Only Rain Down the Drain – South Bristol
A team of volunteer artists have been out in South Bristol to bring to life our message of ‘Only Rain down the Drain’ by painting storm drain art in Bedminster.
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Bristol Avon Rivers Trust Position Statement: Impact to Fish from EDF Hinkley Point C
BART firmly urges EDF to install the required Acoustic Fish Deterrent and provide adequate compensation for species impacted by Hinkley Point C’s operations.
Only Rain Down the Drain Artwork
A team of volunteer artists have been out in Bradley Stoke to bring to life our message of ‘Only Rain down the Drain’ by painting storm drain art around the entrances of local nature reserve.
River Restoration on the Little Avon
BART have finished river restoration work along the Little Avon improving habitats and natural river processes.
Exploring ‘Blue’ opportunities along Queen Charlton Brook
BART have started the exciting process of a ‘Blue’ feasibility study along the Queen Charlton Brook Charlton.
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust Launches New Farm Cluster Initiative in Chew Valley and Cam & Wellow Catchments
The Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) proudly announces the launch of the “Farmer-led Nature Recovery Initiative,” a farm cluster project aimed at fostering sustainable agriculture and ecological resilience across the…
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust’s (BART) Response to Defra’s Water (Special Measures) Bill
The introduction of the Water (Special Measures) Bill is a positive step forward in the fight to protect our rivers. Alongside other river trusts and campaigners, BART has long advocated…
Radstock residents connect with their river
Radstock residents have been taking part in river events and helping install rain planters.
Baby eels back in schools
Endangered eels have been back in local classrooms being looked after by pupils and released into the wild.
Summer 2024 Newsletter
Find out the latest news about what BART have been up to and how our projects are going.
RiverBlitz 2024 Results Revealed
Citizen science results show high levels of nutrient pollution in our rivers during RiverBlitz 2024.
Working to restore Patchway Brook
We’ve been installing river-restoring berms into Patchway Brook, North Bristol.
Natural Flood Management at Yate Common
Leaky dams and large woody debris are slowing the flow in Yate Common.
BART tops riverfly monitoring charts
The Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) network of volunteer riverfly monitors continue to diligently sample their local rivers and streams, reporting back their data to provide an indicator of river…
RiverBlitz 2024 Sign Up is Live!
Find out how citizen scientists are working with BART to improve river health. Could you volunteer as a citizen scientist?
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust : Impact 2023
Indicators of Our Success: Beyond the Numbers At Bristol Avon Rivers Trust, we’ve had another dynamic and impactful year. Our team has grown significantly, expanding from 8 to 12 members…
Can water industry regulation deliver healthy rivers?
This blog delves into some of the intricacies of current legislation for improving water quality, exploring potential issues with the current approach, as well as highlighting the “Green” Nature-Based Solutions…
Citizen Science for River Health
Find out how citizen scientists are working with BART to improve river health. Could you volunteer as a citizen scientist?
Working to restore Stoke Brook at 40 Acres
We’ve been out with enthusiastic volunteers adding berms to Stoke Brook, North Bristol.
Working to restore Pickedmoor Rhine
We have been out in the Pickemoor Rhine adding structure using ‘woody berms’ to this over straightened river.
Adding structure to the Little Avon
We have been out in the Little Avon adding structure to the river to boost natural processes and improve diversity.
Success of Corporate Volunteering in 2023
BART’s corporate volunteering programme was a great success in 2023 with hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers contributing to the health of our rivers.
River dipping delights kids and communities
The Co-op funded a series of fantastic events in the Chew and Bristol Frome catchments. Kids and adults alike had a wonderful time connecting to their river.
Adding structure to the Sherston Avon
BART have been adding structure to the Sherston Avon at Easton Grey with help from volunteers. This will help improve the health of the river.
Autumn 2023 Newsletter
Find out the latest news about what BART have been up to and how our projects are going.
Bringing Eels Back to the Cam and Wellow
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) is preparing to deliver work to improve habitat for the critically endangered European Eel, Brown Trout, River Lamprey and other aquatic species on the Cam…
Want to be a Water Guardian?
Want to help monitor the rivers in the Bristol Avon Catchment? Maybe you could become a Water Guardian…
Bashing Balsam in Lord’s Wood
As part of BART’s ongoing corporate social responsibility (CSR) volunteering days, we have been busy with groups of volunteers from Babcock International, DEFRA and IOP Publishing to remove invasive Himalayan…
The Bristol Avon Fish Recovery Strategy is here!
The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world- with species declining, habitats in poor condition and millions of people living without access to nature. In…
RiverBlitz 2023 results reveal high nutrient levels
Freshwater habitats account for some of the richest biodiversity in the world, and rivers are a crucial ecosystem for both wildlife and people. The more we learn about them and…
Boosting wellbeing on the Little Avon
BART have been running a ‘Rivers for Wellbeing’ project that aims to reconnect communities with their local rivers and streams to improve mental and physical wellbeing. Research shows that spending…
Eels back in schools
BART’s Eels in the Classroom (EiTC) 2023 project has been another great success! EiTC is an annual project that BART run in several primary schools throughout the Bristol Avon catchment.…
Simon Hunter, Chief Executive, looks back at BART’s recent achievements
Throughout 2022/23, the public and political focus on rivers and the issues that affect them has remained at an all-time high. However, as a nation, we now need to accelerate…
RiverBlitz 2023: Call for Citizen Scientists!
The annual Bristol Avon RiverBlitz is returning on the 7th -14th of July! After seven successful years, we are hopeful that enthusiastic citizen scientists will sign up in record numbers…
Stoke Brook river habitat restoration
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust, with the support of a team of local volunteers, have been restoring river habitat along a tributary of the Bristol Frome, the Stoke Brook which flows…
Working to restore the River Marden
The team at BART have been busy undertaking in-stream habitat restoration on the River Marden near Calne. This work, made possible through funding from Calne Without Parish Council (CWPC), aims…
Workshops in schools: Lego houses and sustainable drainage
BART have been out delivering school workshops about how Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) can help look after our rivers. We visited four classes at two schools near the Bristol Frome…
Bristol Frome Natural Flood Management
BART have been busy implementing a Natural Flood Management scheme along the Patchway Brook and the Stoke Brook, both tributaries of the Bristol Frome river. BART have been delivering this…
Yellow Fish raise awareness in Eastville
Did you know that surface road drains lead directly into your local watercourse? Anything other than rain poured down the drain, such as litter, car oils, detergents, weed killers or…
Winter 22/23 Newsletter
Catch up with what’s been happening with Team BART! As Summer begins, we’re working hard on the ground to deliver river improvements, citizen science and education and engagement across the catchment!
Bristol Avon RiverBlitz results are in!
