Communities across South Devon felt empowered through a fantastic knowledge-exchange opportunity at the Rivers Assembly event organised by Sustainable South Hams over the summer. Following this, a network of River Champions has been formed to protect and monitor their local river catchment areas.

This network aims to facilitate catchment-wide collaboration between parish councils, landowners, community groups and organisations, and support ambitious community projects aiming to clean up local rivers and restore nature. The new South Devon River Champions network was launched at the Devon County Show and is already creating synergy and momentum!

Our rivers are the lifeblood of the county, providing habitat, food and water for a variety of wildlife and acting as 'corridors' for wildlife to move between fragmented habitats. They provide vital resources for us too, as well as recreational opportunities, however constant pressure from humans on our waterways is having negative consequences on our river ecosystems. 

The South Devon River Champions are doing their bit to protect our rivers, by connecting people and promoting environmentally-sensitive groups, businesses, farmer and landowners, and ensuring their voices are heard by politicians and water companies. Alongside this they are recruiting citizen scientists for Westcountry Rivers Trust to monitor water quality, assist landowners with conservation work, and creating awareness of the impact of over-development and poor waste management.

Find out more about the network here: 

South Devon River Champions

Collecting regular water quality samples not only produces good data, which can be used to identify areas of concern, but it also allows people to get to know their local river and help identify positive and negative changes, and influence action where needed. 

If you, or your community, is also interested in protecting and monitoring your local rivers, you can join the Westcountry River Trust’s Citizen Science Investigation (CSI) scheme for handy guidance and training information on collecting water quality samples.

Westcountry CSI