Confluence 2018

Westcountry Rivers Trust Our Annual Review 2018 and a look forward to our 25th anniversary in 2019

Message from the CEO Welcome to our review of 2018 and forward look at 2019.

During this period, the political climate has been dominated by uncertainty over Brexit and worry over the speed of change if facing a no deal scenario.

This concern over not necessarily change, but the speed of it, is mirrored by the increasing pace of change in our climate and the frequency of extreme weather events.

Coupled with a lack of resilience in our landscape to buffer these extreme rainfall events, and dry spells, as well as cold and heat, are resulting in more flooding, drought and pollution events.

Contents Chief Executive’s Message

2

Celebrating 25 Years

3

Corporate Support & Our Impact

4

Our Land-related Projects

5

Our Engagement Projects

11

Our River Projects

17

Financial Summary

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This has been having increasingly significant impacts on our riverine habitats and the freshwater species that live in them.

During 2018 we have been battling against this change by protecting soils, both directly through advice and indirectly by giving grants to farmers to allow them to carry out more timely operations.

In 2019 we are pushing these activities further as we continue with flagship programmes like Upstream Thinking and develop Natural Flood Management projects upstream of small, rural at-risk communities.

Alongside these land-based activities, 2018 has seen a huge increase in the amount of in-river work we are doing as our River Operations team go from strength-to-strength. They have been working to remove barriers to fish migration as well as increase the quality of spawning habitat across several critical rivers. In 2019 this growth will continue as the team develops more strategic catchment scale projects on key rivers such as the Exe. We have also been delivering more engagement work within urban communities in Somerset to buffer the impacts of large areas of impervious concrete and help raise public awareness of the plights our rivers faces.

In 2019, this exploratory work will receive a huge boost and we will be employing this approach not only in Somerset but also in Plymouth.

We will also be increasing our citizen science and hope to launch new low-cost water quality probes that use domestic wifi and cheap mobile phone SIM cards to create an even denser data set highlighting the health of our rivers.

Laurence Couldrick 2

President: Michael Martin MBE Chairman of the Trust: Charles Huntington-Whiteley Chairman of the Board of Directors: Adam Fox-Edwards Trustees and Directors: Paul Arnott Prof David Butler The Lord Clinton William Darwall Sir Simon Day Andrew Gray Graeme Hart Sir David Hoare Bt

Jenny Ingham Clark Dr Keith Lancaster Henry Llewellyn Richard Simpson Andrew Southall Dr Andy Torrance William Wyldbore-Smith

Chief Executive: Dr Laurence Couldrick Company Secretary: Kelly Sivorn Independent Auditors: Francis Clark LLP Sigma House, Oak View Close, Edginswell Ln, Torquay TQ2 7FF Registered Company no: 06545646 Registered Charity No: 1135007 Registered office: Rain-Charm House, Kyl Cober Parc, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall. PL17 8PH.

Bringing Water to Life for 25 years “The formation of Westcountry Rivers Trust in 1994 was the first step in an extraordinary journey that became the rivers trust movement.

There are now more than 60 rivers trusts across England, Wales, and Ireland, with a further 25 rivers and fisheries trusts in Scotland. Many community environmental organisations around the world have based themselves on the rivers trust model.”

Arlin Rickard, CEO of The Rivers Trust and Westcountry Rivers Trust’s first employee The Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2019.

This provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on where we have come in a quarter of a century, what has changed as well as where we are going.

The trust was launched in 1994 by passionate individuals - such as the Poet Laureate Ted Hughes - who were concerned at the parlous state of our rivers.

WRT was the first organisation to be called a Rivers Trust. It was very different from other non-governmental organisations at the time as it used an ecosystem approach at a catchment scale. Being delivery focused (rather than campaigning), the trust worked closely with water companies, farmers and riparian owners. It led the way alongside organisations such as the Wye and Usk Foundation, Eden Rivers Trust, Ribble Conservation Trust, and Thames 21 who adopted a similar operation style. In 1995 it gained charitable status and employed Arlin Rickard as its first Chief Executive.

Early projects, such as the Westcountry Rivers Project and Tamar 2000 paved the way for our supportive relationship with farmers to understand their businesses, save them money, and, as a by-product, improve our rivers. This is now the template for many groups, including the Government’s Catchment Sensitive Farming programme.

The trust has always had a science-led, can-do attitude, and from those early days continues to work proactively across the area to protect our rivers, both from the practices that surround them to the legacy of structures within them.

Over the past 25 years, we have worked with thousands of farmers and opened up thousands of kilometres of habitat to migratory fish. There are plenty of successes where we have seen fish spawning in areas for the first time in a generation and invertebrates returning to previously polluted rivers. These are sadly often dwarfed by the scale of the problem, so we continue to fight to save our rivers.

What has changed dramatically over the years is the amount of interest our rivers garner and that their role in protecting against flooding, drought and water pollution has cemented their importance in society. This is a great achievement but frustratingly it has not been matched by an increase in regulatory pressure; precisely the opposite. Austerity has shrunk the public sector and there is less and less enforcement presence and monitoring activity.

These changes do present an opportunity for the trust to increase its delivery in all areas to compensate for the increasing realisation of how important resilient well-connected catchments are to society and the decreasing public sector activity, but it will need to be funded.

To make sure the trust is fit for the next challenge, it is making sure it can deliver demonstrable change in an efficient and effective manner.

