I’ve been passionate about the conservation and restoration of rivers since the early 1990s when I started a river-restoration scheme with the pupils at Canford School in Dorset and re-introduced wild trout and grayling stocks to that part of the River Stour.

I co-founded the Wild Trout Trust and have served as chairman of trustees and president. I also helped to establish the Norfolk Rivers Trust, and still advise and assist with their project-planning from time to time. In recent years I have been an Associate advisor to WWF UK providing advice with regard to their UK chalk-stream work.

Click here to see some before and after images of my projects.

Here are some strategies and projects I have worked on:

Whole Catchment Restoration Strategies: In 2012 WWF commissioned me to write a Water Framework Directive Catchment Restoration Plan for the River Nar (note: this online version including costings is a draft): an accessible restoration strategy for the whole river which then served as a template for planning reach-based restoration schemes and other catchment improvements.

Project Examples:

Large Woody Debris Chalk-Stream Restoration: In 2013 – on behalf of the Norfolk Rivers Trust – a new phase of Large Woody Debris work on the River Nar in Norfolk, working once again with Simon Cain. This was an extension of the LWD project completed downstream at West Acre two years previously, bringing the total length of LWD enhancements on the river to almost 7000 meters.

Relic and Replica Chalk-Stream Project: In 2013 on behalf of WWF UK and the Norfolk Rivers Trust: a unique project at Emmanuel’s Common on the River Nar: the opportunity to restore 500 yards of almost completely unmodified chalk-stream – something that would become a vital reference site for other restoration projects on the River Nar – but also to try to re-create 250 yards of brand-new replica channel.