Thank you for helping to bring rivers to life across the Westcountry
Welcome to our June newsletter.
Here's the latest update on our WRT news and events...
Hard cheese - Roll on the inevitable future.
Last week saw Dairy Crest (now Saputo) receive a £1.5m fine for polluting the River Inny. For those that live by, play in, monitor and/or protect the River Inny, this has been a long time coming, but is also the start of a movement that will not be going away anytime soon.
Building Climate Resilient Catchments in the Westcountry
On the 27 June we joined the University of Plymouth’s annual Research Festival for an evening of river-related science discussing the changing Westcountry river catchments and how our work is building resilience.
Our CEO, Dr Laurence Couldrick said of the evening, “It was great to see so many of our supporters face to face from academics and citizen science volunteers to anglers, funders and partners. There was a fantastic dynamic in the room with plenty of interesting questions. The presentations on how the trust uses science to help target and evaluate it’s work as well as build an understanding and empowerment in our rivers were excellent.”
Thank you to everyone who came along and made the evening a huge success.
A recording will be made available soon for those who would either like to revisit talks or were unable to attend.
Looking back at Pride month.
Our Senior Evidence & Engagement Officer (Co-creation) and co-founder of CIWEM's WEM Pride network, Dr Sarah Ward (She/her, they/them) joined some of the South West’s Pride events this month after two years without such events.
Sarah said: "These events are crucial for the visibility of the LGBQTIA+ community. Growing up in the Section 28 era and then having virtually no openly LGBTQIA+ role models in STEM and water and environment sectors until relatively recently meant that I didn't think I could 'be me' at work.
"Thanks to the Equality Act 2010 that's changed a lot and though there are still challenges, I can now be a visible LGBTQ+ role model to others in these sectors, of which Westcountry Rivers Trust is very supportive.
"The natural environment is vital for health and wellbeing, especially to those living with mental health challenges, and members of the LTBTQIA+ community face a higher likelihood of these challenges due to such things as difficult experiences in coming out or through experiencing discrimination.
"At Westcountry Rivers Trust, we are building a supportive and inclusive network for not only our staff but also our supporters. What are we doing currently? We are working internally and externally on our EDI processes and connections to best support those who support us."
For the first time we are able to hold the Connecting the Culm Forum in person. So you can come and join the #CtC team at Coldharbour Mill in Uffculme for an evening of discussion, learning and celebration on the 14 July from 7-9pm.
There will be cheese, wine, art and lots of interesting stands including Westcountry CSI.
We're hiring a Project Finance Assistant to join our Finance team.
This role will contribute to the delivery of an efficient and effective administrative support, primarily to the finance and central services team but for the benefit of the whole Trust.
This role will primarily act as administrative support for the Project Finance Officers and the preparation of claims for our EU funded projects. They will also administer the Trusts timesheet and expenses software. We will welcome your contribution towards the continued improvement of our administrative processes and the ways we work to support the Trust and our staff.
We have been assisting biologist Emily Hardisty as she fundraises to produce her first wildlife documentary all about our Westcountry rivers.
Featuring the work of the trust, her documentary will cover the importance of rivers and the important ecological interactions of inhabiting species, while addressing contemporary challenges and sharing solutions. There will be an emphasis on the connections rivers provide between oceans and land, the benefit to human health, a sprinkle of history and river myths as well as how our rivers inspire creativity and more.
Visit Greenlit: Veins of the Earth to see the full outline of plans and donate by 2 July if you can to help make this film all about the region's rivers become a reality.
Plastic waste audits
As part of the Preventing Plastic Pollution project, we are working hard to help minimise plastic entering the River Tamar. We believe that by adopting plastic-free practices, businesses can play a key role in helping us achieve this.
We are offering FREEplastic waste audits to businesses in the Tamar catchment (possibly wider so do still enquire) to help make any plastic-free transition as easy as possible.
Our free plastic waste audits, valued at around £500, will give you a clear view of how much waste your organisation is producing. We offer advice and solutions to help you reduce waste and make your practices more sustainable.
