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Welcome to The Wear Rivers Trust

Welcome to The Wear Rivers TrustWelcome to The Wear Rivers TrustWelcome to The Wear Rivers Trust

We conserve, protect, rehabilitate and improve the landscape and watercourses we rely on volunteers to help us with our work 

Welcome to The Wear Rivers Trust

Welcome to The Wear Rivers TrustWelcome to The Wear Rivers TrustWelcome to The Wear Rivers Trust

We conserve, protect, rehabilitate and improve the landscape and watercourses we rely on volunteers to help us with our work 

WEAR RIVERS TRUST COVID UPDATE

Extract from Government guidance issued 05 Jan 2021: 'Where people cannot work from home - including, but not limited to, people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction, or manufacturing - they should continue to travel to their workplace. This is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting sectors and employers.' WRT understand ‘but not limited to' to mean that all businesses that are not required to close by law should prioritise work from home where they can, but to continue to deliver external work where they can't - following Covid-19 secure Risk Assessments. This means that WRT will continue delivery activity with staff remaining alert to the very real risk of transmission that is growing.

 
Peter Nailon

Trust Director

Downloads

Safety guidelines for Invasive Species walkovers v3 (COVID19) (docx)

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RA COVID19 herbicide treatment (docx)

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lone working policy volunteers (docx)

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Mission Statement

The mission of the Wear Rivers Trust is to conserve, protect, rehabilitate and improve the landscape and watercourses of the whole River Wear catchment, from the watershed to the estuarine and adjacent coastal areas, through involving individuals, local communities, government agencies and public bodies with proactive improvement works and monitoring and by increasing awareness and understanding of the environmental factors that influence the river and its associated wildlife, whilst helping to promote the river as a recreational feature for the enjoyment of all.

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WRT Registered Office:  Belmont Business Park, Finchale House, Durham DH1 1TW

Admin@wear-rivers-trust.org.uk

Pollution Incident Hotline

Further more pollution incidents can be reported directly to the Environment Agency by calling 

0800 80 70 60

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The Trust is a member of The Rivers Trust (formerly The Association of River Trusts) and works with the local community throughout the catchment of the Wear from the source in Upper Weardale to the coast to conserve, protect, restore and improve the rivers and streams of the catchment.

One of the key aims is to raise awareness of the value of the River Wear, including its flora, fauna, social and economic benefits, and to help people understand the need for conservation and restoration, as well as to promote exploration and enjoyment of this precious resource.

Our Staff and Trustees

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Managing Director: Peter Nailon

Peter Nailon has worked with the Trust since its creation, becoming full-time director in August 2012. He attended the London School of Economics 1977-1981, then spent 2 years working on farms in Australia. On returning to the UK he worked in Logistics until 2006 when he moved into the environmental sector. He managed a dry stone walling apprenticeship scheme before moving on to Lantra where he was project manager for the LandSkills North East agriculture and forestry training, reporting to ONE North East under the Rural Development Programme for England 2008-2012. 

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Education and Community Engagement Officer: Lucy Lovett

Lucy has been with the Trust on a part-time basis since 2015, working on educational projects to promote the Trust’s activities and help pupils learn about rivers and look after their local environment. Projects and activities with schools include river field trips, John Muir Awards and ‘Mayfly in the Classroom’. Lucy also co-ordinates our riverfly monitoring network with our volunteers undertaking monthly river invertebrate sampling to assess water quality across the catchment. She has degrees in Zoology and Ecology and has conducted research into ruddy duck populations with Newcastle University and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and into otter habitat use with Aberdeen University. Before joining the Trust Lucy worked with a variety of environmental organisations including the RSPB, Natural England and the Durham Biodiversity Partnership. 

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Project Officer: Paul Atkinson

Paul joined the Trust in July 2016 as a Project Officer. He has a degree in Environmental Biology and an MSc in Environmental Management. Paul has previously worked at the Tyne Rivers Trust and with the Environment Agency in a number of roles. He has a wealth of previous experience in monitoring freshwater ecology and co-ordinating and delivering habitat improvement projects. 