By doing this we hope to speed up the protection of our vital rivers and streams for both current and future generations.

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Corporate Support As 2019 is our 25th anniversary, we are considering the next 25 years.

Building support for our work with businesses that align with our ethos and aims will be an element of this. And we are incredibly honoured to have been chosen by Otter Vale as one of two charities it will be supporting as part of its 40th anniversary in 2019 of making Devon Chutney.

For every sale of its onion and pineapple chutney, we, and Devon Air Ambulance, will receive a percentage of the sale. This is a fabulous way for us to receive support from the commercial sector.

By engaging with firms whose activities within a catchment relate to farming, food production or wildlife, and who have a love for their local area, we hope to secure positive publicity and engagement.

But, most importantly, it will provide a means for companies to help their environment for the benefit of all.

Our Impact 2018 Some of our highlights at a glance

If your business would like to discuss how to assist with our charitable purpose, please call us on 01579 372140 or read more about our work with businesses on page six.

12 806 communities at risk of flooding assisted

4

More than

tonnes of chemicals safely disposed of

152 315 water quality improvement projects / sites

4

volunteers supported our work

children engaged through our education events

20

4

98

387

More than

fish barriers passed or eased

More than

km of river habitat improved

urban rain gardens sown

farms collaborated with

Land-related projects The Land team’s extensive remit in 2018 has been defined by the continued delivery of projects such as Upstream Thinking and the development of future interests.

Our 25th anniversary has enabled reflection on our achievements, and environmental sector development during this time. It has also us to consider the immediate challenges confronting farming, land management and policy change.

The trust has long been an advocate of partnership working. The Land team values grassroots relationships and ensuring that the work we do is for the benefit of, and with, those in our rural communities. By ensuring their direct involvement or feedback, they contribute to shaping our futures.

To strengthen our ability to reflect these collective views, and potentially influence future schemes, the trust has been developing contacts and ideas more broadly. This has included working across the public, private and academic sectors such as: • Research - to facilitate farmer discussion groups to understand and reflect views towards current or future farming opportunities.

• Collaborative initiatives - for catchment-wide support through supply chain networks and private sector business to link producers and the public.

• Consultation - with farmers and partners to understand implications of stock welfare, limitations and need. This includes a potential resurgence in dipping to control sheep scab and how to best limit environmental risk.

As the current round of the Upstream Thinking project comes to an end, and we contribute towards developing its future delivery, we have seen a move from more ‘traditional’ aspects of catchment management advice.

Recognition and uptake of working with natural processes have grown - working with the land and the opportunities it presents to reduce or mitigate risks while delivering optimal benefits, not just to the individual site but also to society.

As a result, there has been significant cross-team activity at the Trust promoting the strategic use and appropriate management of woodland and forestry, implementing Natural Flood Management measures or boosting the use of buffer strips to capture or slow any losses to watercourses.

The importance of soils as a fundamental element of catchment management has long been part of the expert advice provided by the Land team.

We work to ensure that soil is recognised as a key natural asset with tangible value to farm operations, productivity and economics – keeping these assets in the best possible condition and where they belong; on the land.

2019 sees the launch of a new Devon and Cornwall Soil Alliance project to promote this message further, and build soils advice capability and capacity.

• Water Quality - understanding the impacts of historic land uses such as spoil tips in mining areas, and assessment of trial revegetation approaches to mitigate these.

5

Channel Payments for Ecosystem Services Channel Payments for Ecosystem Services (CPES) is an EU partnership, Interreg France (Channel) England funded project.

It investigates pressures leading to Water Framework Directive water quality failings from catchments in both the UK and France, which enter the English Channel.

We are one of 14 partners who will be developing and evaluating the potential for alternative markets or financial mechanisms which could support action or interventions towards improving this situation.

Our focus will be on two pilot case studies at Roadford Lake and river Lyd on the river Tamar, and the river Gara in south Devon. Both suffer from enrichment leading to algal blooms and further detrimental environmental impacts as a result.

This project has enabled exploration and development of new connections and opportunities, such as private companies in the tourism and recreation or food and drink sectors who have activity or supply chain interests in catchment and wish to collaborate.

As well as strengthening their environmental footprint, the intention is to ensure greater long-term resilience in catchments to support continued operations and robustness of supply in the face of economic pressures or climate change.

The Trust has been working with colleagues in the national Rivers Trust movement to develop this approach, together with Business In The Community, as one of the pilots delivering the Courtauld Commitment 2025 Water Stewardship ambition. This brings together numerous retailers and brands who have pledged to reduce waste, improve water quality and resourcing issues throughout their operations.

Visit wrap.org.uk/food-drink/business-food-waste/ courtauld-2025 for full details.

Payments for Ecosystem Services enables us to work with farmers and landowners in our pilot areas who wish to benefit from investment opportunities. It provides the potential to undertake small scale interventions using strategic woodland planting or natural buffering options, plus improving soil management to increase levels of infiltration and thereby reducing run-off or losses.

We will also be extending our previous trials by undertaking analysis for soil carbon to quantify current, and potential future, levels at a farm and catchment scale in both pilot areas.

This provides another metric to measure changes in land management - and also supports the potential for investment driven by carbon offsetting as one example.

Visit wrt.org.uk/project/cpes/ for more.

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Natural Flood Management Much of our work assists in the reduction of flooding, and in 2018 we engaged with a number of projects that specifically related to Natural Flood Management (NFM).

