News

Every year ‘Balsam Bashes’ are organised by volunteers and members of the Kent Catchment Partnership. Himalayan Balsam (HB) is a fast growing invasive non-native species that can be found in many areas around the country. HB specifically loves to grow around rivers and lakes and can spread rapidly choking out native species that can then cause erosion and habitat loss. One positive thing about Balsam, unlike other invasive species, is that it can be pulled out during certain months of…

In 2019, SCRT installed three floating islands in Elterwater as part of our ongoing Elterwater remediation project. Elterwater is a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI), formed from three connected basins (inner, middle and outer basin) and fed by Great Langdale Beck and Little Langdale Beck. Situated just outside the small village of Elterwater in the Langdale Valley, Elterwater has been badly affected by historical pollution. SCRT have been working to improve the water quality of Elterwater for a number…

You still have time to book yourself onto our free otter spotting training course, run by our project officer Hannah Teagle this weekend. Learn a new skill and help us identify areas for habitat restoration. Find out more information about the training on our events page here: OTTER SPOTTING 

Riverfly or invertebrates are small living creatures that live in your river or beck. Even though they are small they can tell us big things! That’s because these creatures are powerful indicators of river health. That is why we set up a riverfly programme for volunteers to learn more about their local river or beck and help collect vital data to help us make improvements in the catchment. Our 2022 riverfly training is back in April to teach more volunteers about…

We have teamed up with Guide over Sands Trust for a charity walk across the Leven Estuary from Sandgate to Chapel Island! On the 23rd July 2022, participants will walk for South Cumbria Rivers Trust and ticket money will go towards conserving, protecting, monitoring and rehabilitating the aquatic environments of South Cumbria. So how about joining us? The first year the walk is available to the public, this 4-5 mile route across the Leven estuary to Chapel Island, is going…

South Cumbria Rivers Trust have been working up a proposal to remove Bowston weir since 2017. Bowston weir is a three metre high structure that spans the width of the River Kent at Bowston, above Burneside, Kendal. Last week, South Lakeland District Council held a planning committee meeting, where the Bowston weir removal application was heard, discussed and voted upon. Councillors approved the application for removal. SCRT will now be working towards the removal, due to take place this summer,…

Some SCRT staff and our volunteers have attended a priority habitats and species training session run by Freshwater Biological Association (FBA), who have recently appointed a new priority habitats officer. The training was made available through the National Priority Habitats Scheme which runs in partnership with Natural England. This was the first training session since FBA funding was granted, with more sessions to follow this year. The intention of the training is to gather information on priority river and lake…

Every year, South Cumbria Rivers Trust carry out Electrofishing surveys in the rivers and becks of South Cumbria. This survey technique allows us to assess salmonid populations, assess how effective habitat improvement works have been and look for further habitat improvement works in the future. Jayne, our catchment planning and delivery officer, has compiled all the data from the surveys conducted in 2021. You can find the report here: 2021 Electrofishing Report

Meet our new project officer, Emma Wright, who started with SCRT just before the Christmas period.  Emma has been appointed to work on the new and exciting LIFE R4Ever Kent Project, that plans to restore and revive the River Kent (SSSI/SAC) helping species recover, making the designated features more resilient to environmental pressures. The River Kent is designated for its Ranunculion habitat (aka water-crowfoot; a freshwater plant), freshwater pearl mussel, bullhead and white clawed crayfish. It is also however, impacted…

Trustees and staff at South Cumbria Rivers Trust would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you to all the volunteers who worked with us throughout the year, for your ongoing and unwavering support, especially during these difficult times. We will be back in 2022 to help drive further local improvements to our watercourses for the benefit of people and wildlife. Look out for some exciting opportunities to help plant some reedbeds…