Paul is experienced in tackling INNS through practical activities and the use of volunteer networks through community engagement. Paul has a wealth of experience in stakeholder engagement to raise awareness of the impact of INNS with particular regard to riparian INNS. The Trust maintains a catchment wide database of INNS records and is engaged in the use of Citizen Scientists to map and inform a practical strategy to eradicate INNS. Paul is co-ordinating remote sensing research into the rapid identification of INNS on the Wear with Newcastle and Durham Universities and has a wealth of knowledge to support the regional INNS strategy aims.

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Office and Business Development Manager: Kirstie Hutchinson

Kirstie has worked for the Trust since June 2017 in the capacity of Office and Business Development Manager. She has a strong financial background working as a Financial Controller for a PLC in the Nuclear sector for 10 years then more recently running her own business. She is a qualified Accounting Technician as well as having management qualifications. Outside of work Kirstie enjoys the outdoors and tending to her horses.

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Information Officer: Martin Colling

Martin joined the Trust in September 2017 to work primarily on the  EU Intereg Topsoil Project. Having spent his working life in I.T. Martin decided in 2012 to change career and pursue a degree in Geology (UCC), followed by a MSc in Hydrogeology and Water Management (Newcastle University). Martin's primary interests are GIS, Opportunity Mapping, Hydro & Hydrogeological Modelling, and Mine Water Remediation.

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Office Administrator: Helen Richardson

Helen joined the Trust in February 2019 as the part time Office Administrator. She has a strong secretarial background of knowledge and experience in office procedures and protocols which will aid and enable the Trust office to run efficiently. 

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Project Support Officer: Rebekah Bainbridge

Rebekah joined the Trust in January 2020 as a Project Support Officer. She has a degree in Environmental Geography and an MSc in Ecology and Wildlife Conservation. Rebekah has previous experience of working with volunteers to carry out habitat improvement and is particularly passionate about conserving the uplands for the benefit of both wildlife and future generations. 

A large part of achieving this involves preserving areas in which native species are still flourishing and promoting their recovery in areas in which they are declining by managing invasive species. Rebekah has experience of this through her previous work and as part of the Wear Invasive Non-Native Species (WINNS) Project in which she has worked with colleagues and volunteers to survey and map the distribution of Himalayan Balsam, Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed, and caried out practical management tasks to begin the process of eradicating these species from priority areas. Controlling the spread of such non-native species throughout the catchment and beyond will help prevent native flora being outcompeted and allow the unique and important habitats of the Wear catchment, and the species which rely on them, to thrive for years to come.

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Project Support Officer: Bethan Rogers

Beth joined the trust in 2020, as Project Support Officer. She has a degree in Environmental Science with a focus on biodiversity and ecology. She has a broad background in conservation, having volunteered and worked for several environmental charities. Beth has a broad experience ranging from Wildflower Surveys for Northumberland National Park Authority to Loggerhead Turtle conservation in Greece. In her spare time, she pursues many outdoor activities including climbing and mountaineering and is passionate about enhancing upland habitats for both wildlife and people.

Beth has previous work experience with upland habitats and is working on our Carbon Connects project in partnership with the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The project involves peatland restoration, which is crucial in the fight against climate change. Healthy peatlands are a huge carbon sink, storing millions of tonnes of carbon in just England alone which if dried out would release Carbon Dioxide – a key greenhouse gas – into the atmosphere. Historically peatlands have been drained and burned intensively to improve their use for farming, something which is nknown to be damaging and has degraded many of our peatlands, leaving them eroded and bare. Our work with this project focuses on growing sphagnum moss – a key peat building species – so that it can be spread onto areas of bare and eroded peat in the fight to restore these unique and fragile habitats and their incredible carbon storage capacity. Another key aspect of the project is engaging with upland farmers to help them farm in a more environmental and sustainable way and positively manage peatlands and wildflower meadows which both have many ecosystems services.

Trustees

  • Martyn Lucas (Chair)       
  • Neil Ashforth (Secretary)
  • Ceri Gibson
  • Bob Kirton-Darling      
  • Darron Nixon            
  • Joyce Moxon
  • David Hutchinson            
  • George Gerring

Image Credits

Cover image:  Photo  Durham: Prebends' Bridge © John Sutton (cc-by-sa/2.0) 

Subscribe Image:  Otter at Martin Mere Wetlands Centre   cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Dixon

Trust Overview Image:  Leaping Sea Trout cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Rupert Fleetingly 

Registered Charity: 1094613  /  Company Number  04260195 

Copyright © 2017 The Wear Rivers Trust - All Rights Reserved

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