Saving the small things that run the planet
Guardians of our Rivers was a partnership project that connected communities across Scotland with their local rivers and the invertebrates that call these places home. Freshwater wildlife in the UK is under threat as the rivers, streams and other freshwater habitats they live in have been damaged and/or polluted.
Quick Facts:
- Name of Project: Guardians of our Rivers
- Project Launch Date: October 2022 – October 2024
- Location of Project: Across Scotland
- Species benefitted: The eight target groups of freshwater invertebrates are now being monitored, as they are indicators of water quality. Target groups are Cased Caddis, Caseless Caddis, Mayfly (Ephemeridae), Flat Bodied (Heptageniidae), Blue Winged Olive (Ephemerellidae), Olive (Baetidae), Freshwater Shrimp (Gammaridae).
- Project funded by: Swire Charitable Trust, Highland & Island Environment Foundation (HIEF), NatureScot, Cairngorms Trust (part of the Cairngorms National Park), Hugh Fraser Foundation, The Northwick Trust and Animal Friends Pet Insurance
Catch Buglife’s Guardian of our Rivers project on BBC Landward.
Invertebrates are an essential part of the ecology of our freshwater systems. The UK has over 3,800 different species of invertebrate that spend all, or part of their lives in rivers, ponds and other freshwater habitats. These include mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies (collectively known as riverflies) as well as dragonflies, water beetles and pond skaters.
Freshwater living invertebrates play a vital role in maintaining clean water- they help to break down and filter organic matter and provide a food source for fish, birds and mammals. Their presence is the standard indicator of the health of the habitat they live in. However, many of our freshwater invertebrates are declining in the face of pollution, invasive species, abstraction and development.
Caddisfly species © Suzanne BurgessWhat did the project do?
The Guardians of our Rivers project recruited people who wanted to get involved in monitoring the health of their local river, and supported them on their learning journey to becoming trained Citizen Scientists. This project fed into the The Riverfly Partnership – a network of organisations around the UK, working together to protect our rivers and riverflies.
Training and support was provided on how to:
- monitor and survey rivers for invertebrates;
- identify target groups of invertebrates;
- spot early warning signs of habitats in crisis, e.g., from pollution or climate change;
- record their findings to an opensource database hosted by the Freshwater Biological Association and other recording schemes;
- and share stories and lessons learnt between communities.
Buglife's Rebecca Lewis Surveying for Riverfly Trained groups continue to have access to ongoing support and information to help them become confident and secure with the methods and identification of the invertebrates found in their rivers.
Over the course of the project, 47 groups were trained across Scotland. This surpassed the projects original target to train 15 groups between 2022 and 2024.
By continuing to monitor the health of their rivers with trained volunteers, we can spot early signs of pollution, contributing to a UK wide database, and monitor trends to better inform freshwater invertebrate conservation.
Guardians of our Rivers - Riverfly SurveyHow can you stay involved?
Our work training and supporting River Guardians continues on our Guardians of our Rivers: Next Steps project – visit the project page for more information on how to get involved.
If you are based outside of Scotland, visit the Riverfly Partnership’s website for more information on opportunities throughout the UK.
Guardians of our Rivers - Surveying for Riverfly
Rivers Nature Champion:
Colin Beattie MSP
- Member for: Midlothian North and Musselburgh
- Region: Lothian
- Party: Scottish National Party
Find out more about Scottish Nature Champions
Guardians of our Rivers is funded by Swire Charitable Trust, Highland & Island Environment Foundation (HIEF), NatureScot, Cairngorms Trust (part of the Cairngorms National Park), Hugh Fraser Foundation, The Northwick Trust and Animal Friends Pet Insurance
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