An amazing effort by 87 Citizen Scientists resulted in the 2022 Bristol Avon RiverBlitz being a huge success! From the 11th to 18th July, volunteers took part in important water…
Improving rivers in Calne
The BART team have been busy working away to improve the habitat for wildlife along the River Marden and Abberd Brook in Calne. River Marden Following the small weir…
Environmental DNA sampling in Bristol Floating Harbour & Lower Avon
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) worked in partnership with Bristol City Council and Nature Metrics to carry out a pilot environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis of individual species and communities of…
Our Blue Spaces Programme in the Cam and Wellow
The Cam and Wellow Brooks fall within an area, connecting the Cotswolds and Mendip Hills Areas Of Natural Beauty (AONB), identified as the Limestone Link which provide opportunities to enhance…
“BART River Detectives” Project Recruits Citizen Scientists
In an effort to increase and improve water quality monitoring, at a time when Environment Agency monitoring is being reduced, BART are leading a citizen science ‘BART River Detectives’ project…
Riverfly 2022 Update
Thank you very much to those of you who have supported us with riverfly monitoring throughout 2022. The Riverfly Monitoring Initiative uses citizen science to get people out and about…
SuDS Rain Planters for Schools
We have installed seven fantastic rain planters and two water butts in three schools in the River Chew Catchment. The rain planters, made from steel cattle troughs, divert rain from…
World Rivers Day 2022 – Bristol Frome River Cleans
World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways and helps to raise awareness of the many benefits of rivers and aims to encourage people to become more engaged…
Summer 2022 Newsletter
Catch up with what’s been happening with Team BART! As Summer begins, we’re working hard on the ground to deliver river improvements, citizen science and education and engagement across the catchment!
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust in 2021
Simon Hunter, Chief Executive, looks back at BART’s recent achievements Since the Winter 2021 newsletter edition, the public and political focus on rivers and the issues that affect them has arguably been…
Bristol Avon RiverBlitz 2022
The Bristol Avon RiverBlitz (formally Waterblitz) returns for the sixth consecutive year this July! We have watched this citizen science project expand year on year and we expect even more…
Yellow Fish in Yate
Volunteers from Yate have been out learning about and raising awareness of water quality in the Bristol Frome. Members from the local community teamed up to spray yellow fish stencils…
Eels in the Classroom 2022
Our Eels in the Classroom 2022 project has been a great success due to the fantastic effort from all pupils and teachers involved! This project is lead by BART and…
Land Yeo RiverBlitz 2022
Citizen Scientists Assemble! Citizen Scientists can now register to take part in this spring’s Land Yeo RiverBlitz. This is the second year of the project which aims to identify clean…
Using SmartRivers evidence – taking water quality action on the River Chew
To better understand the water quality pressures influencing the River Chew, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) enrolled onto the Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) SmartRivers project in 2019. After two…
Yellow Fish in the Bristol Frome
Only Rain Down the Drain! Did you know that surface drains at the sides of roads lead directly to your local watercourse? This means that anything poured down the surface…
BART is 10 Years Old!
Julian Greaves, BART’s Chair and one of the founders, reflects on what BART has achieved in the last 10 years. Well, when it was brought to my attention that BART…
River Cleans 2021
Throughout 2021, BART led a number of river clean events throughout the Bristol Avon catchment. Our team and our dedicated volunteers have removed an astounding amount of rubbish, including trolleys…
Can you help clean up the Trym?
Trout in the Trym is a project which works to improve the health of the River Trym. With the Trym’s ecology restored, the hope is that a healthy trout population…
A note to our riverfly volunteers
Ian Mock, BART’s former Chair and CEO, shares a little of what he’s been up to and some great reading recommendations for our Riverfly volunteers, or anyone else interested in…
Winter 21/22 Newsletter
Catch up with what’s been happening with Team BART! As winter begins to tighten its grip, we are working hard and planning lots more exciting work to see us through winter and into 2022…
BART Active in the Calne Community
BART has been busy in the Marden Valley over the past several months and as part of this programme of work, we’ve carried out a Sustainable Homeowner Water Management campaign…
Finding Pharmaceuticals in our Rivers
The 18th – 24th November marks the WHO World Antimicrobial Awareness (AMR) week each year – so now seems a very appropriate time to give you a brief update on…
Nature Based Solutions on the Candlestick Stream
The BART team have delivered a series of nature based solutions on a tributary of the River Chew, Bath and North East Somerset. Through the Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF),…
Stoke Brook Restoration – Bristol Frome
BART and a team of local volunteers have been restoring river habitat in Stoke Brook, a tributary of the Bristol Frome which flows through Three Brooks Nature Reserve. During October…
River Marden Weir Removal: Castlefields Park, Calne, Wiltshire
BART is currently planning to deliver the removal of a small weir at Castlefields Park, Calne, Wiltshire, with the aim of improving freshwater habitat throughout the park. This weir…
Nature Based Solutions in the Winford Brook
BART has kicked off its summer programme of works at a farm near Regil, North Somerset, in the headwaters of the Winford Brook catchment. A series of bunded scrapes to capture surface water run off and attenuate…
Sustainable Water Use Project on the Bristol Frome
BART has carried out a Sustainable Homeowner Water Management campaign in the Yate and Chipping Sodbury areas in South Gloucestershire. BART have identified these communities as target areas for the…
Eels in the Classroom 2021
We are very pleased to share a summary of our Eels in the Classroom (EiTC) 2021 project delivered with several schools throughout the Chew Valley! EiTC is a BART staple,…
Bristol Avon WaterBlitz 2021 results are in!
An outstanding effort by 193 Citizen Scientists led to the 2021 Bristol Avon WaterBlitz being an exceptional success! From 9th to 16th of July, volunteers participated in important water quality…
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) receives grant from the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund for project “River Chew Reconnected”
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) has been awarded a grant of £97,700 from the Government’s £40 million second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, a multi-million pound boost for…
Bristol Avon WaterBlitz 2021 – 1 Week to Sign Up!
The Bristol Avon WaterBlitz returns this July, and it’s bigger than ever! BART is encouraging as many citizen scientists as possible to get out to their local watercourse and sample…
Bristol University – Project Medusa
Looking after our precious freshwater ecosystems amongst the myriad of other environmental and social challenges sometimes seems impossible and that our voices are drowned by more immediately pressing societal matters…
Eels are back in the classroom!
150 European eels have been delivered to 3 schools in the Chew Valley as part of BART’s Eels in the Classroom project. Despite the uncertainty of project delivery due to…
Citizen Science at the Land Yeo WaterBlitz
A fantastic effort by 65 Citizen Scientists made the 2021 Land Yeo WaterBlitz a huge success! Between Friday 7th and Monday 10th of May keen river guardians descended on the…
A call for a nature-rich West of England
The next Mayor of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) will take the helm at an unprecedented time. This exceptional time presents a unique opportunity for the next Mayor…
Assessing the status of the Little Avon headwaters
BART is working in partnership with the Cotswolds Champions Programme from the Cotswolds National Landscape to assess the condition of the Little Avon headwaters which rise within the Cotswold AONB.…
Wilder Waterways: restoring the Land Yeo!
