River Holme Connections is a local charity with an aim to improve the whole of the River Holme Catchment. By connecting people, business and wildlife we can make it an even better place to live, work and experience.  We provide practical volunteering opportunities during the week and every third Saturday of the month from 10am-12 noon in various locations throughout the catchment area.  We also have a programme of walks, talks and events running throughout the year.

Riverflies are invertebrates that spend most of their life cycle in a river, stream, pond or lake. Three key groups of riverflies are mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies. In a healthy river, you would expect to find riverfly larvae all year round. They are very sensitive to changes in water quality, so if their numbers are low, it can indicate that there is a problem. They are seen as the ‘canaries of our rivers’. Being low down on the food chain, a drop in their numbers will go on to have a knock-on effect on the entire ecosystem. Monitoring riverfly populations can allow us to quickly identify issues such as pollution events.

The Riverfly Monitoring is a citizen science project - you don’t need any qualifications or experience to become a monitor. All of the skills required will be taught to you at a training day. Monitoring involves entering a river/stream to carry out a kick sample, so you do need to feel physically capable of that, and you will need some wellies. We do also require all monitors to be at least 18 years old.

You will be allocated a site along the River Holme and a partner. Once you are trained you will be asked to monitor the river once a month between April and October - you and your partner can choose the date and time to suit you. You will share your survey data with our team who will use it to monitor trends in river health.

• Application form required

• 18+