One of these is our monitoring in the Acland Stream catchment in North Devon. Contracted in 2017 by the North Devon Biosphere Reserve, our work has evolved in line with national guidance to include high-resolution monitoring of water level upstream and downstream of NFM interventions, as well as flow and water quality monitoring at the base of the catchment.

We have deployed a range of sensors for our partners, including rain gauges, soil moisture sensors, water level loggers and time-lapse cameras to capture evidence that the NFM features are functioning according to their design.

Our Ecosystem Services Review for the area around the City of Exeter for Teignbridge District Council informed the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan, which addressed flood risk management as one aspect of provision.

Working with Blackdown Hills AONB, we carried out a mapping-based project that used a variety of datasets to explore opportunities for NFM measures in the Coly and Corry river catchments in Devon, and, along with Devon County Council, installed equipment to capture the effectiveness of NFM interventions in these catchments.

One of our main areas of work, relating to NFM has been in soil management.

We have worked extensively over the past 25 years to reduce soil loss and silt into rivers, predominantly through working proactively with farmers and land managers at a catchment scale, to reduce soil run-off and protect riverbanks from excessive erosion.

Using natural processes, such as reconnecting the floodplain, slows the flow and holds water in the catchment for longer and traps any excess nutrients or sediment before they can reach a watercourse. This isn’t a new idea, but shaping the way the land is managed so the soil can absorb more water and reduce the peaks of a catchment’s hydrograph is an important element of our work.

In 2018, we held our Creating resilient catchments: Better Soil Management conference.

Environmental experts, politicians, and representatives from the agricultural sector joined us to discuss how the UK can better manage its soils for the benefit of people and the environment.

We also worked on the river Fowey with the South West Peatland Partnership, to restore wetlands (known as mires), through ditch blocking and raising the water table to help re-instate mire function and reform and protect peat soils. The works, funded by DEFRA, help store large volumes of carbon through the restoration of peatland and ‘slow the flow’ while improving habitats.

Looking to the future, projects such as our upcoming work with the Devon and Cornwall Soils Alliance will help us to deliver pioneering NFM results.

7

Pesticide Amnesty We have successfully continued to deliver a pesticide amnesty through 2018 via South West Water’s (SWW) Upstream Thinking (UST) project across five of the 11 UST target catchments that SWW takes water from.

Our farm advisors will visit a farm and collate the chemicals to be disposed of, photograph them to ensure accuracy and then arrange secure collection.

It seems previous years’ pesticide work is proving positive, as in 2018 we did not make any dramatic ‘finds’ such as tins of DDT. However, the volumes of out-of-date, unidentifiable and, in some cases, illegal chemicals continued to appear.

The Trust is indebted to Peake (GB) Ltd in Liskeard for their responsive collection of items we find on farms, which can also include sheep dip, Warble fly dressing, and other dangerous insecticides.

Paraquat in various forms, Bentazone (the most frequently detected herbicide in water), Azulox, and elderly Gramoxone containers have all been located and disposed of.

Although landowners are unlikely to either use these chemicals or dispose of them inappropriately, by removing them in such a professional manner it greatly reduces the risk of spillage when transported, accidental container damage or structural failure.

4

More than

tonnes of chemicals have been removed It also removes the risk of them ending up in farm dumps or poured down land drains.

The amnesty has been combined with on-farm assessments of chemical storage, location, and structure of mixing areas to ensure reduced risk to watercourses.

The Trust offers free spill containers to collect any concentrate that may spill during filling and, in some cases, a grant-aided specialised wash down area for cleaning the sprayer between chemicals.

In total, some four and a half tonnes (about the weight of one adult Asian elephant*) of chemicals have been removed in the past four years and more than 50 spill containers given to farmers free of charge.

WRT will continue to offer this service within the UST catchments until the autumn of 2019.ould either use these chemicals or dispose of them inappropriately *According to the WWF.

The farming community works with us to dispose of old or no longer legal chemicals in a safe and timely manner.

8

Dartmoor Dips In March 2018, we asked farmers on Dartmoor to share their knowledge and experiences of dealing with sheep scab.

The research, led by the Trust on behalf of the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project, Duchy of Cornwall and Environment Agency, aimed to help assess the scale of sheep scab on the moor and how farmers treat it.

The information, collected confidentially, has helped pave the way for more support for sheep farmers in the future.

As traditional sheep dipping treatments are strongly regulated to protect the operators and environment, as well as for animal welfare, many farmers have tried other means such as regular injections, sprays and other veterinary treatments as protection against the sheep scab infection.

However, it is now believed the scab mite is developing resistance to some treatments.

More than 45 farmers and 20+ vets and industry suppliers took part in our survey in 2018.

Their feedback provided first-hand information on the treatments that are being used and their effectiveness.

45

Dartmoor farmers took part in our research survey

“Contributing to a national review and positive changes is beneficial for all involved.�

Dave Valder, Land Management Advisor

Our final report has contributed to a governmental review of the sheep industry and a change in the storage regulations for sheep dip, which will help farmers and highlights the need for change.

We hope this will support the case for future investment to deliver this.

9

3Rivers Restoration As host for the Tamar Catchment Partnership, we have led this project in partnership with the Environment Agency.

The Rivers Lumburn, Lower Tavy and Walkham catchments, collectively feed into the Tamar at Lopwell. Focusing on identified causes of Water Framework Directive (WFD) failures, we have been, and are, proactively defending and protecting the good status of its waterbodies.