Working collaboratively with Avon Wildlife Trust, BART will deliver and promote a catchment-based approach to enhancing the natural capital of the Land Yeo river and its surrounding landscape. The Wilder…
Farewell to Ian Mock
It is with sadness and a deep sense of gratitude that I share the news that Ian Mock is stepping down as CEO and Chair of BART. Ian quite rightly…
Postcode Local Trust supports BART’s work on the Bristol Frome
We are very pleased to announce that we have received an award from Postcode Local Trust, a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The award will enable…
Together for Rivers Campaign: Friends of River Frome – pollution follow up letter to MP
Thanks so much to Friends of Frome for supporting the Together for Rivers campaign and to David Warburton MP for pledging support. It is brilliant to see local groups valuing…
Project Update: Delivering Nature-Based Solutions in the Winford Brook
Saturday 21st November 2020 saw volunteers from the local community and further afield descend on a farm near Winford, Chew Valley, for a socially-distanced tree planting event. Tree planting marked…
Autumn 2020 Newsletter
It’s been an incredibly challenging year for us all… but despite periods of furlough and uncertainty, we’ve managed to keep ourselves busy throughout the summer to protect and enhance the Bristol Avon!
Private Members Bill launched in bid to tackle river pollution
Here at BART we know that everything we do to try and improve the rivers and streams within the Bristol Avon catchment area is limited by and entirely dependent on…
“Nature Based Solutions” in South Brook
The first phase of delivery in the South Brook catchment has been delivered by BART, aiming to ‘slow the flow’ of surface water during peak rainfall events. In 2018 &…
Project Update: Delivering nature-based solutions in the Winford Brook
BART has implemented nature-based solutions to deliver multiple benefits in the Winford Brook catchment. As a result of a combination of desktop research and walkover investigations to ground-truth opportunities, BART…
Congresbury Yeo River Channel Improvements
BART have implemented measures to reduce the impact of suspended sediment and open up the dense tree canopy to encourage habitat diversity within an over wide section of the Congresbury…
Citizen Science: Water Quality Monitoring
Bristol Avon WaterBlitz The Bristol Avon WaterBlitz is an annual citizen science event that gains a snapshot of water quality in the rivers and streams across the catchment. The event…
Bristol Avon WaterBlitz 2020
Bristol Avon WaterBlitz is Back! BART are thrilled to announce that we will be running our annual citizen science event: the Bristol Avon WaterBlitz. BART is working in partnership with…
River Chew eDNA Pilot Project
BART is leading an exciting eDNA pilot project to explore the effects of potential river obstructions on the distribution of fish species such as the Atlantic salmon, European eel, trout,…
BART is back! Project Delivery Update
We are excited to share the news that we are returning to our rivers and streams during June. Thanks to the flexibility shown by project funders during this unprecedented time…
Get active and support BART!
Get active and support BART! Do you want to turn that walk to the shops, that morning jog or cycle around the park, or that indoor social distancing exercise into…
Lockdown thoughts – a pond in BART’s garden…
At Bristol Avon Rivers Trust we’re passionate about the wildlife in the rivers, streams and still-waters around the Bristol Avon catchment. The lockdown is affecting us all and as you…
“Nature Based Solutions” in South Brook
BART has been attending site visits to gain landowner permissions within the South Brook catchment for the delivery of the Natural Flood Management (NFM) works. Schemes have been identified via BART’s…
Congresbury Yeo Habitat Improvements
During November 2019, BART’s operations team delivered the initial phase of practical habitat improvements on the Congresbury Yeo, directly downstream of Bristol Water’s Blagdon Lake spillway. BART led a team…
River Chew Fisheries Improvement Project
Taking place between May 2019 and March 2020, The River Chew Fisheries Improvement Project is a partnership project funded by the Environment Agency and Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership. Project funding provided BART with…
SmartRivers Initiative for the River Chew
BART signed up to the SmartRivers Initiative in 2019 and undertook our first sampling in November 2019 on the River Chew. SmartRivers is a scheme spearheaded by Salmon and Trout Conservation…
BART’s Spring Newsletter 2020
We hope you enjoy BART’s Spring 2020 newsletter! https://mailchi.mp/123db02c1017/barts-spring-newsletter The newsletter provides readers with a summary of the variety of projects that we have delivered throughout the Bristol Avon catchment…
Spawning Brook Lamprey in the Candlestick Stream
We are delighted to be able to share a video of brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) spawning on a tributary of the River Chew. The footage was shared with BART by…
BART in the Coronavirus crisis
Like everyone in the country BART has been affected by the Covid 19 outbreak. Whilst we believe what we do is important it is by no means essential in the…
River Chew Catchment Project: Keynsham Memorial Park Weir
BART are exploring options with partners to improve the condition of the River Chew through Keynsham Memorial Park for the benefit to people and wildlife. BART is leading the River…
“Working with Natural Processes” in the Winford Brook
BART has installed a series of ‘leaky dams’ that will help contribute towards “slowing the flow” and deliver for multiple benefits along a small tributary of the Winford Brook This…
Caring for the Cam
BART have completed the final phase of our “Caring for the Cam” project, helping to improve the health of the Cam Brook near Bath for the benefit of wildlife and…
Little Avon Fisheries Habitat Improvements
During October 2019, BART’s operations team delivered a habitat restoration project on the Ozleworth Brook, a tributary of the Little Avon in South Gloucestershire. A volunteer works party from Charfield…
Only Rain Down the Drain: addressing water quality issues in the Bristol Frome
BART are working on a catchment scale to address the sources of pollution impacting the Bristol Frome. The Only Rain Down the Drain engagement project aimed to educate businesses on…
Welcome to Lauren, our new Project Manager!
We would like to extend a very warm welcome to Lauren who joins BART as Project Manager. Lauren has a Masters in River Environments and their Management, achieved following a…
Have your say in the Challenges and Choices Consultation
The Environment Agency have launched a consultation seeking views on the challenges our waters face and the choices we all need to make to improve and protect this vital and…
What is a drain misconnection – how do they threaten our rivers?
Misconnected pipes and drains are a major threat to UK rivers and seas – plumbing misconnections can contribute towards pollution so it is important to be aware of what to…
Caring for the Cam: Project Update
BART have been working hard to address water quality issues and improve habitat for wildlife on the Cam Brook, Midford. The Caring for the Cam project is being funded by…
We have reached 60 Riverfly monitors!
We have reached 60 Riverfly Partnership monitors! These volunteers each sample their site once a month, monitoring invertebrates as indicators of water quality. They help us to gain a long term dataset…
We’ve raised one million pounds!
