Celebrating the Westcountry’s rivers on World Rivers Day 2020
A message from Dr. Laurence Couldrick, CEO of the Westcountry Rivers Trust. Our regional rivers across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset are the ‘veins’ of our landscapes, with water the ‘blood’ that fuels our lives, work and play. At Westcountry Rivers Trust we...
If a tree falls and no-one is there to hear it…..
We all know the philosophical question "If a tree falls and no-one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" but what about the less common "If a river is polluted with chemicals and no-one is there to measure it, does it fail the WFD?". Well the answer is YES. Last...
In praise of red tape – a riverside view of regulation and the ‘one out all out’ principle
Our CEO Dr Laurence Couldrick comments on the recent speech from the Environment Agency's Chief Executive regarding the environmental regulation of our rivers. I was interested to read Sir James Bevan’s speech on 4 August titled In Praise of Red Tape. Within the...
More than a million pounds to tackle climate change in Cornwall
Duchy College, part of The Cornwall College Group (TCCG), has been awarded almost £1.3 million from the The National Lottery Community Fund to run The Farm Net Zero project, which aims to help the farming community move towards net-zero carbon emissions. The project...
‘Leaky walls’ work wonders on Walkhampton Common
Most people wouldn’t want a ‘leaking wall’ but that’s exactly what the River Operations Team at Westcountry Rivers Trust built on Walkhampton Common, Devon, to help with flood management. This work is part of the Dartmoor Headwater Natural Flood Management...
Bude Wins £200,000 To Tackle Climate Crisis
Bude Climate Partnership, a group of 12 local community organisations, including Westcountry Rivers Trust, has been awarded £200,000 by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund for an 18-month project to investigate, test and develop ways to protect the Bude area and...