“Farmers involved are now planning,

and self-funding, further farm improvement work. “

Martin Harmer, 3Rivers Land & Rivers Advisor

Farm improvement works across the three rivers have been completed using a £12,000 grant, provided through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. This has generated more than £23,000 of erosion/run-off controls to improve and protect the catchments’ soils and water quality.

Farmers involved are now planning further farm improvement work and management changes after realising both the economic and practical benefits identified and proven by the grant assisted works which acted as a catalyst.

23000+

of erosion / run-off controls in place

In 2018, we held various events to encourage water and habitat awareness in the catchment.

Our Soils Alive! workshop brought together 14 farmers at Lamerton, near Tavistock, to exchange knowledge on grassland and soil management to maximise profitability and improve water quality. Ruminant nutritionist and grassland specialist Luppo Diepenbroek (pictured) engaged the farmers with practical tips and advice, including discussion about reducing erosion and run-off.

A public engagement event took place in Tavistock Park alongside the River Tavy, to engage passers-by in finding out more about the secrets of their three rivers, and understand water pollution issues.

We also shared information on how to participate in Citizen Science monitoring and new rules regarding domestic septic tanks.

Pupils at a school in Tavistock analysed the Tiddy Brook, which runs through the school grounds.

They used sampling techniques to see what 10

freshwater invertebrates were present to determine the quality of the water and discussed the water cycle, water usage, and pollution.

Reflecting on the wooded nature of the Walkham catchment, its importance as a salmonid fishery, and localised flooding issues, we are running a woodland, water and fisheries workshop to take place in 2019 for relevant stakeholders to exchange information and advice. This included the launch of our forestry-related water quality guide see page 15.

Barriers to fish migration on the river Walkham (pictured) have been prioritised for fish pass improvement work in the next funding round.

Localised flooding issues on a Walkham sub-catchment affects Walkhampton in very high rainfall events. We are working with the Environment Agency and Dartmoor National Park to understand how to mitigate this as part of the Dartmoor Headwaters Natural Flood Management (NFM) Project from 2019.

Wet weather walkovers in these areas have identified where small Natural Flood Management interventions such as gateway relocation, cross slope woodland planting, soil decompaction, and surface flow attenuation features can be implemented.

We have worked with local landowners and stakeholders to ensure we have the crucial permissions for these interventions to be supported in 2019/20.

Engagement projects The Evidence and Engagement team has worked on the spatial assessment, visualisation and quantification of environmental functions across catchment landscapes for more than 10 of its 25-year history.

There are promising signs that we will soon be able to deliver this community-led approach to creating healthier, more resilient communities in other towns and cities in the Westcountry in 2019 such as Plymouth, Exeter, and Torbay.

The vital information gained from this way of working has helped us to target the Trust’s work.

Our water quality citizen science programme, Westcountry CSI, felt a surge in popularity, with its dedicated volunteers helping us monitor the regions rivers, estuaries and tributaries.

But we have also come to recognise that, to achieve successful social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits, our plans should be developed and delivered in partnership with local stakeholders - citizens, communities, businesses and other environmental practitioners.

By working with local people to examine the available evidence and information, we act as ‘knowledge-brokers’ or facilitators to build consensus about the challenges faced in a particular area.

This enables us to work together to deliver the most effective solutions.

In 2018, the publication of the UK government’s 25 Year Plan for the Environment and the continued success of the catchment-based approach across the country, provided real impetus to our work on engaging, informing and empowering local people, communities and practitioners about rivers and the water environment.

It was a year of real progress in the urban landscape too.

Several long-term flow monitoring studies across the South West, from the River Axe in the East, the Teign, North Devon, and Cornwall have also been initiated.

One of the most exciting developments for the team in 2018 was the commencement of the PROWATER project.

This €7 million European project aims to make our landscapes more resilient to the impacts of drought through the use of nature-based solutions such as wetlands.

This project will be focusing on the River Otter, the Lower Dart at Dartington and areas of Dartmoor around the Devonport Leat.

Continuing our collaborations with education, a Bristol University PhD student will be using fluorescence-based sensors to identify ‘signatures’ of different land use practices. As part of the project, the rivers Deer and Claw will be the focus catchments in the UK.

Sponge 2020 continued to successfully deliver sustainable drainage systems such as rain gardens in housing estates and schools across Taunton.

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Out & About To encourage people to care for their rivers, in 2018, we visited fairs, events, workshops, and festivals to share our love for the region’s waterways.

Our highlights included the launch of our ‘First Sunday Volunteer Days’; the continued growth of our Citizen Science Investigations; and our work with other organisations.

By sharing our passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm for rivers with a variety of clubs, groups, and individuals, not only did we promote the work of the trust but we encouraged people to get to know their river and foster a sense of guardianship around it.

Education is fundamental to changing behaviours and by putting the fun into our educational events, we aimed to nurture long-lasting interaction with the natural world for those involved.

See some of the places we visited on the map.

Citizen Science Investigations (CSI).

71 CSI volunteers shared 1,050 river surveys with us in 2018. They helped us to learn more about the health of our waterways.

First Sunday Volunteer Days.

We launched our river care volunteering days in 2018. Taking place across the region on the first Sunday each month, they enabled people to be hands-on in looking after our rivers.

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Riverfly monitoring.

Volunteers on the River Exe celebrate 10 years of Riverfly monitoring.

