If you love your local river, understand how vital it is to you in your life and share our passion for keeping it healthy for you and your community, then there are many ways for you to get involved.
Whether it’s helping on a river clean-up day, becoming a river scientist, going on a river walk or simply making a donation, working together we can help your river for many years and generations to come.
Citizen Science Volunteers
We need you to help us help our rivers. Here at the Westcountry Rivers Trust we are passionate about our rivers and we know that you share that passion. We need your help to monitor our rivers in order to see which areas need our attention.
Working with business
We love to work with companies who, like us, are passionate about their rivers and environment. We work with business in myriad ways through our consultancy services and charity/project support. Working together with business not only helps us do our work, it also brings potential benefits to the business such as improved well-being for staff via engagement with the natural world, positive PR opportunities, and the knowledge that your business is working towards a sustainable and resilient future.
Corporate Volunteering
Our team will help your staff have a safe and secure time as they help the Westcountry’s freshwater environments.
It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors, care for nature, and bond as a group. You could be:
- Helping to remove invasive plant species or creating habitat for wildlife
- Supporting carbon storage by planting wetlands and woodlands
- Preventing plastics entering our rivers and removing litter
- Improving staff wellbeing and creativity while learning new skills
- Making a positive difference to our freshwater environments.
Partnerships for Action
To secure the future health of our natural heritage and all of the benefits it will provide, local communities will need to work together in partnership to develop a shared vision for the future of their landscape. We are involved in seven of the Catchment Partnerships that have formed in the South West and would encourage anyone interested in rivers, water or their local environment to get involved with them.
Education
When people come into contact with the natural world and learn the science of how it works ’hands‐on’, they are more likely to recognise its importance to them and inspired to care for it. We work with schools, colleges, universities and anyone else of any age to help them learn about the vital role the environment plays in all of our lives. Check out our River Academy for our free to use resources.
Events
We want everyone to stay connected to nature and freshwater habitats.
Discover myriad events you can take part in.
Go Fishing
Our Westcountry Angling Passport Scheme offers fishing for wild brown trout, sea trout, salmon, grayling and coarse fish in unrivalled surroundings. There are over 100km of riverbank to choose from. In addition to this, Westcountry Angling Passport tokens can be used at all of the South West Lakes Trust Fisheries and also on most of the other Passport Schemes around the UK.
Tell us how you want to get involved…
Latest volunteer news
First 100 volunteers sign up to monitor Westcountry rivers
Over 100 volunteers have now signed up to help the Westcountry Rivers Trust to monitor the health of rivers across the region. The Westcountry CSI (Citizen Science Investigation) project aims to encourage more people to take a closer look at their local river, stream...
Walking the River Exe: A new river story series
This summer we will be following the adventures of Arthur Fuest, as he makes his way along the River Exe. Check in regularly to see what how he is getting on! Here is what Arthur has to say... Summer is rapidly arriving in the UK and with it I am getting increasingly...
Garramarsh needs you!
After some major flooding, on the river Mole (in North Devon), at the tail end of last year, the levels dropped and revealed swaths of detritus washed down. Macabre Christmas Trees line the bank as shredded black silage wrap hang from the branches. On a gloomy day it...
Your support will help us to keep protecting and restoring freshwater habitats across our region, now and as long as needed in the future. Our aim is to inspire a long-term love for, and understanding of, our vital natural resource, water, supported by people like you.