The new year provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and look ahead to future aspirations. This episode, Emily is joined by The Rivers Trust CEO Mark Lloyd, to discuss the formation and growth of The Rivers Trust movement with Arlin Rickard (former CEO of The Rivers Trust) and Ian Gregg (our current president and past Chairman of Greggs). Both Arlin and Ian were instrumental in the creation of The Rivers Trust. A collection of truly key figures in the Rivers Trust mov...
Jan 20, 2023•53 min
In this episode, Emily and Dan are joined by Steve Edmonds, Eva Bishop, and their Rivers Trust colleague Seren Patterson. Steve is the trees and woodland advisor in the Southwest of England for the National Trust, Eva works as head of communication and education for the Beaver Trust, and Seren is the woodlands for water project lead at The Rivers Trust. A collection of true tree lovers all working hard to plant more and protect those that we have, discuss their respective projects and the myriad...
Dec 02, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this episode, Emily and Dan join their colleagues Gabriella Ghelani and Alisdair Naulls. Gabs is one of The Rivers Trust's Project Communications Officers, and she's been living a low-waste lifestyle since 2019. She's so serious about reducing plastic in the environment that she set up her own business selling plastic-free alternatives, as well as offering a mobile refill service for household products. Ali is the Engagement & Communities Lead on Plastic Pollution, and is a pro when it co...
Jul 06, 2022•38 min
In today's episode, we talk to Olympic silver medallist Keri-anne Payne and founder of Outdoor Swimmer Magazine Simon Griffiths about all things outdoor swimming! We mine their years of experience and knowledge on open water swimming on a variety subjects from how to prepare for long swims to the mental health benefits of outdoor swimming. With Henley Swim festival fast-approaching, this is the perfect preparation for all of our amazing fundraisers to get important tips and tricks from 2 of the ...
Jun 01, 2022•39 min•Ep. 14
The latest episode of Rambling About Rivers is a celebration of International Women's Day where we talk to Amira Patel, founder of the Wanderlust Women - a hiking and adventure group for Muslim women - which aims to break down the barriers and stereotypes of the niqab and challenge misconceptions of Muslim women. Today, Emily and Jayne pass the mic to Amira (amira_thewanderlust on Instagram) who talks about what inspired her to start the amazing Wanderlust Women group, the way reclaiming green s...
Mar 08, 2022•39 min•Ep. 13
The latest episode of Rambling About Rivers is all about the return of the Twaite Shad on the River Severn. This iconic species was a common sight in the Severn over 100 years ago, but the construction of a large number of weirs led to populations collapsing. Today, Dan and Jayne are joined by Rosie Croggon, Education Officer at Severn Rivers Trust and Charles Crundwell, Senior Technical Specialist in Fisheries at the Environment Agency. Rosie and Charles help us to explore the history of this i...
May 12, 2021•41 min
How much do you know about sewage in rivers? You might remember a previous episode where we spoke to Anneka France from our data team about the Sewage Map they produced, which showed the frequency of untreated sewage being released into rivers. Give episode 9 a listen if you want to catch up. Recently, we updated the Sewage Map with 2020 data - so Anneka's back to give us the low-down on the data behind the map. This time, Dan and Jayne are also joined by Christine Colvin, Director of Partnershi...
Apr 20, 2021•31 min•Ep. 11
"It's like getting to know a person, but one who can't speak. We felt we had to be advocates for [the] river" This week, we join Dan and Jayne in conversation with Alison Archer from the Pymmes BrookERS: a group of community volunteers working together to restore their local waterways. Working in conjunction with our local Trust Thames21, the Pymmes BrookERS have made a huge impact on their local environment. The creation of Broomfield Park Wetland—a gorgeous, biodiverse wetland in the centre of...