BART are really proud to announce that we have reached the £1 million mark for lifetime funds raised for river restoration and education work! (Plus a huge amount more bought…
BART electrofishing surveys
BART are pleased to announce that we now own our own set of electrofishing kit. BART has been conducting electrofishing surveys for some time with partners, however we have now…
2019 Bristol Avon Waterblitz – the results!
Thank you to all of our 424 wonderful volunteers for your efforts in monitoring for us this year. You can find out the results of the 2019 Waterblitz below! …
Welcome to George, our new team member!
We are really excited to welcome George to our team! George is a keen conservationist with a passion for zoology and the environment. George has gained valuable experience delivering river…
Forgotten Landscape Project: Identifying the barriers to eel migration
BART are investigating the migratory passage of European eels in the Lower Severn Vales as part of the Forgotten Landscape Project. We are aiming to assess the success of eel…
Thank you to Charlfield Angling Club
BART are very grateful to Charfield Angling Association member Hans Thomsen, who, when fishing became too difficult for him, kindly donated his fishing kit to help raise funds for the…
Spawn to be Wild – the big releases!
11 primary schools across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and Somerset have been out in local rivers releasing 550 young European eels which they have been studying as part of our…
Understanding our rivers – BART school visits
Alongside our elver assemblies and check ups for our Spawn to be Wild project, BART have been busy running lessons in our 11 project primary schools. We have had countless…
Bristol Avon Waterblitz 2019
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust are excited to announce the 2019 Bristol Avon WaterBlitz; a yearly campaign to collect as many water quality samples as possible in a week from across…
Spawn to be Wild 2019
BART are delighted to announce that we have bought eels to 11 classrooms along the Bristol Avon for the fourth year running! The ‘Spawn to be Wild’ project is an…
River Chew Fisheries Improvement Strategy
During 2019, BART will be delivering a River Chew Fisheries Improvement Strategy to develop improvement plans which could be made to the river as a fishery. The work will build…
River Chew Catchment Project
We are excited to announce that we are leading the development of a new collaborative Chew Catchment Project designed to bring together local community groups in a mutual mission to…
NEW VACANCY! – Project Officer
Organisation: Bristol Avon Rivers Trust Salary: C£18,000 – £22,000 Location: Bristol Avon catchment Hours: Full Time, 40 hours per week Flexibility required (some evening & weekend work) Position type: Paid…
Caring for the Cam
BART have gratefully received funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery for improvement works along the Cam Brook at Midford. BART will be delivering a suit of work to build…
Barrier assessments for Bristol Water
The BART team have been busy this month doing barrier assessments for Bristol Water to understand which fish species (if any) can get over a number of weirs. Fish need to move…
Chippenham Yellow Fish event
On Saturday the 17th of November in Chippenham we will be co-hosting a yellow fish pollution awareness event with Wessex water! Its free to get involved so if your in…
Little Avon Fisheries Habitat Enhancement
BART has recently completed the delivery of fisheries habitat improvements throughout a stretch of the Little Avon. BART’s operations team teamed up with volunteers from Charfield Angling Association to install…
Bristol Avon WaterBlitz 2018 – the results
Our Bristol Avon WaterBlitz is run annually to assess the health of the rivers and the streams within the catchment. As part of the WaterBlitz, participants test the water quality by taking samples to find…
Project Update: Opening up Norton Brook (tributary of the Wellow Brook) to fish
The BART team have been busy this week removing several large blockages from the course of the Norton Brook. The blockages were deemed barriers to fish at most flow conditions…
BART takes to the water at the Bristol Harbour Festival
Did you spot the BART logo in the Bristol Post, Telegraph or Sunday Times this weekend? BART Project Manager Harriet took to the water in a cardboard boat this weekend…
Fish passage assessments at Radstock
Yesterday BART spent the day on the Wellow Brook assessing fish passage on three weirs in Radstock. We measured the physical characteristics of the weirs including water depths, height and…
Restoring the Wellow, Midford & Cam Brooks
BART has recently secured funding via the Environment Agency’s Water & Environment Improvement Fund to deliver habitat enhancement projects in two locations along the Cam & Wellow Brooks. The project…
Free GIS training opportunity for secondary schools
Calling all Secondary school teachers in the Bristol area! Bristol Avon Rivers Trust are offering an exciting opportunity to become a member of a steering and development group for our…
Eel in the Classroom 2018
Now we’ve had time to sit back and reflect on another year of our Eel in the Classroom project, we would like to share with you our progress in 2018.…
‘Backroom BART’ update, BART CEO
By Ian Mock, BART CEO… The above picture is a bit like Backroom BART at present. It is a time of year when Accounts and looming AGM’s cause you to…
The Bristol Avon Waterblitz returns!
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) is excited to announce the 2018 Bristol Avon WaterBlitz; a campaign to collect as many water quality samples as possible in a week from across…
BART welcomes new team members
We have had a very exciting few weeks as an increasing workload has meant that we have able to take on two new recruits, Alec Richardson as Education and Community…
River Marden 2018 fisheries improvements
Project background In 2017, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) applied to the Environment Agency’s ‘Fisheries Improvement Fund’ following a walkover survey of the entire length of the river and several small…
New BART/University research students
BART are pleased to welcome our newest University research students this month from the University of Bristol who will be continuing our water quality monitoring along tributaries of the Bristol…
Can you help us to improve the River Marden in Calne, Wiltshire?
We are looking for volunteers to take part in a river restoration project which is taking place from 26th February – 2nd March and on the 5th and 7th March…
Rod licence funds – Environment Agency reports
The Environment Agency has today released the annual fisheries report detailing how rod licence income was distributed by the agency and its partners to protect and enhance angling and fisheries. The report…
The Bristol Avon – our Blue Planet
From where we are sat in the centre of Bristol or the more rural areas of the Bristol Avon Catchment, we rarely consider how our livelihoods and environments are linked…
Backroom BART
Want to know more about the behind the scenes work that goes on at BART? Well keep reading to learn more about our work in the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership…
The Magnificent Marden Project continues to grow
BART have been working to improve the River Marden in Calne for a number of years now. To date, this has included in-stream habitat works, local engagement with presentations, education…
Thank you volunteers!
In 2017 our wonderful volunteers contributed 4226.5 hours to BART to help restore and protect our rivers! We would like to say a huge thank you to every single one…
Walkover surveys find room for improvement!
BART have been very busy recently, travelling all over the catchment doing walkover surveys and writing advisory reports for river improvement projects including the Corston, Newton, and Nunney Brooks and…
Eel surveying on Blagdon Lake
Back in October we worked with West Country Rivers Trust and Bristol Water to begin an eel escarpment study on Blagdon Lake reservoir in Somerset. It was a week of…
Working with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
Here at BART we like to give other ‘watery’ organisations a helping hand, so we spent a couple of weeks with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Water Team to help out…
Eels return to a classroom near you in 2018!
