Restoring Rivers and Supporting Healthier Communities
Most people don’t consider rivers in their day-to-day lives…
They’re something you can pass on your walk, drive over on your daily commute or notice after a deluge of rain. But what we may not realise is how much rivers are doing behind the scenes by shaping the landscapes we live in and influencing the environment around us.
Here at Severn Rivers Trust, our mission is simple. We make practical changes on the ground across the whole of the Severn to improve how our rivers function.
We’re excited to announce that we have partnered with Health Academy. They’re a UK-based training provider for primary care practitioners. Whilst Severn Rivers Trust and Health Academy sit in very different spaces, we share a common interest in supporting healthier and happier communities.
Across the entire Severn, we work with landowners and partners to restore rivers by slowing the flow of water, reconnecting rivers to their surrounding floodplains and creating space for wildlife to thrive again.
This work includes creating wetlands to hold water higher up in the landscape, planting trees along the riverbanks to stabilise the soil and provide shade for fish, or installing natural features in the river to create better habitat and reduce erosion. We also tackle barriers that prevent fish from moving upstream to spawn, as well as working closely with farmers to find nature-friendly solutions to help reduce agricultural pollution entering the river in the first place.
There isn’t one single solution. It’s about combining small, effective changes that can work long-term with the environment’s natural processes. And when these efforts are delivered at scale across the whole catchment, these changes can start to make a real difference to the health of our rivers.
Many of the challenges our local rivers face today are a result of how they’ve been managed historically.
Channels have been straightened and deepened, wetlands have been drained, and rivers have been removed from their surrounding floodplains. These changes were often made to help move water away from the land more quickly, to make it easier to manage, but this has altered the way our natural river systems behave.
Now, water often moves faster through the local landscape, resulting in fine sediments and nutrients washing more easily into our rivers. Habitats have become more sparse, and wildlife has fewer places to thrive.
Our restoration work is about addressing that by working with the river, rather than trying to control it.
We’ve also seen a growing understanding of how closely our rivers connect the people around them. Spending time in and around water can support our physical and mental health. Good access to green and blue spaces has been linked to reduced stress, improved moods and increased levels of physical activity.
For organisations like Health Academy, which work closely with healthcare professionals, this link between environment and wellbeing is particularly relevant.
Health Academy supports primary care practitioners across the UK through flexible, high-quality training. Founded by nurses Euan Naismith and Neil Ramdhun, their focus is on creating learning that is practical, accessible and grounded in real-world experience.
As part of our new partnership, their team will be joining us on site later this year for a volunteering day, getting involved in practical river restoration work, giving the team a chance to see how our work is delivered on the ground.
Our work is practical and long-term, focused on restoring rivers in a way that benefits both wildlife and people. By working with partners like Health Academy, we can continue delivering that work while also opening up new conversations about why it matters.