Working in partnership with the River Exe and Tributaries Association, committed volunteers undertake 150 kick sample surveys a year, which helps to record the quantity and variety of key aquatic invertebrates such as stoneflies and mayflies.

Somerfest.

In 2018, we enjoyed our telling visitors to Somerfest about our school and community group work around Taunton to address climate change through sustainable drainage systems.

Super Saturday.

Having delivered monthly sessions at Yeovil’s Country Park, we joined them at this event to continue our investigations at the river Yeo. Visitors tried water quality testing and learnt about the relevance of soils.

Meldon Wildife Festival.

Organised by Dartmoor National Park Authority, and situated at Meldon’s old quarry, we took part in this fun-filled, wild day out for all the family. It was a great way for us to help people learn more about our work in an interactive way.

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Sponge 2020 SPONGE 2020 is an Interreg 2 Seas European project, part-funded through the European Regional Development Fund.

At Selworthy Special School we worked on plans with the schoolchildren for a rain garden.

Through the project, we are working with Somerset County Council and local communities to deliver urban flood reduction schemes in Taunton.

In designing the garden, we considered different sensory aspects and how to include them to create a space for the children to learn and enjoy being outdoors.

In 2018, we visited Holway Park and Lyngford Park Primary Schools with engineers from two universities in the South West.

We also worked with a group of enthusiastic volunteers to improve a ditch system on a nature reserve.

This was part of our Westcountry Women Working With Water project (a co-project funded by the Royal Academy of Engineers via its Ingenious programme).

It has been a busy year, with many new projects being finalised or taking shape in 2019.

These co-design days helped the children understand where the water from their homes and towns goes, how it is managed and how nature and green spaces can play a role in managing water.

“The project will ... reduce on site flooding and ensuring that our learners can continue to access outdoor spaces.�

Cameron Merry, Selworthy Fundraising Lead

The pupils also learnt more about how engineering helps to solve problems.

They then initiated ideas for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) for the school premises, including thinking about attracting pollinators and making use of rainwater.

At Holway Park, rainwater from the rooftops will be captured and stored so it can be used to top up the school pond.

These ideas are now being used to design and build rainwater harvesting and sustainable drainage systems in the grounds of the two schools.

The above design shows the original ideas for the sensory rain garden at Selworthy School

Our work has also been supported with funding from Wessex Water, Somerset Rivers Authority, the Greggs Foundation, and Postcode Local Trust.

Children at Selworthy School join in with planting the sensory rain garden

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Fingle Woods monitoring & our forestry work In 2017, the Woodland Trust teamed up with us and the Environment Agency to carry out an extensive monitoring project on the River Teign at Fingle Woods.

The woodland is rich in wildlife and much admired by the hundreds of visitors who make their way through the woods each year.

However, as is the case in many of our woodland areas, large sections of native trees have been replaced with coniferous species, which are unable to support the same levels of biodiversity.

The Woodland Trust is carrying out a major restoration of this ancient woodland, removing areas of non-native, coniferous trees and replanting with native woodland.

This is where our monitoring can help.

By using pH and turbidity sensors to relay real-time data via a telemetry system, we can advise if there appear to be any anomalies in the quality of the water during the restoration process.

Rain gauge and other rainfall data will also be analysed to help us put these water quality patterns into context.

This proactive working method helps ensure water quality remains good, and, if needed, the quick implementation of processes to mitigate any potential issues.

“The monitors not only provide us with

information, they show us how the river is ‘breathing’ too.“ James Gilbert, Evidence & Engagement Officer

Commercial timber extraction can have a negative impact on our rivers.

Of particular concern is sediment. It is readily mobilised in wet weather, and with forest tracks often connected to ditches, channels, and streams, reducing the transport into rivers is essential.

In partnership with Pryor & Rickett Silviculture, Euroforest and the Environment Agency, we have produced a guide for forestry operations water quality protection, covering installing sediment traps, hard-standing to loading areas and track improvements.

We have been working with commercial forestry contacts in some of our key target catchments, including the Tavy.

The trust provides advice and helps to reduce impacts over the wet extraction season from in-situ and diffuse issues arising from machinery operations and trafficking.

Winter forestry extraction months coincide with salmonid spawning which heightens the risk of sediment smothering redds (salmon egg nests) as well as degrading downstream habitat.

To view the full guide, visit: wrt.org.uk/woodlands-water-fisheries-workshop/ 15

Citizen Science Investigations 2018 was another great year for our Westcountry Citizen Science Investigations (CSI) scheme, with an impressive 1,050 surveys carried out by 71 individual volunteer surveyors. This is up from 727 surveys by 51 people in 2017.

We are enormously grateful to our dedicated volunteers – so whether you did one survey or 100 in 2018 – thank you.

1050

CSI surveys collected by 71 of our volunteers

Of the 590 designated water bodies in the Westcountry, in 2018 we had surveys recorded in 106 of them, which is almost 20%. That’s a great start but we are aiming for 100%.

There are still some notable gaps – North Devon and the east of the region could do with more volunteers and we’d love to increase our coverage in the small coastal catchments.

Thankfully, serious pollution incidents in our Westcountry rivers are relatively unusual.

Map showing numbers of Westcountry CSI surveys carried out in 2018 by waterbody.

However, during 2018 our volunteers did spot one of these and were the first to call it in to the Environment Agency pollution hotline.

