River Watch

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People using and living near the rivers in the Tyne Catchment are an enthusiastic and valuable source of up-to-date information on condition and change. The Trust co-ordinates a growing network of volunteer ‘River Watchers', to collect data on the rivers such as temperature for climate change and invertebrates for pollution events, and to protect watercourses through practical work parties such as litter cleans and removal of invasive plants. ‘River Watchers' are also responsible for reporting threats and information on their stretch of river.

The information gathered by River Watchers will be used to inform and support catchment management priorities, recreation guides and byelaw enforcement. River Watch seminars and workshops are held regularly to educate and train people in catchment-related issues and ecology.

In 2010 our River Watch programme received acknowledgement of it's good works and genuine community involvement when Barbara Wardle, our Haydon Bridge River Watch Champion was awarded the Association of Rivers Trusts for 'Volunteer and Community Engagement'. To read more about the award please click here.

Explore the subject areas and activities below and if you are interested in helping out by becoming a river watcher, or starting a river watch group in your area, then please contact us.

Just in case you were wondering how we make sure we keep everyone safe on the riverbank we videoed our latest lifejacket test! View the videos here Equipment test 1 and Equipment test 2

River Fly monitoring

As part of the national Riverfly Partnership's monitoring initiative the Trust are the Tyne co-ordinator of the invertebrate sampling team and have the full support of the Environment Agency. We have run 6 full day workshops to date and now have an excellent band of volunteers gathering data on pollution sensitive invertebrates in the river and tributaries throughout the Tyne catchment. This is an extremely effective method of identifying potential issues and pollution events which we can then flag up for investigation by the Environment Agency. Partnership at work!

Click here if you would like to find out more about the River Fly monitoring project.

Bank-side Willows Management

In November 2011 Corbridge River Watch Group saw the completion of bank-side willows management to protect their local foot path and protect against river damage resulting from tall, veteran trees collapsing into the river. This work has taken 2 years to agree and achieve paying due attention to riparian owner considerations and the need to protect roosting sites for bats. In the end the group worked with one of Tyne Rivers Trust's contractors to ensure that the work was done safely.

Please click here to read a report of the work along with a profile of the contractor they worked with.

Tackling Invasive Non-native Species, INNS

With help from volunteers Tyne Rivers Trust has been mapping the spread of invasive plants since 2008. We are currently concentrating on those species which spread using water courses as a vector and those that are a direct threat to river structures, bank stability and riparian biodiversity. To learn more about the threats and treatment of INNS please click here. View our INNS map and help fill in the gaps by sending us your records for Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and Giant hogweed. TRT is interested in when you first noticed the plants, how dense and extensive the stand is and where possible a grid reference. Email records to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Volunteers can also get involved with physical control and eradication of these invasive plants. Members of Corbridge River Watch group have already been trained in pesticide application allowing them to treat Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) which is threatening their road bridge. The bridge withstood the 1771 floods so for it to succumb to a mere weed is unimaginable. Tyne Rivers Trust trained a further 5 volunteers in March 2011. These volunteers will join those at Corbridge to form a 'JK Task Force' and extend the range of sites that can be tackled. Additionally TRT is looking for volunteers to support this work by accompanying the trained volunteers, marking the treated stems, keeping the public and their pets safe around the treatment site and explaining the work that is going on. If you would like to help TRTs work in this way, please contact Ceri on 611817 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Upstream limits for Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) - a non-ntaive plant htat is crowding out our native riparian flora - have been identified for the South Tyne, West and East Allens as well as the North Tyne. The project officer and volunteers will concentrate on removing these seed banks by hand from 2011. If you would like to join the team please contact Ceri on 01434 611817 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Additionally River Watch Groups are working to keep their stretches of river bank clear. Click here to contact a River Watch Champion in your area if you would like to help out.

Guided walk with a purpose

Tyne Rivers Trust invited members of the public on a guided walk at Allen Banks.

Click here to find out more.

Environmental Leave

The Environment Agency run a 2 day leave programme to help with practical environment activities. Click here to find out how the Tyne Rivers Trust benefitted.

Garrigill Youth Group Kick Up a Storm

click here to find out what the youth group have been up to in the South Tyne

Identifying Obstructions

In January 2008 we held our first Obstruction Instruction training workshop for volunteers interested in helping us identify obstructions to fish passage in the tributaries. This work is a precursor to our habitat improvement project.

We welcomed Alistair Maltby from Association of Rivers Trusts who spoke on 'Barriers and Habitat Quality' and 4 new volunteers. The evening was a great success and we now have a number of eagle-eyed volunteers walking tributaries from confluence to source identifying areas fish find difficult to pass. You can download the full event report and Alistair's presentation in the documents section at the right of this page.