BART are happy to announce that in spring 2018 we will be running our incredibly popular Eel in the Classroom project, thanks to funding from the Greggs Foundation! The Greggs…
BART selected as Co-op local cause!
BART are really pleased to announce that we have been chosen as a Co-op local cause! Every time members shop at the Co-op, 1% of what you spend on selected own-brand…
Electrofishing surveys on the Wellow Brook
Thanks to funding from the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership, BART carried out electrofishing surveys on the Wellow Brook this summer. The study was undertaken to provide part of a set…
A summer of ecological surveys
BART’s ecologist, Jessy Grant, has been busy this summer with lots of exciting ecological monitoring projects for both BART and external clients. Here’s more information about some of our ecological…
A month on the Wellow Brook
After working on the Wellow Brook for the whole of September we have finished this section of river restoration work! We have had a fantastic few weeks building in-stream habitat…
Bringing back curves to the River Biss
September is always a busy month for BART with fieldwork and river restoration, and this year was no exception. As we need to avoid the trout spawning season which begins…
Grass cuttings and water pollution
While we’ve been out on the river recently we’ve noticed many occurrences of people throwing their grass cuttings over their garden and into the river. Please help us to spread…
Work begins to improve the Wellow Brook
So here we are in September, our busiest month of the year for in-stream habitat improvement works and it feels like just yesterday we were finishing up our works on…
Local community & Streamclean team helps clean up the Dippy
BART are so pleased to hear that after we have put the fantastic Friends of the Somerset River Frome in touch with contacts at Wessex Water regarding repeat sewage pollution…
Vote for the ‘Our Wonderful Wellow’ Project in Tesco stores!
BART are delighted to have got through to the voting stage for Tesco’s Bags of Help Green token scheme, funded by the carrier bag tax. Your vote can help us…
BART help to develop new app on river health
BART have recently been helping a local company called Epimorphics to gain an understanding of how best to display river health data for use by conservationists and members of the…
Citizen science monitoring resources
Thank you so much to everyone who has taken part in our Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership funded Freshwater Watch citizen science project over the last year, from those of you…
American signal crayfish – the law
We have recently had a number of emails and messages on social media from people who are unsure of the laws surrounding catching and handling American Signal crayfish, so we…
Fish population survey reports
The local Environment Agency team have recently published their fish population reports for the Bristol Avon catchment 2016, assessing the health of our rivers to inform future management. Click below…
Bristol Harbourside Festival Cardboard Boat Race!
As part of the Bristol Harbourside Festival 2017 BART Project Officers, Harriet and Claire, decided to enter the annual Cardboard Boat Race! The event was organised by the charity My…
Biss Family Fun day, Trowbridge
Do you live in the Trowbridge, Wiltshire area? Fancy exploring your local river? Join BART & Friends of Biss Meadows Country Park on the 13th August to explore the minibeasts…
Bristol Avon Waterblitz – the results!
The results are in and the Bristol Avon Waterblitz is now over! This is the first year that BART have run the Waterblitz, and it was a great success with…
Bristol pupils spray the way to change
As part of our Greggs Foundation funded project, over 60 pupils from Bristol have been out running their own Yellowfish Project to educate members of their community on the link…
Somerset Frome Sediment Pathways Project
BART have completed a very interesting and useful project funded by the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership this Spring. Sediment entering watercourses can have a detrimental effect on aquatic ecology, including…
Duchy of Cornwall river surveys
BART have been busy over the last few months undertaking a variety of river surveys on Duchy of Cornwall estate land near to Bath, including: In-stream and riparian habitat surveys…
Your Fisheries
BART have completed the first phase of the pilot Your Fisheries Pilot project which is taking place across the country on behalf of the Rivers Trust, Angling Trust and Environment…
Ecological surveying near Bath
Our Aquatic Ecologist, Jess, and Project Officer Harriet have been out on both the Corston and Newton Brook near Bath doing a variety of walkover surveys. This will help us…
Electrofishing surveys
This BART worked with Five Rivers Environmental Contractors carrying out electrofishing surveys along the Midford Brook and Wellow Brook near to Bath. These surveys were conducted at a number of…
Giving the Frome Fairies a helping hand
We love being able to give local community groups a hand, especially when they’re doing something to help the river! Our Project Officer Harriet went to get her hands dirty…
Bristol Festival of Nature 2017
From the 9th-11th June, BART set up camp at the Bristol harbourside for the Bristol Festival of Nature 2017! Working to promote the Bristol Avon Waterblitz, we were on a…
Riverfly Monitoring training 2017
As the Riverfly Hub for the Bristol Avon catchment, BART is responsible for recruiting and training new volunteers as Riverfly monitors. This is part of the Anglers Riverfly Monitoring Initiative…
Friends of the River Frome
If you are out and about in Somerset over the next few weeks, why not give the Friends of the River Frome a hand? With litter picks, balsam bashes and…
Eel in the Classroom – the big release!
Over 100 pupils from 6 different primary schools across Wiltshire, Bristol and Somerset have been out and about in local rivers releasing over 600 young European Eels which they have…
Bristol Avon WaterBlitz 2017
BART are excited to announce the 2017 Bristol Avon WaterBlitz, a campaign to collect as many water quality samples as possible in one week from the Bristol Avon and its…
Managing woody debris in rivers
BART regularly receive emails from local community groups who are doing fantastic work around their stretch of river but are unsure of how to deal with woody debris within the…
Eel in the Classroom 2017
Following the huge success of our first Eel in the Classroom project last year, BART have embarked on the even greater challenge of delivering the project in 6 different schools…
Midsomer Norton disussion evening
We had a successful evening in Midsomer Norton with the Town Council and local community discussing our new Our Wonderful Wellow project. The event in Midsomer Norton Town Hall was…
Chew Magna primary school – river explorers!
Thanks to funding from the Big Lottery Fund Awards for All programme, BART spent the day with some very excited children from Chew Magna Primary School. The children couldn’t wait…
Extending the ‘Our Wonderful Wellow’ project
BART are proud to announce that we are extending the ‘Our Wonderful Wellow’ project to include the area of river by Stoney Littleton, Wiltshire. This project will involve a program…
Somerset Frome Sediment Pathways project update
Thanks to funding from the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership, BART has been busy on the upper Somerset Frome since October working on our Diffuse Pollution Sediment Pathways Project. Sediment entering…
Our Wonderful Wellow Meeting
We pleased to be teaming up with Midsomer Norton Town Council on a project to improve the Wellow Brook. This local initative aims to enchance the community conservation space along…
River survey day with students from the University of the West of England
BART spent a day out on the Bristol Frome teaching UWE students a variety of different river habitat surveys. The students learnt new skills in land use mapping, identifying invertebrates…
BART’s ‘Our Wonderful Wellow’ project teams up with Midsomer Norton Town Council
We are pleased to be working with Midsomer Norton Town Council to improve the Wellow Brook, thanks to funding from Postcode Local Trust. The following article is from the Midsomer…
NEW 2017 Riverfly training sessions
Thanks to funding from Big Lottery Fund‘s Awards for All programme, BART are pleased to announce that we will be running 4 new Riverfly Partnership training sessions. These one day sessions…
Celebrating #WorldWetlandsDay for the eel
This #WorldWetlandsDay, some of the BART Team will be spending the day at Steart Marshes in Somerset continuing a vitally important project to monitor population levels of the European eel…
Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring Project
Thanks to funding from the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership, BART will be working with 8 Riverfly monitors, 5 community groups, 5 schools and 5 farmers to monitor chemical water quality…
Bristol Frome Restored Project
This project is funded by the Environment Agency as a continuation of the Bristol Frome Pollution Project completed last year on behalf of the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership. The aim…
NEW PROJECT!: Somerset Frome Diffuse Pollution Pathways
The Somerset Frome Diffuse Pollution Pathways project will use a risk grading approach to develop sediment pathway maps for the upper Somerset Frome (South of the town of Frome). To…
River Frome (Somerset) restocked with fish following fish kill
The Environment Agency post news of their stocking: please visit their Facebook page to watch the short clip.
NEW PROJECT! Beneath the Waterline – Minibeast Citizen Science
Thanks to funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards 4 All programme, BART are excited to announce that we have received funding to run 4 new Riverfly Partnership training sessions…
Bridgwater College invertebrate sampling session
This month BART spent a great day with Bridgwater College Fisheries Management students river dipping on the Cannington Brook in Bridgwater, Somerset. As well as finding many of the good water…
Wellow boulder weir removal
This month, thanks to funding from the Environment Agency Fisheries Fund, we have completed the removal of three boulder weirs on the Wellow Brook below Wellow, Bath. The boulder weirs have caused silt to…
NEW PROJECT! Your Fisheries
Thanks to funding from the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership, BART are participating in a National pilot project called ‘Your Fisheries’, which aims to understand fisheries within the catchment. Your Fisheries, provides a…
NEW PROJECT: LoCATE Bristol Frome
Greggs Foundation – Environmental Education for Local Communities BART are pleased to announce that we have received support from the Greggs Foundation to run our LoCATE Project alongside the Bristol…
BART celebrates it’s first half a million in river restoration funds!
As of November 2016, BART are excited to announce that we have reached a milestone of £500,000 for river restoration and education works throughout the Bristol Avon Catchment. We realise…
**Confirmed crayfish plague on the By Brook**
Dear all, Following a significant native white-clawed crayfish kill on the By Brook, Wiltshire in August/September, it has been confirmed that the crayfish sampled were infected with Aphanomyces astaci, which is…
View from a volunteer – Maddie
September 2016 – Volunteering for 2 weeks “I am an Environmental Science student studying at the University of Southampton and have a great time getting stuck in with some…
Midford Brook habitat enhancement project
The Midford Brook habitat enhancement project was an initiative funded by Wessex Water to work with Avon and Tributaries Angling Association (ATAA) to restore a section of river suffering from…
NEW VACANCY! – Trainee Project Officer
**APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED – THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS APPLIED, WE WILL LET ALL APPLICANTS KNOW OF THE OUTCOME OF THEIR APPLICATION IN DUE COURSE** …
Return of the Lamprey
The last month has seen two of our Riverfly Partnership monitors coming to us with a strange finding – lamprey larvae (or ‘ammocoetes’ as they are also known). One…
Cleveland Lido fish rescue
Last week BART worked with Westcountry Rivers Trust to conduct a fish rescue on Cleveland Lido in Bath. The lido, which is the oldest of its kind in the UK,…
Freshwater shrimp research project – can you help?
Whilst BART are out and about river dipping we often see freshwater shrimp (Gammarus) with these bright orange spots in their bodies – a sign of a spiny headed worm…
The BART April – June newsletter is now out!
Our April – June newsletter is now out – there’s been a lot going on! You can view it here: http://tinyurl.com/zopbnpl If you’re not already subscribed, you can do this…
Bristol Avon Water Blitz
Thanks to everyone who took part in the Bristol Avon Water Blitz as part of the Festival of Nature 2016. Phosphate and nitrate samples were taken all over the catchment…
Spraying the Way to change in Bristol
We were delighted to take part in the Marks and Spencers Spark Something Good Campaign this June in order to run our biggest Yellowfish event yet – all the way from…
European eels give Luckington pupils the slip
More than 50 Luckington school pupils paddled in the shallow waters of Luckington Brook to release the baby European eels they had been studying as part of our ‘Eel in the Classroom’…
Frome River Awareness Festival
BART has joined forces with a number of local organisations to put on Frome River Awareness Festival 2016, a series of events to raise awareness of the River Frome including its wildlife, its…
An update on the River Frome fish kill
This is what we all live in fear of! It is a crying shame for the many people in Frome who love their river and especially for groups like Frome…
BART 2016 Riverfly Conference
Thank you to everyone who came to our 2016 Riverfly Partnership conference this Saturday. We had a great day and we hope that those who came along did too!A big…
New Project: SHRIMP Phase 2 (& Eels in the Classroom!)
BART are excited to announce that we have received funding to run a Phase 2 of our successful SHRIMP Project in Sherston, Wiltshire, thanks to the kind offer of a grant…
Southmead Open Space (SOS) Project
We have just come to the end of the first phase of our Southmead Open Space (SOS) Project, which involved a litter pick and river dipping sessions to encourage the community ownership and…
New Project: LoCATE Somerset Frome
BART are excited to announce that we have received funding to run our LoCATE (Local Community Action Through Education) Project in Frome, Somerset, thanks to a grant from the Michael…
BART Beacon report – foam on rivers
We are always grateful to get messages from our BART Beacons letting us know of issues and opportunities, and one thing we often get informed of is foam within rivers.…
Yellow fish invade Bristol
Over the past month, BART have spent time with 80+ Bristol children and residents as part of our Yellowfish Project. This project aims to raise awareness of water pollution by reminding people that any waste entering…
Fixing the Frome
Fixing the Frome Despite being a prominent feature through the town of Frome, the River Frome is suffering from a number of issues that are affecting the health of the river…
Bags of Help
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative across England and Wales. The scheme has seen three community groups and projects in each region awarded grants…
Can you offer us ‘Bags of Help’?
BART are delighted to have been selected be a recipient of the Tesco Bags of Help initiative to continue our habitat enhancement works on the River Marden in Calne, Wiltshire! Tesco has teamed up…
Magnificent Marden Project – End of Phase 1
The Magnificent Marden Project (Phase 1) was an initiative to restore a popular section of the River Marden through Castlefields Park, Calne, that was suffering from various anthropogenic impacts.…
Glass Eel Citizen Science Project
The eel is a critically endangered species, more endangered than the snow leopard and the tiger. Bristol is one of the leading European forces in saving the eel. As…
New Catchment Plan launched for the Bristol Avon
BART are pleased to announce that The Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership, with whom BART are a member, have launched a comprehensive plan for improving our water environment. The new plan…
Sewage pollution – Misconnections
Misconnections BART have become aware of several sewage pollution incidents in our rivers over the past few months. Most recently, we were treated to a sudden flow of sewage and…
Call for volunteers! – Magnificent Marden Project
Does your company fancy an environmental team bonding day? Do you live locally to Calne and would like to help out? Bristol Avon Rivers Trust are looking for volunteers for…
NEW! – Magnificent Marden Project
BART are pleased to announce that we have received funding from the Environment Agency and Wessex Water to partially fund a river improvement project on the River Marden in Wiltshire.…
Sherston habitat enhancement works
The last week of September was a busy one for us, with a full week of in-stream works for our SHRIMP (SHerston River IMProvement) Project. The aim of this…
Environment Agency Publishes Pollution Incident Report 2014
July saw the Environment Agency’s 2014 summary of pollution incidents published. They report a 11% decrease in serious pollution incidents overall in 2014 and in particular a substantial decrease in incidents…
BY BROOK FEASIBILITY REPORTS.
BART have completed a two year study of the By Brook catchment as part of a partnership project funded by the Environment Agency. The objectives of the project were…
View from a volunteer
The following blog post comes from Andrea Goodmansen, our BART education volunteer who has joined us from Monterey, California: “This summer I have spent time at Southmead Adventure Playground teaching children…
BART goes floral
Wildflower meadow planting Meadows and grasslands were once an intrinsic part of British agriculture, bursting with colour and the hum of insects, but it has now been estimated that these important…
Bristol Local Nature Reserve event dates out
A programme of free autumn walks and other events to celebrate Bristol’s LNRs is now finalised and is attached here. We will be at Manor Woods exploring the Malago on Sunday 18th…
The Drought Risk and You (DRY) Project – Volunteering opportunities and questionnaire
The DRY Project takes a pioneering approach to better understand drought by bringing together a unique blend of science and stories in drought risk decision-making across seven river catchments in England,…
Our rivers in history… The RiTCH Project
River Trym Communities and Heritage (RiTCH) Project BART have come to the end of our Heritage Lottery funded RiTCH Project on the Trym through Blaise Castle, which aimed to highlight…
New Riverfly Partnership training sessions!
BART are excited to announce that we will be running a number of Riverfly monitoring training sessions over the next year, thanks to Awards for All funding from the Big…
June – July Newsletter
Our June – July newsletter is now out! Click here to find out about what we’ve been up to and how you can get involved. If you’re not already subscribed…
A thank you from ATAA
BART were delighted to receive this letter as thanks to an Environment Agency ‘Environmental leave’ balsam bash day that we organised for the Wellow Brook on behalf of the Avon…
Sherston’s SHRIMPers prepare for action.
BART have plans for an exciting community project on the Luckington Brook in the village of Sherston, Wiltshire. The SHRIMP project (SHerston River IMProvement project) will work with local volunteers…
Bath Festival of Nature
BART had another great day at Festival of Nature this weekend, this time at Bath! It was encouraging to see so many people of all ages with an interest in…
The Wellow Brook Project
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) has formally completed its partnership project on a stretch of the Wellow Brook at Welton, Midsomer Norton. The project was carried out in partnership with the Wild…
Bristol Frome Diffuse Pollution Project
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) are delighted to have been asked to lead this project on behalf of the Bristol Avon Catchment Group, with funding provided through the DEFRA Catchment…
A weekend at Bristol Festival of Nature
BART spent the weekend at Bristol Festival of Nature in the Harbourside, where there were a huge variety of fantastic organisations and activities for people of all ages to get…
Know the Yeo – Sunday 5th July
YACWAG and BART are hosting a ‘How well do you know the Yeo’ event on the Millennium Green at Congresbury, Somerset. Whether you are local to the Yeo or simply…
March & April newsletter
It’s been a busy couple of months! Click here to find out what we’ve been up to: BART March & April newsletter
A date for your diaries…
Avon & Tributaries Angling Association are running a Balsam bash on 5th July near Iford. Give them an email if you would like to take part, it should be a…
Foam on rivers
Whilst walking along your local river, some of you may have noticed foam on the surface of the water. Although this may seem alarming, the following post from the Environment…
BART Jan-Feb Newsletter
Our newsletter for January/February 2015 is now out! Follow this link to find out more about the work we’ve been doing over the past couple of months -> BART Jan-Feb Newsletter…
Surprise landing of a sea trout from the middle Bristol Avon
In March 2015, a local angler reported the capture of a sea trout from the Bristol Avon right up around Chippenham. Despite the fact that the Bristol Avon enters the Severn Estuary at…
RiTCH Project
We are currently busy planning some summer events on the Hazel Brook/River Trym through Blaise Castle estate. Keep an eye out on our social media for more information or register…
WELLOW BROOK VOLUNTEERS – DATE CHANGES
Please note the changes made in the following update. Wellow Restoration project – volunteers Update 7
Wellow Brook Project – Volunteer Update
We have had a great initial response to our request for volunteers. The latest details re dates and meeting points is shown in the attached link. If you haven’t contacted…
Wellow Brook Project – Volunteers Needed
We are approaching the implementation stages of the Wellow project and there are opportunities for volunteer involvement. If you cannot make these dates but want to be involved please still…
Trainee Catchment Officer Vacancy
Please see the attached for details of a vacancy we hope to fill in time for a busy 2015. Catchment Restoration Project Officer (1)
Opportunity to have your say.
On Friday 10 October the Environment Agency launched their consultation on draft updates to the river basin management plans. The consultation will run until 10 April 2015. Consultation documents and response forms…
November Newsletter
Please find attached our latest news update. BART – Newsletter October 2014 pdf
Invasive Species – more bad news.
Dreissena rostriformis bugensis (Quagga Mussel) has been found in Wraysbury Reservoir and the Wraysbury River, a tributary of the River Colne, near Egham, Surrey. This is the first UK record…
BART becomes a Riverfly hub for the catchment
The Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) has spotted an opportunity to expand volunteering and engaging people actively with their local river through working with the Riverfly Partnership. Volunteering, particularly…
Wiltshire Wrigglers
BART played a big part yesterday helping The Sustainable Eels Group in the placement of 100.000 juvenile eels into the waters of the Bristol Avon in Wiltshire. The link below is…
Latest Newsletter
Please click to view our latest Newsletter. BART – Newsletter 6 – July 2014
BART Catchment Initiative Updates
The following link will take you to our latest update on the three catchment initiatives we have started this year. We will update these several times a year and add…
BART catchment initiatives
We have three catchment initiatives underway at present. The following links are leaflets which we will be using in the areas – feel free to send them on to anyone…
What is the Catchment Based Approach?
