Our Latest News
in this issue…
Soil Health Online Talk | New Opportunity for Dales Farmers | Citizen Science Opps to Help Rivers | Rivers4Life Photography Competition | Ousewem Update | Dip into our Projects |
Support Environmental Consultations | Volunteering Opportunities & Fundraiser
What’s been happening …
The results are in – and we can confirm that over the last year we’ve engaged with 556 volunteers who’ve contributed 1702 hours to monitoring and restoring the rivers, streams and catchments of the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Ouse. See further down this newsletter for information about our latest volunteering opportunities and our April fundraiser for volunteer resources!
We’d also like to give a heartfelt thank you to the Aysgarth Falls Hotel which has introduced an optional £1 donation to every dining bill in its restaurant with all proceeds going directly to us!
Soil Health – Why it Matters
Soil Health – Why it Matters!
Join us on 19 March 12 – 12:45pm for a free online event about soil health and its crucial role in farming and the environment.
This talk is aimed at those with little to no knowledge about soil health & who are keen to find out more!
The event is being run by our farming and conservation officer, Abigail Mace, made possible with funding from Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.
Sign up via the button below:
Rivers4Life Photography Competition
From macro images of microscopic life to marvellous mammals, from waterfalls to water voles – we’re launching a competition to find the best photographs of our Yorkshire Dales rivers and wildlife, to be included in our Rivers4Life exhibition!
Share with us your favourite photos taken in the catchments of the Trust which includes the rivers Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Ouse, and associated tributaries. We are looking for amazing images showing our beautiful rivers and streams and wildlife. (Please do not include people in your images.)
All entrants will be in with the chance to feature in the Rivers4Life summer exhibition taking place at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes from late June to early September 2026, and in a future Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust calendar! There are four stages to the competition, covering all the seasons. The spring season covers March to May and the deadline for entries is 5 June 2025. Enter via the button below.
Dip into our Projects!
Our small team currently has more than 20 different river and catchment improvement projects on the go!
To share on the ground insights about what’s involved in each, Victoria Benn, YDRT communications and marketing officer will be taking time away from her desk to visit each project and write up her experience as a blog. The series of blogs is entitled Dipping into our Projects and can be found on LinkedIn. Victoria’s first day out was with Sarah Lonsdale, project manager for river enhancement collecting baseline data on the water quality (chemistry, aquatic riverfly populations and the diversity of its algae) of How Stean Beck, a tributary of the River Nidd.
Read the blog and subscribe to receive notifications for the next one via the button below:
Environmental Consultations
Two important environmental consultations have been launched:
Independent Water Commission Consultation – closes 23 April
Land Use Framework Consultation – closes 25 April
The evidence being sought will inform Defra’s development of any recommendations – so if you have an informed view about safe drinking water and sanitation of wastewater or how nature and wildlife should be balanced with agricultural land use and food security, we would encourage you to have your say via the links above.
Building Resilient Water Systems
The People’s Commission on Water Sector are hosting a public event in Knaresborough on 31 March, hosted by the Nidd Action Group from 11:30am – 4:00pm.
This is your opportunity to hear national experts explain how to stop pollution and to have your say.
To find out more including the speakers and itinerary for the event visit Nidd Action Group via the button below:
New Opportunity for Dales Farmers
Farmers in the Upper River Wharfe catchment will soon be able to benefit from a new project helping unlock funding to develop less productive land into havens for nature and boost the natural flood resilience of the valley.
We are supporting Kilnsey Estate to launch a pilot for the innovative scheme that will initially see more than 20 hectares of land transformed into a new wetland reserve at a farm near Kilnsey via the government-backed new private finance model.
The project, funded by NEIRF (Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund), will be delivered in partnership with the Farmer Network, and aims to engage with farmers throughout the Upper River Wharfe valley over the next year. A series of events are planned including workshops and site visits.
If you are a farmer or landowner in the Upper Wharfe and would like to find out more click on the button below.
A Free & Easy Way to Help Rivers!
The Rivers Trust biannual citizen science event, the Big River Watch is taking place from 25 April to 1 May. This is a week-long citizen science survey helps build a picture of river health across the UK and Ireland.
New for this year, you can also simultaneously sign up to the Great UK WaterBlitz running 25 – 28 April hosted by Earthwatch Europe which enables volunteers to test their own local small becks, streams and/or rivers for phosphates and nitrates.
Remember, our rivers are far from healthy. They’re polluted with sewage, plastic, chemicals and nutrients, and just 15% of river stretches in England are in good overall health.
To restore them, both organisations need more information about how they’re doing. With the Big River Watch app, you can help identify the issues by contributing to a national data set, and to take part in the Great UK WaterBlitz you will need to order a testing kit. There are only a limited number of kits available so if you would like to get involved sign up asap.
More information and details via the buttons below:
Volunteering Update
February saw us finish our coppicing sessions at Skeeby Beck – thank you to all who have been involved. The Holmedale Nature Network are also keen to hear from anyone who would be interested in helping with tree and hedge planting sessions on Saturday 22 March, 1:30-3:30pm in Newsham. To take part email: [email protected]
We are also delighted to announce that we will shortly be launching our spring fundraiser via our match funding partner, Big Give. All funds raised through the scheme which starts 22 April will be doubled and put towards supporting our amazing volunteer work.
More details to follow soon
Ousewem – Supporting Farmers with NFM
A huge thank you to the farmers, landowners, and community members who joined us at Ousewem’s recent events. Your engagement is vital in shaping natural flood management (NFM) solutions that benefit both local communities and the wider landscape.
At the Sustainable Swaledale meeting on 6 March, we shared how our flood modelling efforts are helping to identify the most effective NFM interventions. The discussion reinforced the importance of combining local knowledge with data-driven insights to build long-term flood resilience. For those interested in learning more about how we use modelling to inform NFM projects, take a look at our recent video and article: NFM tools: modelling, theory and practice
On 10 March, we welcomed farmers and landowners to a Pie and Peas Night in Reeth, where we explored opportunities for fully funded NFM projects and expert advice on grants.
If you have wet or hard-to-farm areas, we’d love to explore how we can support tailored NFM solutions for your land. To find out more, visit www.ousewem.co.uk, email [email protected] or call 01423 714 841.
Curlew
Nidderdale National Landscapes has launched a new app for recording sightings of the critically endangered curlew within the boundaries of the National Landscape so it can increase its understanding of curlew distribution and assess where future conservation efforts might best be focused.
The app can be used on a smartphone or tablet in the field, or if you don’t have one of these, sightings can be keyed into a PC or laptop once back home.
Details of how to download the app and full user instructions can be found via the button below:
