Qualifying to row the Atlantic

Jake Still is training for a huge challenge – rowing solo across the Atlantic in just under 500 days’ time, fundraising for The Rivers Trust and Aire Rivers Trust with every stroke. This is the second of his guest blog posts, documenting the long journey to even reach the start of the race. Read his first update if you missed it, here.

Words: Jake Still

What does it take to qualify for the World’s Toughest Row?

Words by Jake Still

To get the start line of the race, you must complete the required training hours on the water. As a minimum, rowers must complete 120 hours, 24 hours must be during the night and at least one session must be over 36 hours. As a solo rower, this will mean I will have to learn to successfully anchor offshore because it would be impossible to do this without having to sleep. Ultimately, these hours are about getting used to living on board rather than rowing. Afterall, I will be spending at least 40 days at sea and everyday things like sleeping, cooking, hygiene and even going to the toilet are no-longer trivial tasks when you’re on a boat that will rock about.

Before I took Azula (the name of my boat) out to sea, I began my early training on Lake Windermere. This was so I could familiarise myself with basic navigation, steering and handling without having to deal with tides and other hazards on the coast. Sessions were short (around 4 hours) and I would mark some waypoints and make sure I practiced heading on the right course of ground either manually steering with the oars, or by learning to use the autopilot. For coastal training, it is very important to be proficient in navigation. Compared to sculling on a river, it is a lot different on an ocean rowing boat because every movement feels sluggish.

The hardest part of training session is the logistics of getting Azula into the water! Specifically, the rudder which must retrofitted after launching and usually means having to get into the water to attach. Luckily, I had an old diving dry suit to avoid getting wet!

A man in a white teeshirt looks at the camera as he rows a large white boat solo on a lake

While I was training on the Lakes, I was also taking Azula around West Yorkshire to public events to showcase her and tell people about the challenge I am undertaking. I took her to Baildon Carnival, Farsley Festival and to Adore’s Weavers Court Care home in Yeadon. It was exciting to be engaging with my local communities and answering all their questions and explaining everything on board Azula. I also brought an erg (an indoor rowing machine) and challenged the public to row as far they could in one minute. It was great to see people all ages have a go, from as young as 4 up to 70 and there was plenty of competitive spirit among the communities, especially among fellow cadets and friends. One girl came back multiple times to try and best her score.

A row of pensioners pose in front of the boat with Jake

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At the end of July, Azula found her new home in Hartlepool Marina, where she will mostly stay over the course of the next 18 months. For my first open sea session, I did a 3-day training camp with Duncan Roy (Ocean rowing trainer/coach) and not only did he teach me the skills to safely train out at sea but to thrive on it. Water sessions included being able to get in and out of the Marina, being able to deploy the anchor (for emergencies or resting), passage planning routes and navigating them and using the VHF radio to cross the Teesside Shipping Channel (home to vessels of 200m+ length). It was amazing to be out in the open sea and feel as though crossing an ocean is becoming more of a reality. On day 2, I got to see the Teesside offshore windfarm up close and was lucky enough to see some seals popping their heads out like meerkats. To finish the day off, I had the opportunity to anchor offshore and sleep out on the water. Felt a bit like camping back in Scouts, minus the bobbing about on the water. Also had to use the bucket for the first time. Thankfully the water was flat and there were no spill issues. The only awkward bit was manoeuvring your bottoms through your harness gear and equipment.

A man stands on a white boat with oars in a calm ocean with blue skies and a windfarm visible behind

The next steps for me are to continue getting more experience out on the water and build up my skills and confidence over the Summer and early Autumn and at least qualify for the race.

You can follow Jake on social media (@jakedarcystill) or support his goals on the donation plaform Givestar.

First, La Gomera

At the end of 2025, data scientist and rower Jake Still plans to embark on an almighty rowing challenge while fundraising to support the restoration of his beloved rivers back home. Spending up to 50 or so days at sea alone, he’s aiming row across the Atlantic solo. This is the first in his series of guest blog posts, in which he’ll keep us updated with his training and eventual race progress.

The World’s Toughest Row Atlantic 2024 race is nearing the end with the last few boats still to come in and officially marks 10 months to go until I launch from San Sebastion in La Gomera. Earlier in December, I had the opportunity to travel down to La Gomera to see the race start line. It was exciting to be down there and see the marina with all the boats lined up in the water and how amazing to see the support from the locals with the race banners spread across the various local businesses such as restaurants.

If you can, it is advised to travel to La Gomera before your race year because it has been very helpful to familiarise myself with the process getting to the island and the knowing where everything on the island is. It is a little thing to help take pressure during my race year. To travel to La Gomera you have to fly Tenerife and then take the ferry across. The ferry was an interesting ride and my first taste of being rocked by deep water waves in the Atlantic as it travelled between the islands, a teaser to what will happen daily on my little rowing boat.

Visiting the start line La Gomera is one of the rare moments when you get to experience the largest fleet of ocean rowing boats. It was very beneficial seeing many different crew boats because each crew had their own unique setup and seeing the different approaches helps to generate ideas for what additions/work I need to do on my boat to prep her for the Atlantic. It was lovely to catch up with some of the crews I had met throughout 2024 either through doing sea survival courses together or training up in the North Sea at Hartlepool. Got the chance to hop on their boat and ask them lots of questions and deep dive into their kit. One of things I wanted to check was how spares were being secured. It was great to see them set off in La Gomera and having met some of the crews made the 2024 race more special to watch them as they traverse across the Atlantic and seeing them finally arrive in Antigua was amazing.

It was not only just current rowers there. There were lots of past rowers and future rowers, some who had raced in the previous year and others who enjoy coming back every year. It was fantastic speaking to them too about their own stories and how they found their crossing. La Gomera is very special for ocean rowing because of the World’s Toughest Row and it is great to be a part of this awesome community.

We wish Jake well with his training and eventually on his epic challenge. You can follow his progress via occasional blogs on this site.

Crossing an ocean for our river

At the end of next year, data scientist and rower Jake Still plans to embark on an almighty rowing challenge while fundraising to support the restoration of his beloved rivers back home. Spending up to 50 or so days at sea alone, he’s aiming row across the Atlantic solo. This is the first in his series of guest blog posts, in which he’ll keep us updated with his training and eventual race progress.

Introducing Jake

My name is Jake Still, I am 25 and I am from Leeds. I work as a data scientist at Zest ECO LTD and provide the analysis to support the team in building up the EV charge point infrastructure for the UK to help our country and beyond to transition into a more green and sustainable future. The rest of the time I am usually rowing on the river Aire at Bradford Amateur rowing club or platform diving at John Charles.

In December 2025, I am going to be rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean Solo from La Gomera to Antigua in the World’s Toughest Row. This is both an extremely physical and mental challenge where you will be up against fierce storms, huge 8m waves, sleep deprivation, sores and bruises with the occasional flying fish leaping into your boat. I plan to row a competitive time for the race, and this may consist of up to 20 hours plus rowing, eating 5000+ calories, drinking 10L of water daily for about 30 to 50 days.

To be able to do this safely, I will need lots of preparation. This challenge is more than just a physical one, it is also a very technical one. It is about knowing your boat very well, how to handle the boat and to fix problems when you are tired whilst getting smashed by waves at night in 10+ knot winds. The Boat I will be using is an R25, which is essentially a canoe body with 2 rowing positions, 2 cabins, the bow one is for sleeping, the stern contains all the navigation and electronics. The boat will come with a water maker (to convert salt water to fresh water), 2 lithium batteries charged by solar panels as well as a chart plotter to plot routes, an autohelm (to keep the boat on course on a bearing) and VHF radio. The one of the major points for success on an ocean rowing is power management. If the batteries drop below 20%, they will essentially shut off to preserve the battery. When this happens, you will not be able to use the water maker or contact anyone on radio for 2 days. Hence, learning exactly how much power individual pieces of equipment draw is critical for a safe ocean crossing. In general, getting comfortable with all the pieces of equipment is vital for a safe and fast crossing. Something I will need to do during my 1000 hours of practise in UK coastal waters.

