opportunity to get involved and sign-up to work with the Nidd Action Group (NAG) . Full details of the meeting are on the poster below and you can email them via the button below: