14 Feb 2025

Do you live in North Devon? Are you interested in the health of your local rivers?

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Do you live in North Devon? Are you interested in the health of your local rivers?

We are looking for new volunteers to join Westcountry CSI and become citizen scientists!

What is Westcountry CSI?

Westcountry CSI (Citizen Science Investigations) is a scheme established by Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) that involves monitoring the health of our streams and rivers, through spot sampling.  We are organising a training event (delivered by WRT) to sign volunteers up.

The surveys are fairly quick and can take up to 15-20 minutes to complete. Once you sign up to the scheme online, you will receive free kit including phosphate test strips, a turbidity tube and a dissolved oxygen probe. As part of the project, volunteers are asked to take monthly samples at their chosen monitoring site and upload the results onto cartographer – a database managed by WRT.

The event details are included below:

Westcountry CSI Training Event

at Hatherleigh Community Centre

on Thursday 20th March

from 10.30-12.30pm

If you would like to book a place at the event, please email [email protected] confirming the area you live and where you’d be interested to survey, if you have a preference.

For more details about the scheme there are plenty of resources available on the WRT website here: Westcountry CSI – Westcountry Rivers Trust (wrt.org.uk) or you can view the CSI Leaflet here: CSI Leaflet.

The training event is funded through Devon Wildlife Trust’s Northern Devon Natural Solutions project and therefore, we are only looking for volunteers who can sample streams and rivers in the northern parts of Devon, although this can include anywhere in the Taw and Torridge catchments. For more information about the wider project, you can view the website here: Northern Devon Natural Solutions | Devon Wildlife Trust

24 Jan 2025

Exmoor Streams Environmental Issues and how to help

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Exmoor Trees for Salmon – help needed please

An invitation to join the Westcountry Rivers Trust, on Sunday 9th February, for a volunteer tree planting day along the river Barle, at Landacre Bridge. This area is an important region for spawning salmon and juvenile habitat within the Exe, however a lack of tree cover leaves the fish vulnerable. To help improve this habitat, WRT are planting pockets of trees alongside the river and need your help to put these trees in the ground!

WRT have 1500 trees to be put in the ground, so the more help the better.

If you are interested please follow this link for more information and to book a place https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exmoor-trees-for-salmon-tickets-1217821249139?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Ticks and fleas are significant issues infesting cats and dogs. What is often overlooked is the devastating impact the commonly used treatments have on the environment. Many streams and rivers on Exmoor are impacted upon with areas where dogs splash and play in the rivers are deviod of invertebrate fly life. This impacts on fish populations including trout and salmon parr.
Please see the very interesting article below. A letter to you MP would help get these chemicals banned for use on cats and dogs.
15 Sep 2024

Salmon caught from Taw and Torridge

by | posted in: At the Waters Edge, Game Fishing, Sidebar, Uncategorised | 0

A rise in river levels following recent rainfall has encouraged anglers onto the regions rivers in the hope of salmon. James Lewis fished a middle Torridge beat and tempted a fine salmon estimated at 9lb. Another salmon estimated at 13lb was tempted from a middle Taw beat. Several other salmon have been seen migrating up river so there is hope that a few more will be tempted during the last two weeks of the season

I attended the West Country Rivers Trust CSI Volunteer Conference at High Bickington on Saturday September 14th. The event was well attended with enthusiastic volunteers from across the region. It is very encouraging to meet with a wide range of people with a passion for rivers. It is clear that there is a need for more coordination of effort between the many different groups that use the rivers a topic that was explored with future plans explained by speakers at the event. https://wrt.org.uk

Many at the event were not anglers and talking with several at the event my view that we need to work together for the good of the rivers was reinforced. Anglers, Canoeists, Wild Swimmers and conservationists all want clean water so we need to focus on our common goals and put our differences aside.

26 Oct 2017

Crow Point – Beach Clean

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Pauline and I joined volunteers at Crow Point on a beach clean organized by the West Country Rivers Trust. Organizer Kathi Bauer told me that they counted 14 full bin bags of rubbish at the end of the event,lots of the usual waste but also some sharps. Whilst around  20 people signed in they counted a lot more – Jodie and Cat of the WCRT estimated between 45 to 60 people overall, including children.

It was great to join in clearing the debris from the estuary and to my relief there wasn’t too much angling related litter. The event commenced with an informative walk and talk with  Dave Edgcombe, who gave a very informative talk about the Taw and Torridge Estuary explaining how mankind industry has shaped the landscape. I have been visiting the White house area for close to fifty years and was astonished how much the landscape has evolved  as a result of natures relentless forces. The Whitehouse was originally built in conjunction with the ferry that once linked Instow, Appledore and Braunton. The location being the original mouth of the River Caen a river that once had a significant run of salmon and sea trout!

The breaking through of the sluice gates has certainly transformed the area known as Horsey Island behind the Whitehouse! ( Below)

(Above) Volunteers at the beach clean.

(Above) A wide range of debris

(Above) Bags of litter

Litter is something that really annoys me and it was great to get out in the fresh air and do our bit. I have raised the issue of angling related litter before and will do so again but its not just anglers who leave litter its a problem that blights the whole of society. I challenge any one to find any where that’s not blighted by litter. Even on a beautiful beach on the West Coast of Scotland there were bits of plastic debris on the shoreline.

Next time you go fishing make sure you take your litter home and any that others have left. If we all pick up a bit it will make a difference.

http://www.summerlands-tackle.co.uk