Jake getting survival training, let's hope he does not need it

I want to support the Rivers Trusts because as a rower, I am very closely connected to the river Aire and spend a lot of time rowing on it. Rowing for me is very therapeutic and is something I have come to enjoy doing. However, this experience is ruined when Yorkshire Water spill sewage directly into the Aire and it is not uncommon for plastic bottles to be floating down it as well. It is gotten so bad that we as a club cannot do capsize drills in our river anymore due to the pollution levels. Furthermore, it is not just water companies polluting our river, farmers are also having an impact. They cause excess nutrients to be added to the river and combine this with the hotter summers, you get algae blooms. Not only does this affect the ecosystem of the river, but it can also make it impossible to row on. This cancelled the 2023 Boston rowing marathon (49.2km), an event I was looking forward to doing. These events are vital in supporting the local clubs and communities where these races are held and help the clubs get more young people into rowing. However, the biggest cause of race cancellations is due to dangerously high river levels brought upon by excess flooding and rain. This is a consequence of climate change bringing about wetter winters and results in the number of water session becoming even fewer each year. Especially for those of us that can only get down during the weekends in winter and especially for novice rowers who will not be able to go out in the more challenging conditions.

The next step for me is getting a boat and sorting the logistics out to prepare for a maiden voyage in Hartlepool where I will be training and getting used to boat launching and very basic ocean rowing. I will also be creating a banner to help with my campaign to get the essential equipment over the next year needed for the crossing.

Trench Meadows – helping an SSSI recover

Trench Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) off Higher Coach Road next to Load Pit Beck and not far from Shipley Glen. The site contains 4.7 hectares of lowland meadow – a nationally rare habitat. The grasses in the neutral grassland on the site include red fescue, sweet vernal and crested dog’s-tail; wildflowers include herb black knapweed and bird’s-foot trefoil. Devil’s Bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) also indicates the importance of this species-rich grassland. The land adjacent to the meadow is designated as a wet woodland with common alder being the dominant tree species.

The site is owned by the City of Bradford District Council and managed by The Countryside Service, with support from the Aire Rivers Trust. Aire Rivers Trust volunteers have carried out several tasks on both the meadow and in the wet woodland including Himalayan balsam removal, scrub clearance and hedgerow maintenance.

Volunteers make a difference

To date, Aire Rivers Trust volunteers have contributed 335 volunteer hours. 540m² of scrub has been cleared, which otherwise would have resulted in the meadow becoming woodland. 900m² of Himalayan balsam have been pulled across the site. The holly hedgerow on Coach Road Bridleway has been improved to provide habitat and act as a stock-proof barrier. Aire Rivers Trust works in partnership with several organisations. West Yorkshire Combined Authority, WSP and Keighley College have all contributed volunteer time to carry out practical environmental tasks.

A local farmer grazes the site, with cattle selectively grazing scrub, keeping down bramble encroachment and providing soil improvements. Bradford Council Countryside service has also undertaken willow thinning on-site to prevent woodland succession.

The site has permissive access for the public and visitors are encouraged to stick to the path and keep their dogs on the lead to prevent disturbance of wildlife and prevent dog fouling. The Trust will continue to carry out management works on-site. To find out more please visit our volunteer website: Volunteer with Us – Aire Rivers Trust

For more information about Trench Meadows please follow these links:
Bradford Botany Group – Trench Meadows SSSI, Baildon
Meet your local SSSI

Always stick to The Countryside Code

Loadpit Beck gets some Love

John Franklin, our Better Becks Officer, has been working in Loadpit Beck facilitating the weir removal there.

What was the problem?

During walkovers as part of phase 1 of the ‘Better Becks’ Project, dozens of barriers to fish passage were identified within tributaries of the Middle Aire Catchment. On Loadpit Beck, a concrete ‘apron’ spanning the whole channel width was found. Installed as a reasonably over-engineered scour protection structure for the adjacent surface water outfall, this ‘apron’ has been stopping fish from progressing upstream to access good quality riparian habitat. The barrier was doing this in two ways, by creating an artificial drop in height in the channel, which many fish are unable to swim up, and by creating conditions for thin, laminar flow (like a sheet), which is challenging to swim up, as the water speed is increased, with little opportunities for rest.

