…a blog written by Buglife Scotland Guardians of Our Rivers: Next Steps Conservation Officer, Elaine Rainey
At Guardians of our Rivers: Next Steps (GooR: Next Steps) we deliver training to communities across Scotland to enable them to monitor the health of their local river by surveying freshwater invertebrates. Through a theory and practical session volunteers are taken on a journey through the history of the technique, current monitoring and where, when and why citizen science has an important role to play. On the banks of their local river volunteers are then trained in a standardised survey technique and how to sample, sort and identify eight target invertebrate groups. A score, based on the presence and abundance of the invertebrates, is assigned to the survey. Higher scores indicate higher water quality and lower scores indicate poorer water quality. Survey data is added to a national database which allows volunteers to track river health.
In 2025 GooR: Next Steps continued to grow, adding 11 new groups to our hub! This brings the number of GooR groups throughout Scotland to 58. Over 500 new surveys were added to the database in 2025, a fantastic result for our freshwaters! We had a busy Riverfly training season, training new groups and providing kit, providing refresher sessions, and community outreach. Exciting development for 2025 was the addition of Extended Riverfly Survey training for those who were ready for more of a challenge and wanted to extend their knowledge of freshwater invertebrates and river health. The extended survey looks at 33 target groups of invertebrates to provide more nuanced information about water quality and the impact of silt and flow on the site. Well done to everyone who took part in this training, learning to identify additional taxa and passing the identification quiz.
In 2025, we also introduced site specific target and trigger scores. If a survey score is below the trigger score, this indicates there is an issue with the water quality. Significant to this year was also the coordination with our environment agency. There is now a procedure in place that highlights trigger breaches to Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), prompting further investigation. Groups can also see how close their score is to the target score (if there were no pressures from pollution and land use on the river).
Throughout the year, we have continued to provide support. Producing guidance, providing refresher training, helping groups to add new survey sites, verifying the identification of invertebrates, attending events, delivering talks and hosting an annual webinar.
The new project team
Kerry Dodd – I have now moved into a new role at Buglife as Senior Conservation Officer in Scotland and Elspeth Smith left Buglife at the end of last year. Which means that there is a new GooR: Next Steps team. I am so pleased with the work that has been achieved by GooR: Next Steps so far. I have loved meeting and training hundreds of enthusiastic people who are passionate about their river and have become passionate about invertebrates. Seeing people get excited over cased caddis never gets boring.
Caroline Howarth – I recently joined Buglife as a Conservation Officer for the Guardians of Our Rivers: Next Steps project. I have over twenty years of experience in the Environmental Science sector primarily working in Environmental Regulation. I’m a freshwater ecologist with a specialism in understanding how changes in flow affect the ecology of a river. I’ve also done a lot of work around communications, training and supporting professional development in the world of Environmental Science. For 2026, I’m particularly excited about supporting new regional trainers in developing their knowledge and skills in training others to carry out riverfly monitoring.
Elaine Rainey – I have also recently joined Buglife as a Conservation Officer for the Guardians of our Rivers: Next Steps project. I have over twenty years of project management experience in the environmental voluntary sector in Scotland. My specific areas of expertise are in citizen science, environmental education, training and inclusion. I’ve also been a Riverfly Monitoring Initiative volunteer since 2022 and have recently undertaken the Extended Scheme training with my local group at Falls of Clyde in New Lanark. I’m really looking forward to getting out there with the groups in 2026, seeing what we find on our surveys and helping everyone get the best out of their volunteering experience.
Aims for 2026
In 2026, Guardians of Our Rivers: Next Steps will build on the momentum of Buglife’s previous work to protect freshwater habitats and aquatic invertebrates by developing a self-sustaining national network of River Guardians involved in monitoring and protecting the future health of Scotland’s watercourses. We will build on the success of the first project by continuing to run training for our existing volunteer groups, along with supporting the establishment of new groups.
We will connect people and communities from a diverse range of backgrounds with their local rivers and other freshwater habitats and the invertebrates that call these places home. The project will specifically target underrepresented urban communities and facilitate groups to make connections enabling the development of catchment-scale monitoring of water quality. We’ll be establishing an on-line hub with makes our project materials and resources more easily available.
New regional trainers will be supported to help provide local training and support for new and existing groups in Scotland, building a sustainable network that can continue to support our rivers locally. We’ll run a practical session to train a group of volunteers who want to become regional trainers, before visiting them at their local river sites to sign them off as ready to train others.
“Thank you to all the volunteers who have helped us build such a fantastic, positive network of river guardians the length and breadth of Scotland. Your support and enthusiasm has been inspiring” Rebecca Lewis, Buglife Scotland and Northern Ireland Manager.
Further information
You can find out more about this project on our Guardians of Our Rivers: Next Steps webpage.
Main Thumbnail Image Credit: Rebecca Lewis