Their prompt action will have helped the Agency gather evidence that increases the chances of a successful prosecution.

Much more common are diffuse pollution issues – seemingly small things that occur hundreds or thousands of times across a catchment.

This could be soil erosion, cattle in rivers, domestic misconnections - our volunteers recorded 814 instances of diffuse pollution in the 1050 surveys see graph below.

This information can be passed straight to our catchment advisors where we have them so they can speak with the landowner or relevant authority.

In other locations, it will help us build an evidence base that we can use to develop future projects.

To become a Citizen Scientist with us, visit: wrt.org.uk/project/become-a-citizen-scientist

Images show CSI in action and the graph highlights details of the type of diffuse pollution recorded at various locations.

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River projects Throughout 2018, the Fisheries and River Operations team has continued to deliver a variety of works relating to fish passage, riparian woodland management, gravel cleaning and replacement, river surveys and improvements.

In order to do all this, the teams have needed three things: the tools to do the job, a passion for natural waterways, and people with the drive to keep going until the rivers are as they should be.

2018 was a year in which we had huge growth in the tools to do these jobs. We bought new chainsaws, new winches, and even a utility vehicle to add to the armoury needed to improve the rivers.

However, the most important addition to the teams has been our three new river officers.

Our new staff joined us via a new project for WRT our summer electrofishing internship programme.

In 2017, they all got up early, donned their waders and worked till late surveying our rivers.

Finding new team members with the ability to carry out our work who possess an aptitude to learn new approaches to conservation is always a challenge.

But there can be no better way for those that want to understand and restore our rivers and fisheries than to electrofish survey the Exe, the Teign, the Avon, the Camel, the Fowey, the Plym, the Torridge, the Tamar, and the Dart over the course of a summer.

We are also looking forward to a new apprenticeship scheme for the trust beginning in 2019.

This will see us take on a new apprentice within the River Ops. team.

Thanks to the dedication and commitment of our teams in 2018, we have had a number of successful outcomes.

Across the four counties of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset, some of the highlights have included the launch of our increasingly successful Fish Pass App for Cornwall; delivery of a variety of habitat works, including effective cleaning of 65 spawning sites; improvements to two weirs; the completion of 24 fully qualitative electrofishing surveys and improving the lowland landscape in Somerset to improve access for eels.

Almost 40 kilometres of river habitat has been improved by the team, and 29km of river opened to fish.

This work has led to salmon fry returning to our rivers - see pages 19 and 22.

As we enter 25 years of river guardianship, we are looking forward to building on our capacity and achieving even more for our rivers and all the lives they support.

And with such dedication and enthusiasm, our 2017 interns, Craig, Mia, and Sam, have all become employees of the Trust.

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Fish Pass App Launching our Fish Pass App in June 2018, we received great recognition for it when we won the Wild Trout Trust’s Judges’ Commendation Award.

The development of our interactive, mobile app aims to continue the success of our Westcountry Angling Passport (WAP).

Our WAP scheme, which we have been running for nearly 20 years, sees landowners working with us to enable access to privately-owned rivers.

The scheme worked by anglers pre-paying for fishing in the form of tokens but accounting for the thousands of paper tokens, spread across two counties, was a significant undertaking.

Funding through Water for Growth (W4G), a European Regional Development project, allowed us to reimagine what the passport should be in Cornwall - the solution is our app.

Take up has been tremendous with anglers buying tokens and fishing within days of launch and despite the lack of rain that the 2018 summer brought, the app has had consistent use.

55%

of token sales are now through Fish Pass

The Fish Pass App works in addition to our traditional paper system but enables the angler to top up tokens on the move, share photos, provide catch information and alert us to any issues on or near the fishing beat.

Starting with basic functionality, we continued to build on what the app can offer, including ‘nice to have’s’ such as information about hotels, pubs and tackle shops alongside the list of rivers, so anglers can find a place to drink, stay or stock up on flies.

Landowners can also ‘switch off’ rivers if they have private bookings, while also receiving notifications when an angler goes fishing.

Child concessions have been included so parents can take their child fishing and benefit from a reduced rate.

Visit westcountryangling.com/fish-pass to find out more and download the app.

400

We have

registered users and counting 18

River Operations A range of delivery works has been carried out by the River Ops. team in 2018 on catchments in the region.

In Cornwall, we worked on the rivers Camel, Fowey and Inney; in Devon, the Lyd, Little Dart, Torridge, Creedy, Upper Tamar; and in Somerset, the Tone.

This included project-related and commercial bankside and in-river improvements such as arboricultural works to manage shade, gravel cleaning to reduce volumes of fine sediment within spawning gravels, woody debris management, and additions to increase in-river habitat, provide bankside stability, act as sediment traps and, on occasion, improve fish passage.

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We delivered up to

river habitat projects

The team also assisted with other trust projects, including the Dartmoor liming trial where lime was transported using our utility vehicle, which enabled us to access a remote location on the moor where the lime can be stored and added to catchment as necessary.

In addition, the team provided other essential support work, such as vegetation clearance prior to weir removal or easements taking place, undertaking aerial habitat surveys of trees due to be used in large-scale bank protection works, the installation of bat boxes at a variety of our sites, and the removal of vegetation prior to re-fencing.

In 2017 we discovered that debris was making it impossible for salmon and other migratory species to navigate the river Cardinham. Working with Forestry England we removed the blockage and we were delighted in 2018 to learn salmon fry had returned once more. This was made all the more encouraging when we recorded a number of salmon fry above Lady Vale Bridge, where there is a fish easement which we had previously aided to develop and install.