Phase 2 of the Better Becks project is all about addressing the problems found. The Fisheries Improvement Program, where funds are raised from angler’s rod licenses, was a great opportunity to cover the cost of this removal, as improving fish passage in Loadpit Beck would also help support fish populations in the fishable waters of the River Aire, 400m downstream.

…and the solution?

The works themselves, with permissions and support from Bradford Council and local landowners, were undertaken in August 2024 with Prof. Jonny Grey of the Wild Trout Trust being brought in as the principal contractor, alongside operational support from Ian and Pat from Atkinson Surfacing. Using handheld machinery, a new channel was cut into the right-hand half of the concrete apron. This was to enable retention of the scour-protecting function of the apron on the left side of the channel, below the outfall. Rather than cutting down to the channel bed, the material was cut away to retain a naturalistic channel within the concrete, to ensure fish passage, whilst also avoiding the risk of the channel scouring out in future. Sediment management was used downstream of the works to minimise fine concrete dust and silt mobilisation becoming an issue for aquatic organisms below the works.

As soon as the concrete breaker was lifted out of the water and the generator turned off, we all watched a Bullhead fish making the first journey up and above the barrier, enjoying the restful riffles of the new passable channel.

Monitoring the impact

Downstream of Loadpit Beck ART Volunteer Carolyn Robinson, who monitors river flies, says:

‘Riverfly Monitoring is a Citizen Science project that enables volunteers to gather information about the water quality of the River Aire and its tributaries. Following training and assessment, I was paired with another volunteer and together we monitored a site on Loadpit Beck that runs through Trench Meadows.

Once a month we ‘kick sample’ the site wearing wellies and using a standard net for 3 minutes, then check under large stones for 1 minute, ensuring comparable samples are taken over time. The sample is rinsed to remove unwanted debris, poured into a large tray and examined. We are looking for eight pollution-sensitive species of invertebrates that should be present in a healthy river. They are then transferred to an 8-segmented tray for counting, where we looking for 2 types of caddis flies, 4 types of up-wing flies, stoneflies, and freshwater shrimp. We also note the presence of other insects, snails or fish in the sample as well as any creatures that survive in polluted water eg leeches.

The number of each species is counted and allocated a score e.g. 1-9=1 point, 10-99=2 points, 100-999=3 points. At Trench Meadows our score has been between 8 and 14 points, we have identified all 8 target species, but not all on the same occasion. We are allocated a Trigger Level, and if our score falls below this there has possibly been a pollution event. We will check upstream of the site to look for any obvious pollution, changes in water colour etc and re-sample. If pollution is found or the score is still below the Trigger Level, the coordinator and local ecology contact are informed. Thankfully that has not happened at Trench Meadows, and it continues to be a healthy site.’

In the embrace of the Aire

In the next blog from the wonderful Lucy Johnson, one of our volunteers, we learn about birdwatching on the ings (riverside wetlands) at St Aidan’s.

For many of us, when we think of our rivers it is fish and invertebrates, or maybe even aquatic plants, that come to mind. For others, they are a magnificent habitat for birds of many species. In this blog from one of our volunteers, Lucy Johnson, we read about birding on the long-disused coal mines at St Aidan’s just a short way below Leeds. St Aidan’s is a 355 hectare (877 acres) nature park located between Leeds and Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. The land was formerly an opencast coal mining area that was flooded in 1988, after the riverbank collapsed.

In the Embrace of the Aire, Birding at St Aidan’s

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, perfect conditions for a birding walk at the beautiful St Aidan’s Nature Park near Leeds. I carefully reloaded my camera with different batteries before setting off…they were also flat. In the absence of my capacity to provide good quality bird pictures, you can drink your fill over at “St Aidan’s Nature Park” on Facebook, where many beautiful shots of the park’s birds, both visitors and residents, are frequently posted. St Aidan’s is a former opencast mining site owned by Leeds City Council and managed by the RSPB. It reopened in 2017 as an RSPB site. There is currently a small footprint of café, information stand and toilets between the car park and Oddball.

