Where rivers return to life.
We restore Britain’s rivers, protect the wildlife that lives in them, and help people stand up for healthy waterways. Twenty-seven years. 1,247 km restored. Still going.
Restoring rivers. Protecting wildlife. Helping people act.
Since 1998, we have restored 1,247 km of river across thirty-seven catchments in England and Wales. We run the UK’s largest citizen-science river monitoring network, educate 28,000 school pupils every year, and campaign for stronger river protection in law and regulation.
Our mission is three verbs in order: restore, protect, help. The work is specific, monitored, and published.
River Restoration
Physical work on rivers and their banks: removing barriers, re-meandering channelled stretches, planting native alder buffer strips, and creating spawning gravel beds. 60–80 km restored every year.
Water Quality Watch
Our citizen-science monitoring network. 2,800 trained volunteers test water chemistry at 8,400 registered sites monthly, sharing data openly with the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.
Riverside Schools
Curriculum-linked river education for 312 schools and 28,000 pupils every year; from classroom resources to field visits and summer residentials. Science and geography curriculum links throughout.
Wildlife Guardians
Otter monitoring, water vole reintroductions, kingfisher habitat creation, and white-clawed crayfish ark-site management across 37 priority catchments. Species recovery built into habitat restoration.
Advocate for Rivers
Campaigns on sewage discharge, abstraction licensing, and agricultural runoff, backed by data from our own 2,800-strong monitoring network. Legal support for pollution incidents. Parliamentary engagement.
Stay connected with our rivers
Sign up for our quarterly field report: restoration updates, new volunteer opportunities, and the latest from our monitoring network. News from the catchments, not a marketing email.
What our supporters say
Volunteers, donors, and citizen scientists on why rivers matter to them.
Our impact
Twenty-seven years. Measured, monitored, and published.
Every kilometre of restored river is recorded. Every volunteer session is logged. Every pupil reached is counted. We publish our methods and our mistakes.
of river restored since 1998
active volunteers in our network
schools in Riverside Schools
Ready to get involved?
Join a river work day, sign up for the Water Quality Watch, bring your school to the riverside, or support us with a regular gift. There is a pathway into this work for everyone.