Oct 28, 2020•35 min
At The Rivers Trust, we have been stirring some 💩 about what is REALLY going into our rivers. In June, we kicked off our new campaign, Together For Rivers, to introduce designated bathing water standards into well-used rivers across the UK 🏊 To launch the campaign, our incredible Data Team created an interactive map to locate where and how often sewage was being released into rivers in England. One of the data minds behind this map is Anneka France, GIS Analyst at The Rivers Trust. In the late...
Oct 05, 2020•28 min
Our local Trusts play a huge role in the creation and improvement of wetlands. Last year, Thames21 played a part in developing a number of urban wetlands in and around London. They're not stopping there, though, and have plans to create even more wetlands around the capital. So why the big push on wetlands—and what does this mean for the environment and community? Dan and Jayne speak to John Bryden, Senior Programmes Manager at Thames21. We speak about the wetlands the Trust has created, and fin...
Aug 25, 2020•29 min
In today's episode, Dan and Jayne speak to Elle Hunt: a freelance journalist with articles in The Observer magazine, Tortoise, New Scientist and a range of other publications. Her Guardian article, " Blue Spaces: why time spent near water is the secret of happiness ", serves as the starting point for today's discussion. What do blue spaces mean for our mental health? How has the Covid-19 impacted our appreciation of natural spaces? Find out more in Rambling About Rivers....
Jun 18, 2020•28 min
This year, it feels more important than ever to reach out and talk about mental health. Covid-19 is having a huge effect on mental health—whether that’s through the tragic loss of family members, or the jarring effects of lockdown. For many, nature provides a sanctuary during these strange times; a place to find peace and serenity amidst the chaos. In today's episode, Dan and Jayne speak to Jack Spees: Chief Executive of Ribble Rivers Trust. In honour of Mental Health Awareness Week, they discus...
May 19, 2020•36 min
In this episode, Jayne and Dan are joined by Alex Beasley, the Country Manager (UK, Ireland & Nordics) from Patagonia. For almost 40 years, Patagonia has supported grassroots activists working to find solutions to the environmental crisis. In this podcast, Alex speaks about why supporting the grassroots community is so important to the Patagonia brand. We learn more about the Patagonia's origin, as well as diving into more detail about their new platform, Action Works....
Apr 27, 2020•31 min
In this episode, Dan and Jayne are joined by Floris Boogard, Professor at Hanze University in the Netherlands and one of the founders of ClimateCafé. ClimateCafé is a global citizen science movement, intended to motivate the public to be a part of the solution to climate change. We speak about WaterCo-Governance (WaterCoG), the importance of involving young people in conversations about climate change, and hear more about some of the fantastic solutions ClimateCafé has generated thus far....
Mar 24, 2020•23 min
In this podcast, we join Jayne Mann (Marketing and Communications Manager at The Rivers Trust ) and Dan Turner (Senior Project Officer at Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust) as they talk to Ella Foote, a Contributing Editor at Outdoor Swimmer Magazine and keen wild swimmer. During December, Ella completed her "Dip a Day" challenge in which she swam in a different river every day, asking the question "Are our rivers as bad as headlines suggest?". So far, her fundraiser has raised an incredible total of...
Jan 16, 2020•23 min
Are our rivers being used as 'open sewers'? Tune into the second episode of Rambling about Rivers to find out! In this episode, we join Jayne Mann (Marketing and Communications Manager at The Rivers Trust ) and Dan Turner (Senior Project Officer at Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust) as they interview Karen Shackleton, Founding member of Ilkley Clean River Group. We find out more about what has happened to the river at Ilkley, and what is being done to revive it....
Dec 19, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Is there still hope to bring our rivers back from the brink? Tune into the debut episode of Rambling about Rivers to find out! In this episode, we join Jayne Mann (Marketing and Communications Manager at The Rivers Trust ) and Dan Turner (Senior Project Officer at Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust) as they interview Alistair Maltby, Operations Director at The Rivers Trust. We find out more about The Rivers Trust movement, the threats facing our rivers, and how you can get involved....
Oct 24, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1