A Park For Everyone

I was greeted by Peggy, a smart, vibrant young woman in much demand between the café, RSPB stall and visitors. Peggy is one of 16 permanent staff across St Aidan’s and its sister site, Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve. In addition to the permanent staff, the sites benefit from 230 regular volunteers, who may act as Rangers, perform regular bird surveys, undertake tasks such as creating dead hedges and litter picking. St Aidan’s is designated a park because it is meant to form a space for leisure activities for people as well as the birds. Ranger Jerry who led the talk along with three other volunteers emphasised that all are welcome, from horses to cyclists and runners, and that the birds are accustomed to their presence. The just under 900 acre site also plays a vital role protecting Castleford from flooding. The lakes fill up counter-clockwise, leaving the most precious reedbed habitat for last.

Key Species

The park is important for its role in providing a home for six key species – black neck grebes, black headed gulls, lapwings, bitterns, kestrels, and little owls. Jerry has personally spotted at least eleven raptors in the last two years, including red kite, buzzards, marsh harrier, ring tail hawk, osprey, little owl (who like Oddball), barn owl, tawny owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl, and of course peregrine.

What To Wear

I would advise attendees of the walk to wear sturdy, comfortable footwear and to bring binoculars if they have them, although I was perfectly happy watching the birds hover with just the aid of my specs. Jerry shared a wealth of information about the site and was not outmanouevred by any question no matter how varied or specific. His deep familiarity with the site made for a very enjoyable and informative tour, taking in everything from kestrels’ scrying mammals’ urine through ultra-violet vision, to Oddball and Big Bob’s history, to vulpine predators.

The Local Residents Show Off

As for the birds, a kestrel kicked proceedings off by sweeping in dramatically to its exposed nest on Oddball at the top of the site, tearing into lunch. The walk was not an aerobic challenge by any means. We simply meandered along one of the main paths at the park’s perimeter, ending at the reed beds to listen to the bitterns boom, accompanied for the most part by swooping kestrels and lazily hovering buzzards, with the occasional dart of the kestrel, asserting territory to an unwary buzzard. Near the end of the talk a sharp-eyed attendee spotted a peregrine moving swiftly in, and a red kite with its distinctive V tail was also spotted. Unfortunately the little owls which have a fondness for Oddball were elsewhere at the time of the walk. Do take the time to look both above and below Oddball for kestrels and little owls if you visit.

How to “Cheat” at Birdwatching

I would have appreciated a quick rundown of each bird’s characteristics and perhaps a factsheet or two, but it was equally valuable seeing a smaller number of species in the wild and taking a detailed dive into where they spend their time and why. There was a reassuring lack of pretension about the whole affair. Jerry cheerfully admitted to “cheating” by using the excellent Merlin app for identification, and Steph, one of the volunteers, was very democratic in her thoughts about developing as a birdwatcher.

Gordon Denison

Another birdwatcher passionate about making access to the hobby more open was the legendary Gordon Denison of Halifax Birdwatchers Club, who recently passed at the age of 90 after a lifetime spent supporting and encouraging others. Not only a much loved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Gordon was a key member of Halifax Birdwatchers Club and took part in many projects over the years. His projects included establishing a trophy for the member who spotted the most species over the year, and creating detailed sighting maps. He particularly enjoyed birdwatching at Fly Flatts Reservoir, his favourite bird was a grey wagtail, and he had a distinctive whistle imitating a curlew to communicate with daughter Jayne, who was also on the walk with her partner Graham.

Throughout the talk I chatted with Jayne and Graham, who had kindly offered to rescue me from West Yorkshire public transport hell (three buses to travel a total of eight miles). Jayne was bright-eyed and warm, carefully clutching a pair of binoculars much older than those round the necks of other attendees. She described her father as “a smart and helpful gentleman to everyone and dedicated to his family.” Gordon had a good sense of humour, although it took him a little while to warm to Graham’s bird jokes. It was a poignant reminder that while life flows on, there are many people who came before us who made our experiences and knowledge possible. If Gordon had been able to atend, he would have been extremely smartly attired, delighted to have the day out with Jayne and Graham and to meet newcomers to birdwatching, who he always encouraged. All in all, a lovely afternoon, and Gordon’s binoculars sighted a few kestrels more.

