Setting up and maintaining a Riverfly Partnership monitoring and training hub

1. Experiences
Allen Beechey – Chilterns Chalk Streams Project
of setting up
a Riverfly hub

2. Chilterns Chalk Stream
Project
 Created in 1997
 Prompted by persistent low flows in the
1990’s
 Partnership project
 Led by Chilterns Conservation Board

3. Hertfordshire Living Rivers
Project
 Set up in 2012
 Prompted by poor condition of chalk
streams in Lea catchment
 Partnership project
 Similar objectives to CCSP
 Landscape-scale nature
conservation on Herts
river valleys

4. Our catchments
Chilterns Chalk Stream Project
HMWT’s Living Rivers Project

5. CaBA
• Catchment hosts
• HLRP –Upper, Middle &
Lower Lea
• CCSP – co-host of Colne &
steering group member of
S. Chilterns sub catchment

6. Riverfly Monitoring
• Simple tool to monitor health of rivers
• Monitor presence and abundance of 8
groups of invertebrate
• Trigger levels
• Data sent to EA
• EA investigate if trigger breeches occur

7. ARMI in Chilterns & Herts
• Started in 2010
• River Chess Association
• ARMI on 4 rivers by 2013

8. Why was a hub needed?
• Local groups concerned at
health of their rivers
• Most keen to do more
but…
• Lack of training opportunities
• Course & monitoring
equipment expensive
Revive the Wye – one of many active river groups in the
hub area

9. Riverfly Hub
• Set up in 2014
• Partnership initiative
• Provide ARMI training & support
• Hub catchment area – 3,271km2
• Covers Lea, Colne & South Chilterns
catchments
• 34 rivers
• Hub supported by catchment
partnerships

10. Setting up the hub
• Hub steering group established
• £11K funding for Yr 1 secured
• Hub kit purchased
• Five people certified as trainers
• Annual event planned
• Branding agreed

11. Progress to date
• 6 tutors trained
• Hub kit purchased x2
• >90 monitors trained
• ARMI groups on 18 rivers
• Annual Event - Riverfly Day
• Helping to support neighbouring
catchments
• Supporting development of Riverfly+
• Thames Water Blitz
• Monitoring CPAF projects

12. Hub Riverfly sites - 2015

13. Benefits
• Comprehensive network of sites
• Monitoring health of rivers at greater frequency than
EA can
• Greater potential for detecting pollution events and
identifying polluters
• Valuable long-term dataset
• Monitoring success of restoration projects
• Gateway to further monitoring opportunities

14. Challenges
• Time spent on Hub coordination
• Uncertainty over continued funding
support for hub
• Funding to support equipment
purchase for new monitors
• Uncertainty over future coordinator
capacity
• Retention of surveyors

15. Ambition for the future
• Active ARMI groups on every river in
hub area
• Every new volunteer within CHM
hub trained, supported & supplied
with kit
• Self-sustaining hub
• Development of external course
income to support hub
• Riverfly+