Our Water Environment

Project Lead: Spey Fisheries Board (SFB) and TGLP

 

What is the project?

The Our Water Environment Project comprises two projects that working together will Slow the Flow and undertake Water Margin Management. Together these projects aim to restore and enhance parts of the River Avon catchment to improve its water margins and in channel habitats to make the river and the wildlife it supports more resilient to pressures such as climate change, pollution and habitat loss.

 

What are the main achievements?

  • Improvements to natural river processes by re-opening relict channels, green engineering and slowing the flow.
  • An engineered log jam and willow spilling has been installed on the Conglass Water through a Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) agri-environment scheme. Watch the short film, read this case study or our blog on this river margin enhancement project.
  • Demonstration events showing the green engineering being installed.
  • Log revetments installed along 180 m of the River Avon to protect the banks and agricultural land from erosion and a relict channel re-opened through sediment management. Set-back fencing and riparian tree planting will further reinforce the bank.
  • Water margin management schemes have been implemented on 10 farms. Funded through SRDP agri-environment schemes and TGLP, these include riparian planting, set-back fencing and alternative livestock watering systems, reducing diffuse pollution and sedimentation caused by livestock in watercourses
  • Safeguarding the future of river wildlife such as Atlantic salmon and trout.
  • Raised awareness of the water environment with local communities; provide opportunities for training and volunteering.
  • Demonstration events showing the green engineering being installed.
  • Case study:River Avon Our Water Environment – RESTORE (restorerivers.eu)
  • Interpretation panel installed at Still viewpoint, interpreting the River Avon and its importance for salmon.