Chellow Dene resurrected

The Aire Rivers Trust presents the Chellow Dene Wetland Project! The Chellow Dene Wetland is a small green space in Chellow Dene, Bradford, tucked away behind several houses. Chellow Dene Beck runs through the site, and this wetland acts as its floodplain in high rainfall. The Aire Rivers Trust and partners have transformed the site by implementing changes to re-naturalise the beck.

The Changes

The old design for the Chellow Dene Wetlands included a few cells of reedbeds that would filter water from the beck and act as flood storage for high rainfall events. These reedbeds had since silted up, meaning they no longer held floodwater, so they would not have mitigated any damage in the event of a flood. There was also a small weir that was blocking fish passage up and down the stream. The Aire Rivers Trust implemented features such as a log mattress and leaky dams, which will help to re-naturalize the beck, connect the beck back to its floodplain, and slow the flow of water. A weir bypass was also built around the weir to allow fish to move freely along Chellow Dene Beck.

A Space for Wildlife and the Community

Chellow Dene Wetland is an excellent asset to Bradford, as it provides a diversity of habitats for wildlife, helps mitigate damage in local flooding events, and provides amenity space for the local community. The Aire Rivers Trust and the Friends of Bradford Beck have hosted volunteer events at the wetlands with groups like the Scouts to do conservation work, including tree planting, Himalayan balsam pulling, and litter-picking. Many people have since walked through the Chellow Dene Wetlands and commented that the work has greatly improved the site!

Check out the video to learn more about the project! The Chellow Dene Wetland Project – YouTube

Find out more about the work the Aire Rivers Trust does at our website – Home – Aire Rivers Trust

On 18th September, a small but select group gathered for the Offical Opening of the new wetland area. Representatives from our funders were there, and the odd passer by was treated to an explanation of what we were doing and why we bothered.

Partners and Funders

The Chellow Dene Wetland Project is funded by the Environment Agency, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and Britvic. Britvic’s funding is part of a partnership with The Rivers Trust to care for water resources and nature in the areas they operate. This project is part of the Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund. The changes made were designed by Wetland Engineering and implemented by Conservefor. The Friends of Bradford Becks have provided great support and expertise to the project.

Ellie’s Weir…ed Blog

In this post our GIS whizz Ellie Spilsbury outlines some of the work we have been doing to identify ways to improve the sustainability of the fisheries in our rivers and hopefully aid the return of salmon for the first time since the Industrial Revolution.

*Look closely and you will see hundreds of Minnows collecting at the bottom of this weir, unable to ascend. See the area in the water that looks dark brown; they are Minnows.*

Visit each of the three sections for more detail:

A familiar Story

Data analysis with a Salmon Splash of professional opinion

(Tr)outcomes expected

A familar story

Once upon a time, our River Aire had the highest Salmon population of any Yorkshire river. Then came the Industrial Revolution, which saw the wool and fabric industry boom throughout Yorkshire. Mills were constructed accompanied by weirs to harness our river’s energy. Although the mills are now closed and are becoming swanky new flats, the weirs often remain, isolating ecosystems that lie between them. Weirs disrupt the natural transport of sediment downstream, causing a build-up of silt and gravel behind the weir, which is detrimental to the habitat of spawning fish. Since 2011, one of the Aire River Trust’s goals has been to increase the connectivity of our river and its tributaries by removing or re-configuring weirs to allow fish passage. Following earlier work to install fish passes through and downstream of Leeds, significant steps towards this goal were made in 2022 with the successful construction of four fish passes as part of the DNAire project.

When we see water flowing over weirs, creating the sounds of waterfalls and visually pleasing white waters, it is easy to forget their man-made heritage and artificiality. It is hard to imagine seeing through the eyes of a migrating trout or salmon; every cell in its body instinctively directing it upstream to spawn, using both the stars and the earth’s magnetic field for navigation and then facing an unpassable wall of Yorkshire-dressed stone. It is often not just the height of the weir that presents the issue but the combination of weir height and the shallow depth of the concrete sill below the weir. The height at which salmon and trout jump is directly affected by the relative depth of the water at the foot of the barrier and the “hydraulic jump,” which boosts their leap.