Other work related to gravel cleaning to assist with fish spawning.

For maximum benefit, this was delivered within the Environment Agency’s specified time frame of September and October.

Photos show tree works in action along the river Tone, and gravel cleaning.

Given the low river flows experienced throughout the summer of 2018, we were able to clean spawning areas without fear of disturbing any breeding fish. Starting upstream, a total of 65 spawning sites were cleaned between Altarnun and Treburley.

We will gather results on improvement during our 2019 electrofishing surveys.

On the river Torridge, we carried out aerial habitat assessments and large-scale bank protection works. This included arboricultural works, bat and nesting bird checks, and the reduction of riverside tree branches not used in the bank works to minimise the potential of them falling into the watercourse.

In Somerset, Taunton Fly Fishing Club approached us to provide a range of bankside habitat works on a section of their fishing beat along the River Tone. For this, we provided a mixture of delivery options to increase angler accessibility along the reach, improve the shading regime, provide additional in-river habitat and remove blockers to fish passage.

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In 2018, the trust completed 242 semi-quantitative and 24 fully-quantitative electrofishing surveys, across eight catchments in the West Country.

This is the largest number of fully-quantitative fish surveys carried out by the trust to date.

The main advantage of this method of surveying is the high level of data accuracy and a detailed assessment of the fish population.

The Roadford Mitigation Project on the Tamar catchment has employed the fully-quantitative survey method for 2018 which has enabled us to: • Establish a strong baseline for monitoring fish populations pre and post works.

• Compare sites that have received different intervention methods including riparian habitat works, gravel cleaning, and control sites.

• Provide greater detail on the population and age structure of salmonids.

• Monitor post works to assess the benefit of different intervention types and their impact on fish.

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Electrofishing

fully-quantitative electrofishing surveys conducted the largest amount to date

Semi-quantitative surveys provide an excellent opportunity to assess the health of fish populations across the catchment, however, the fully quantitative surveys provide a higher resolution of the current fish population at a chosen site and can help capture localised changes in fish populations and age structure.

The trust has also been involved in rapid response fish rescues where fish have become stranded and require removal, handling, and relocation using our expertise in electrofishing to provide a safe, efficient and appropriate removal.

The larger image shows a fully quantitative survey net in situ, while the smaller picture illustrates the recording of a salmon and trout.

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Water for Growth Through the Water for Growth (W4G) project, in 2018 we completed improvements to two weirs in Cornwall, at Allensford and Bodmin Parkway Bridge.

Built to direct water to power industry, help control quarrying waste or as part of bridge structures, weirs can drastically impede fish movement.

This can be a double impact, firstly holding up adults getting to their spawning grounds but also restricting juvenile salmon and sea trout smolts in their outward migration to the sea.

These structures often prove difficult to remove, but, to ensure fish stocks remain healthy, all efforts to allow free passage must be sought.

Technical drawing of improvements to Allensford weir

At Allensford on the Stannon Stream, a tributary of the River Camel, we have worked with the landowner to halve the height of the weir and install a low flow notch that vastly improves fish passage.

A low flow channel across the ford directly below the weir and eel pass have also been formed. In addition, a seasonal wildlife pond has been created and native trees planted along with a number of bat boxes and an owl box.

It is hoped that the annual juvenile fish surveys will indicate an increase in numbers from those historically recorded at survey sites up and downstream of the weir – time will tell.

Bodmin Parkway Bridge carries the busy A38 trunk road across the Fowey and also incorporates a weir as part of the bridge’s structure.

Above & below: Before and after images of Allensford weir

Being low down on the catchment, just about every migrating fish has to pass over the weir both when travelling out to sea as a juvenile and coming back in as an adult to spawn.

As the Fowey has a high proportion of sea trout, many of which are likely to be multiple spawning, it is also important that adult fish can easily get back out to sea once they have spawned. This made the site an essential body of work.

Following detailed collaborative discussions with stakeholders, several options were considered and dismissed.

The eventual solution comprised two-components; repairing the weir’s crest and downstream face to reduce turbulence, and low baffles fixed across the bridge’s two side channels to increase water depth through the central channel at times of low water.

As our work on weirs and the rivers within W4G helps to increase stocks of fish, a greater number of anglers wishing to experience the fishing will also bring financial and socio-economic improvements to Cornwall.

Combined with work the Environment Agency is doing to improve two gauging stations on the Fowey, and also a site on the River Allen, we hope to have improved 10 structures across both catchments through the W4G project by the end of 2019.

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Reservoirs can hinder the movement of gravel from headwaters to salmon spawning grounds.

And without this gravel, the salmon will not be able to reproduce.

Funded by South West Water, in 2018 we continued our work on the River Avon and the South Teign to remedy this issue.

4

Gravel Works

km of river habitat improved by gravel work

Due to our augmentation work and replenished gravel beds, since 2015 salmon fry have been found again on the upper Avon.

Due to low rainfall, salmon were not found in the upper reaches of the South Teign in 2017 and our electro-fishing surveys, funded by South West Water (SWW), identified the need to investigate the potential for strategic water releases from the Fernworthy dam to enable upstream migration at sensitive times of the year.

An appraisal is currently being undertaken by SWW into the feasibility of managing the flow regime to mitigate for another dry year.

