Calder Rivers Trust

If you are out and about in the catchment this festive period, why not try find all the things on our Calder Catchment Scavenger Hunt? A great way to make the most of a crisp winter walk and take notice how much our green and blue spaces have to offer!

The Natural Flood Management Grant from Calderdale Council has reopened for applications. The grant can support farmers and landowners to make changes on their land to help reduce flood risk in Calderdale. Applications are open until Monday 24th March 2025. More information is available at: https://zurl.co/RUZmu If you are interested in applying for funding to put in natural flood management features on your land, and would like support from our Farm Advice Team to identify opportunities or put together an application, please contact us at farmadvice@calderandcolneriverstrust.org

2024 saw another record breaking year for our #Riverfly monitoing programme, the River Health Project! Our brilliant volunteers conducted an astounding 265 samples across the catchment between March and October. This covered 58 sites, some of which monitor #CSOs and other problem areas. The data our volunteers collect contributes to a nationwide Riverfly movement, as well as a database that highlights fluctuations in water quality, and allows issues to be identified and addressed. We thanked our volunteers in the best way possible - with tea, cake, and a good old chinwag at our end of season event in November. Thank you to all our Riverfly monitors, see you again in March!

Today is #WorldSoilDay! Did you know that one single teaspoon of topsoil contains around 10,000 different species of microorganisms? How about that it can take anywhere from 200 to 1000 years to form just 1cm of new topsoil? Or that, depending on its texture, a healthy soil can hold 40% or more of its own weight in water? From sandy seasides to upland peat bogs, soils are amazing, but they can easily be damaged and degraded by wind and water erosion, vehicle and animal traffic in unsuitable conditions, and intensive monocropping. Degraded and eroding soils can cause problems in watercourses, where pollutants are carried along with loose soil, and where sediment builds up in our rivers and streams. Keeping a healthy soil, containing up to 6% organic matter (or even higher in areas of peat!), which supports a year-round green cover and a deep root structure is crucial to maintaining land which is productive, supports diverse habitats for wildlife, and contributes to making our rivers and streams safer, cleaner and healthier. If you manage a farm, smallholding, or other piece of land, and would like free, confidential advice on how to improve and maintain soil health, and the funding available to do so, please contact our Farm Advice Team at farmadvice@calderandcolneriverstrust.org

It's #NationalTreeWeek! Whether it's willow and alder creating riparian shade and stabilising banks, or hawthorn hedges planted across hillslopes, trees bring many benefits to our catchments. Trees can be our first line of defence in natural flood management as they soak up water and reduce peak flows in our rivers. They can also help shade our rivers and streams, making more resilient habitats for freshwater fish and organisms. As the tree planting season begins, we look forward to planting the right trees in the right place to create a resilient catchment. Keep an eye on our volunteering newsletter to be up to date with any volunteer tree planting sessions!

Last week our team attended the first Yorkshire Rivers Trust conference and spent the day with our neighbouring Trusts. It was great to meet staff and trustees from across the region and learn about the wonderful work going on in each catchment to restore and protect our rivers. An afternoon of workshops created some brilliant conversations around the wide range of projects we work on, and how we can work collaboratively to mitigate the challenges we face along the way. Photo credit: Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust Don Catchment Rivers Trust The Aire Rivers Trust #EastYorkshireRiversTrust

At the start of November we were pleased to attend the 'Harvesting Balance' conference held by River Holme Connections to bring partners together as they come to the next phase of their #LandscapeRecovery Round 1 project 'Nature's Holme'. The conference brought together a wide range of upland project partners from across the country who have been working as part of this scheme, to share their project findings and lessons learned. These networks are key to maximising what comes out of the projects and making use of funding as efficiently as possible, getting the outcomes we want to see for our upland landscape. Calder Rivers Trust are part of the Calder and Colne Landscape Links project which is a Round 2 Landscape Recovery Project, led by Calderdale Council and in partnership with Kirklees Council, Moors for the Future Partnership and Environmental Projects in Kirklees. Find out more about Nature's Holme here: https://zurl.co/iiHn

Meet our 8th team member! Dan our Environmental Data Analyst and joined us in September 2024. Having graduated with an MRes Biosciences and BSc (Hons) Zoology, both from Swansea University, Dan has previously worked in GIS roles, first for the Gloucestershire County Council and, more recently, for the Environmental Records Centre based at the Wildlife Trust in Cambridgeshire. With the Calder Rivers Trust, Dan will be working on the data side of the CCaLL Landscape Recovery Project.

On the 3rd November, our Heritage Specialist Georgia attended the Northern Broadsides River Tales event at Sowerby Bridge Fire & Water. It was a great afternoon, where long-time residents shared their stories of how the Calder and the surrounding areas have changed in their lifetimes. The event was part of a wider project, organised by local artist, Lucy Fee, celebrating the Calder and bringing the community together. Upcoming events include Sounds of the Calder (10th November), the Calder Detectives River Walk (17th November) and their final celebration, Reclaiming the Calder (30th November). Sign up to the events here: https://zurl.co/jkD2

In October, our Partnerships and Projects Manager Rachel joined the Annual Constructed Wetland Association Conference in Norfolk. The conference had a packed two day agenda including presentations and workshop discussions on treatment wetlands for stormwater and combined sewer overflows, treatment for industry, permissions and policy around constructed wetlands and nature based solutions, as well as financing and green finance. The group took a site visit to the Norfolk Rivers Trust managed Ingoldisthorpe Constructed Wetland, which is not only providing tertiary treatment for an Anglian Water waste water treament plant, but has created a biodiversity rich space and is protecting the local chalk streams. The conference brought together many different experts, researchers and practitioners in a friendly forum, and was a great space for both practical and inspirational conversations. Check out the CWA and Norfolk Rivers Trust for more infomation.