The Environment Agency (EA) has identified around four hundred river obstacles within the Aire Catchment. However, we believe there to be many more. For example, the EA recorded two barriers to fish passage on Pitty Beck, yet on our Bradford Becks Walkovers, we found 11. This pattern is most likely repeated on each beck. Currently, tackling the removal of every weir in the catchment is unattainable. So, how did we prioritise them into a workable top twenty?

Data analysis with a Salmon splash of professional opinion

With help from The Rivers Trust, we are the first regional rivers trust to code an ArcGIS tool to accurately calculate the length of a river (including tributaries and forks) that would be opened and re-connected by the removal of every mapped weir in the Aire Catchment. Alongside this, we analysed ecological assessment data, invertebrate biodiversity, local community data (including deprivation), and weir visibility to the public. We assigned a score to each outcome and designed a weighted decision-making matrix that identified the weirs that scored the most highly. The data only tells us half the story, so we took our results to our expert team and discussed those weirs for which a solution in the short(ish) term might be feasible.

Once we had twenty feasible weirs, it was time to ground truth our ideas. The purpose of site visits is to add or, more often, diminish our confidence in the feasibility of the weir so that we only carry the most achievable sites to the next stage. We evaluated the weirs’ condition, site access, utility services or abstraction points, and landowner engagement by photographing and recording the area, our thoughts, and encounters.

The most surprising discovery for me was the actual size of a weir. After months of viewing photographs without visual perspective, weirs can appear to be half the scale of the real-life structure. Take a moment to analyse this photo: how tall do you believe it to be? See the very bottom of the blog for the upside-down answer.

(Tr)outcomes

We are fast approaching the end of the site visits and write-up stage. It is time to narrow our shortlist of twenty weirs down to four. So, it will be back around the table for our professionals to decide on the four “leak” proof projects to invest in. These four weirs will be subject to a comprehensive feasibility study and design process. I hope my next blog post will include more designs, machinery, hard hats and re-naturalised rivers.

Enforcement Undertakings

An Enforcement Undertaking is one of several regulatory options available to the Environment Agency when they are considering action against a polluter.

Once agreed, it requires the polluter to admit their offence and to pay an agreed (with the EA) sum to an appropriate charity – which must then spend it on environmental improvements.

We do not believe this is a route with fewer consequences for polluters than paying a fine for a pollution offence. Just like a fine, the offender has to publically admit their guilt and the size of the sum paid to the charity is intended to be of the same magnitude as a fine imposed by the courts. More importantly, any fines imposed by a court go straight to the government’s general funds and will not be spent in a way that directly benefits the environment. Enforcement Undertakings offer a way to improve the watercourses affected by pollution. Enforcement Undertakings are in addition to any costs that polluters are compelled to pay to rectify the harm caused by their pollution.

Our Trust has decided that we will be prepared to work with polluters should they wish to offer an Enforcement Undertaking to the Environment Agency. Our catchment has benefited from several Enforcement Undertakings in recent years, which are currently funding river restoration projects run by the Aire Rivers Trust.

You can read the guidelines used by the Environment Agency for deciding whether or not to accept an offer of an Enforcement Undertaking here – how we decide whether to accept an EU for less serious offending.

It should be noted that the charity receiving the funds plays no role in the legal process for determining whether or not an enforcement undertaking is an appropriate course of action.

An enforcement undertaking can be offered only by the polluter. The offer can be made proactively, when they realise that they have caused significant pollution, or reactively, when the Environment Agency interviews them and points out the availability of an EU as an enforcement option. Proactive offers are generally viewed more favourably by the Environment Agency.

The Environment Agency periodically publish a list of Enforcement Undertaking that they have accepted.

If you are unfortunate enough to have caused pollution and would like to talk to us about a possible Enforcement Undertaking, please contact us.