The river Avon has seen an increase in juvenile salmon and trout numbers since the augmentation work began.

To date, approximately 900 tonnes of gravel has been put into the river improving habitat for fish and invertebrates over approximately 4km.

The South Teign has also seen increases in juvenile salmonids with approximately 400 tonnes of gravel being augmented, plus additional in-river and riparian habitat works taking place improving the river for fish and other wildlife for some 2.5km.

Somerset Eels The European Eel is a vital part of our freshwater ecosystems here in the Westcountry and across Europe. Sadly, it is now a critically endangered species and faces many threats, resulting in a drastic reduction in population over the past 30 years.

The main issues affecting eels include loss of wetland habitats, barriers to migration such as weirs, historical over-exploitation and disease.

We have been at the forefront of eel conservation for many years, working to improve eel stocks, through habitat restoration or tackling barriers to migration.

Images of eel stock improvement in action.

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Much of this work has been focused in Somerset.

Somerset is vital to eels. Its lowland, wet landscape is a hot spot for eels and is therefore a nationally important habitat for this species.

We have been involved in unlocking the complex network of waterways to increase eel access as well as looking in-depth into the science of eel conservation.

These studies have looked at the value of various habitats to eels, their behaviour at different life history stages, monitoring glass eel movement in the coastal areas of Steart marshes and assessing how easily large eels escape from man-made reservoirs.

Alongside this, we have been working with the University of Exeter to develop a non-lethal method to sex eels that can be used in management and conservation of the species.

All this work is interlinked, and we are building the jigsaw puzzle, working with other partners, to secure the future for this endangered but very important species.

Our Finances

Income

Expenditure

Balancing Land Use £1,107,227

Balancing Land Use £1,130,022

Protecting Rivers £979,715

Protecting Rivers £937,227

Engaging People £299,787

Engaging People £269,969

Trading Activities £72,167

Raising Funds £108,840

Donations £47,955 Other Income £26,731

Income from donations

Expenditure to raise funds

£47,955. At £48k, voluntary income represents only a small element of the trust’s income stream, amounting to just 2% of the total income in 2018. The trust has ambitions to develop its fundraising ability and to increase the level of voluntary donations as this is an important factor in allowing the trust to manage its own destiny.

£108,840. This includes £99k of expenditure by WRL that does not relate to projects that are considered in furtherance of the trust’s charitable activities.

This represents a decrease of £19k (16%) from the previous year.

Income from charitable activities

Expenditure on charitable activities

£2,386,729. During 2018 the trust continued to deliver its flagship South West Water funded Upstream Thinking project (Phase 2), with corresponding grant income from this project of £239k. The trust also continued to deliver several significant European-funded projects with corresponding income as follows: SPONGE - £68k; USAR - £54k; Water for Growth - £397k; CPES - £87k; RAS - £83k; PROWATER - £54k.

These are multi-year projects which will really allow the trust to push its approach to successfully managing the environment at a local, national and international scale.

Alongside this, the trust ran several smaller projects, including £263k of Environment Agency grants and £28k of Highways England grants.

Together these projects represent over 50% of the trust’s income from charitable activities and they are supplemented by a number of other interesting and exciting areas of delivery, including £144k from the trading subsidiary as a result of activities that are in furtherance of the trust’s charitable objectives.

£2,337,268: Total resources expended by the trust in 2018, excluding non-charitable trading activities of the trading subsidiary, were £2,337k.

Of this, direct expenditure on charitable activities, excluding allocated support costs, represents 86%.

Continued delivery of the flagship South West Water-funded Upstream Thinking project (Phase 2), resulted in grant expenditure from this project of £323k.

The trust also continued to deliver several significant European-funded projects with corresponding expenditure as follows: SPONGE - £70k; USAR - £54k; Water for Growth - £404k; CPES - £84k; RAS - £83k; PROWATER - £54k.

Restricted reserves £587,805. Restricted reserves have decreased by £118k (16%) from the previous year-end. This is primarily due to the delivery of grant funded projects in which income was received and recognised in a previous period, in advance of expenditure being incurred in the current year.

Income from other trading activities

Unrestricted reserves

£72,167. This includes income form the trust’s wholly owned trading subsidiary Westcountry Rivers Limited (WRL) that does not relate to projects that are considered furtherance to the trust’s charitable activities. Overall, WRL income has remained consistent with the previous year, falling from £268k in 2017 to £217K in 2018. This is considered a successful result for WRL given the change in nature of the work they are winning and delivering.

£738,924. Unrestricted reserves have increased by £206k (38%) from the previous year-end. Part of these reserves are held within unrestricted projects to ensure delivery, but this is particularly pleasing as we continue in our long-term ambition to build unrestricted reserves in order to sustainably increase our future impact.

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Support your river As a charity, we value the support we receive from our funders and those who make monetary donations.

You can also help us to protect your river by volunteering your time.

By doing so, you can get involved with activities such as invasive weed control, managing river banks or surveying our rivers.

Working together, we can help your river bring water to life for many years and generations to come.

Visit wrt.org.uk/get-involved to find out more.

Donations also make a positive impact on our work. £15 buys a Citizen Science test kit £100 allows us to test soil nutrients and reduce loss. £250 allows us to run a school event, helping teachers to make the most of their local river with the pupils. £500 allows us to restore a gravel bed for spawning.

You can donate any amount by visiting: wrt.org.uk/support-us

Thank you.