What is the Catchment Based Approach There is a lot of useful information on the internet – from the DEFRA site to the CaBA knowledgebase and of course the Bristol…
Eutrophication – Weight of Evidence
Hi all, I received the following from Jeremy Taylor who is the catchment Co-ordinator for the Environment Agency. He is looking for the widest response possible and has asked for…
Calling all volunteers!
We are very lucky to have Neil Green who is project officer of Avon Invasive Weeds as one of our volunteers. We are also very lucky to have Friends of…
Volunteers start work on River Trym
Some time ago there was a pollution incident on the Trym and as a result BART have benefitted from a settlement – see story by copying this link https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-enforcement-undertaking-accepted-from-water-company As…
Angling Trust – Coarse Fish Conference
Mark Everard spoke at the recent Angling Trust about the importance of our rivers and the increasing neglect of some of the important factors important to healthy populations of coarse…
When it rains it does more than pour!
As I sat watching the rain from my window I was reminded of a recent case study produced by one of our volunteers Simon Browning. This reflects just one day…
BART 2014 – two years on.
Pulling together the information to produce our accounts we were quite surprised at what we had managed to achieve in just two years. We decided to produce a special newsletter.…
Upper Avon Initiative
We are distributing the attached leaflet at the Wild Sherston Festival this weekend and in other local events on the Sherston and Tetbury Avon downstream as far as Sutton Benger.…
BART speaker at River Restoration Centre Conference
BART note on RRC keynote presentation (ME 2014-05-08)
Wild Sherston – May 16th – 18th
BART will be supporting the Wild Sherston event on the Saturday and Sunday. We will have our display boards and several members of the team there to engage local people…
Love Your River – kids activity day.
Just a quick update on the activity day which went really well. We attracted some new volunteers and several more for the future! Thanks to all those who came along…
Upper Avon Initiative
My name is Maxine Goodey and I am currently studying an MSc in Environmental Consultancy at the University of the West of England (UWE). As part of my course I…
By Brook – Love Your River – Kids Day
To celebrate coming to the end of phase one of our work on the Brook we have organised a day for children locally to encourage extra interest in the life…
Less obvious but fascinating riverside residents
The following article written by Daniel Wood one of BART’s volunteers reveals a startling life-cycle that takes place under our noses and we very rarely consider when fishing or bird…
Last weekend we were rewarded for not cancelling our river walk with the volunteers of the Sherston Grove community wood by a very lovely interlude of sunny weather with no…
Fishes of England’s lowland rivers – Somerset Otter Group
Somerset Otter Group. The Somerset Otter Group is hosting a talk on; ‘Fishes of England’s Lowland Rivers.’ By Dr Mark Everard. This talk will address the diversity of fishes in…
River Monitoring Scheme Annual Meeting
BART were delighted to be invited to the annual Meeting of the River Monitoring scheme in Wiltshire at the weekend and even more so that Dr Mark Everard, one of…
Friends of the Frome
We are very pleased that the Friends of the Frome (Somerset) have agreed to become our latest Beacon group. This simply means we will be combining our efforts on the…
The link below details a small but important project which BART completed with several partners very recently. The cash cost was £84.00 but lots of man hours went into planning…
World Rivers Day
Bart will be spending World Rivers Day at Bowood Game Fair where we hope to meet and enthuse local rivers users to get involved in improving their particular favourite stretch.…
BART goes international!
This smiling group are the latest additions to our growing band of volunteers. They all hail from Naples and have backgrounds in Natural Sciences so will be a great addition…
Trust Management Consultant
Please see the attached document which describes an important new position being advertised by the Trust. Trust Management Consultant Advert.doc BART.doc2
By Brook Progress
Now we have agreement to proceed it is all hands to the pump to make the most of the Summer and progress the project as fast as possible. We have…
Latest Newsletter
Our latest Newsletter can be downloaded by clicking on the link below. BART – EA update 3
Somerset Frome
Bart were invited by Avon & Tributaries Angling Association to join them last Sunday as part of their weekend of activities to promote angling and their lovely waters. A relaxed…
Good News For By Brook!
BART has just received confirmation that it has been awarded a Partnership contract to carry out improvements on the By Brook. You can see a draft of the information release…
PES project – Little Avon
Phase two of this project has been completed and the final stage which would include recommendations for next steps is due for completion in August. BART are excited at how…
Partnership Working
BART, Avon & Frome Partnership and Bristol City Council representing the Bristol Avon Catchment Group on Sunday at the Bristol Festival of Nature on Sunday.
Festival Of Nature
Mark and Ian model their new T-shirts! The Festival was BART’s first major public outing and it was great to see and hear the excitement of youngsters seeing the fish…
Festival Of Nature
The Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, 15th and 16th June. BART will be helping in the WildWaters tent and we have just completed our display board – everything…
Bristol Big Green Week
If you haven’t already seen the array of interesting talks available in Bristol during this week – 15th to 23rd June take a peek. A highlight should be the Question Time:…
Wild Trout Trust Workshop
Mark Everard, one of the Trust’s Trustees represented BART at the Wild Trout Trust workshop near Princetown, Devon, on the weekend of 8th and 9thJune. Mark also gave an after-dinner talk…
BART promotional leaflet
We have just had our first leaflet printed in readiness for the Festival of Nature in Bristol over the weekend of 15th – 16th June. We will be there on…
Payments For Ecosystem Services Project
BART are working in partnership with the world renowned wetlands expert, Rob McInnes, researchers from Bath Spa University and a local environmental consultancy called Engain, on a project to implement…
Walking in the Rain
The weather does not stop BART and the EA looking for opportunities to improve our rivers , even when it rains. And there was another very wet person behind the…
Volunteering as a group!
Bart is really excited at the progress being made towards setting up a Volunteers group with Lackham College in Wiltshire. Dr Mark Everard, Dr Sid Jevons and Ian Mock presented…
Another Avon Roach Project
Thanks to the Severn Rivers Trust BART were lucky enough to acquire eight roach spawning boards recently in readiness for this seasons spawning. We hope that we can encourage the…
Beginnings of an Eel Project..
BART have spent the last few weekends in January and February walking sections of the Bristol Frome and River Chew. Lots of rain and some sleet but no sign of…
New Rivers Trust
You have a new Rivers Trust – please use us to help you protect our river. We are already busy and are looking for volunteers – can you help set…
Flow Deflectors Project
Much of the Bristol Avon has many weirs with a short stretch of oxygenated water below them followed by the river quickly losing its energy. This project was designed to…
Bankside “buffer zone” Project
The two views in these photos show a stretch of river which had been badly poached by cattle leading to the banks being denuded of all vegetation. The result is…