Bringing together the river restoration community
The RRC Annual Network Conference is a three-day event to network and share knowledge on best practice for river restoration, habitat enhancement and catchment management.
The event this year brought together professionals from across the river restoration community, hosted by the River Restoration Centre (RRC) in partnership with the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) LIFE Dee River project. The conference is a platform for ‘current thinking’, focusing on what is happening or needs to be done, by whom and how.
The programme encompassed thought-provoking sessions, discussions, workshops, posters and site visits, which included a tour of the Dee catchment with the LIFE Dee River team. Key topics included nature-based solutions (NBS), catchment-scale thinking, climate change resilience, restoration for fish, river continuity, landowner engagement and restoration reporting. Additionally, two keynote speakers gave compelling presentations from alternative perspectives, sharing insight into different times and geographies: ‘River restoration: are we there yet?’ and ‘River restoration in Norway: from salmon ladders towards ecological and nature-based approaches’.
Binnies sponsored, attended and exhibited at the RRC. Binnies held a leading presence across the programme, presenting in two sessions and one workshop, displaying a poster and chairing a session on climate change resilience.
Jack Herriot, who chaired the session, said: “It was fantastic to attend; the dedication and commitment to delivering and raising the profile of restoring river processes and habitats across the industry are inspiring.”
Biodiversity net gain
As part of the session on catchment-scale thinking, Jack joined forces with Southern Water to present on the developing NBS masterplan designed to restore the Western Rother catchment. Jack demonstrated the pivotal role of biodiversity net gain (BNG) in unlocking funding opportunities for river restoration as an increasingly marketable benefit. His market-leading expertise in BNG natural capital scenarios sparked further discussion in the question-and-answer session as attendees sought to understand what might be in store for the future trajectory of BNG units.
“It was a great opportunity to showcase our market-leading work with Southern Water. I look forward to seeing the opportunities BNG presents to elevate the delivery of river restoration across England develop over the next year,” Jack said.
In collaboration with NRW and the National Trust, Jack also had a poster on display, titled ‘River Machno floodplain reconnection and enhancements’.
Binnies led further discussions on BNG in a workshop, ‘Demystifying BNG: From data collection to monitoring’. Mark Boothroyd presented ‘Chester Wetland Centre: Biodiversity net gain unlocking opportunities’, providing insight on our work developing a community group’s original idea through to detailed, fundable, deliverable and sustainable design. This involved progressively detailed assessments of BNG uplift with each stage of design, enabling the local planning authority to start marrying potential units with local developers’ needs. The project is embedded within the local nature recovery strategy, and BNG will be a key funding source for delivery and future management.
Physical modifications for NBS
Alex Humphreys presented with NRW, showcasing our design solutions for strategic river restoration plans. ‘The long run: Targeted interventions to deliver at-scale outcomes’ included case studies and designed and delivered projects and described how restoration measures are identified and prioritised to target those that will deliver at-scale outcomes that contribute significantly to climate goals in Wales.
LIFE Dee River catchment tour
Binnies Civil Engineer Emily Shaw attended the LIFE Dee River catchment tour on day three of the conference. On her visit around three sites, she was able to see “the positive difference the LIFE Dee projects have made already”, a highlight being the oak baffles fish pass in the Alwen Reservoir.