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River Beane Restoration Association
The RBRA is a not-for-profit group working in partnership with Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Environment Agency, Affinity Water, county and local councils, local landowners and volunteers to improve the River Beane for the benefit of all
Thanks to our friends at the Beane Marshes group for sharing this, which shows our citizen science volunteers at work and highlights the organisations that supported the project 🙂
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As well as the CaSTCo Impact Report (see earlier post), the work of our #citizenscience volunteers (several of whom appear in the video the case study) is highlighted in this online case study from the CaSTCo website… ![]()
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Thank you to all our RBRA volunteers for their input into this valuable, national project. In total, over the four year programme, over 4.9 MILLION data points were collected by volunteers across the eight demonstration catchments!
Collaborating on chalk streams in the Beane – CastCo
castco.org
The River Beane Demo highlights how a collaboration of diverse groups can address the specific challenges of a chalk stream.
As one of eight CaSTCo (Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative) demonstrator catchments, working alongside the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Affinity Water and the Environment Agency, we've helped test and shape new approaches to collaborative river monitoring. The CaSTCo Impact Report captures our shared impact and shows how local action is driving national change.![]()
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In the Beane demonstrator catchment, we united our local wildlife trust, utilities, 'citizen science' volunteers, and academic researchers to protect some of England’s rare chalk streams. RBRA volunteers helped identify freshwater leaks and contamination sources, while joint analysis with the Environment Agency revealed broader ecosystem pressures. This is just a taste of the innovative and collaborative work we developed through CaSTCo.![]()
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You can read more about the positive impacts of the CaSTCo project, including a River Beane Case study here:
castco.org
Contents of this report Section 1: Working together CaSTCo’s strength came from the network that surrounded and supported it. Collaboration flourished through shared research, national…
We’re proud to have been part of the CaSTCo (Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative) project, helping advance collaborative river monitoring across England and Wales.![]()
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Together, we’ve proven that community data can drive real decisions for river recovery, and this is just the start!![]()
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Read the full Impact Report: castco.org/impact-report![]()
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Its companion document, the CaSTCo Roadmap, is a comprehensive view of where we could be in the next ten years, with investment: castco.org/roadmap![]()
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#CaSTCo #OfwatInnovationFund
Our trained 'vole-nteers' were out and about in the Beane Valley last week charting the continuing spread of water voles since their reintroduction to the river in 2022. You can hear more about this success story, and other interesting talks about voles and invasive species management in the wider River Lea catchment (which the Beane is part of)Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trustlife Trust's event on the evening of Wednesday 12 November. Free to attend, but donations welcome.
www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk
Join us for this informative and engaging conference…
Those who’ve seen me (Peter) talk about the Beane will have heard me mention the issues of straightening, deepening, and the problems of weirs and other obstacles. To show we’re not alone, the Director of The Wild Trout Trust was talking about similar issues recently on Radio 4"We've used and abused our rivers for many centuries. We've moved them, straightened them, dredged them, and dammed them to drain the land and power mills."![]()
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Our Director, Shaun Leonard, was delighted to appear on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this month. He shared a small sneak peek into our upcoming restoration project on the River Witham in Lincolnshire 🐟![]()
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Catch up here (starting at 00:25): www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002kf49
The MP for North and East Hertfordshire, Chris Hinchliff MP continues to show his support for our precious chalk streams and those living near them.I’ve tabled a Parliamentary Motion calling out Thames Water’s failures.![]()
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Our water system isn’t designed to deliver decent service—it’s built to make water firms rich.![]()
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It's high time they were forced to cough up and put right the flooding and pollution across North East Hertfordshire.
We are pleased to see in today's announcement from the government that water companies will face penalties much quicker than they are currently, something which will be a good step for the future of our rivers. ![]()
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Read Mark Lloyd's response to the announcement below or on our website.
The Chalk Stream Recovery Group, part of The Rivers Trust have published their Annual Report. Sadly the Government has now confirmed that they are not going to action the Chalk Streams Recovery Pack nor provide specific protection for England’s internationally important chalk rivers (such as the Beane – and actually, every main river in Hertfordshire). All is not lost, but not quite what it could have been.
Thank you to everyone who came along to our meeting on Wednesday. I hope you found it informative? As mentioned, our water vole surveyors will be out along the river this weekend – say ‘hello’ if you see us. And the Riverfly monitoring teams were out earlier today.