2026 has got off to a fantastic start for our Lab Dŵr™ project. Lab Dŵr™ is North Wales Rivers Trust’s citizen science water quality monitoring campaign, bringing communities together to better understand the health of their local rivers.

This week, the North Wales Rivers Trust team undertook targeted training in current sustainable farming methods and the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), scheduled to launch in January 2026.

Over the past few months, our team has delivered a series of habitat improvements. Thanks to funding from Natural Resources Wales through the Inland Fisheries Habitat Restoration and Mitigation programmes.

This week, in collaboration with Meteor Communications, our team installed the final set of real-time water quality sondes that will monitor Llyn Cwellyn and our interventions.

National Tree Week is a chance to celebrate the many ways trees support healthy landscapes. One of the most important relationships is the one between trees and rivers. Along every watercourse, from small headwater streams to larger rivers, trees help shape the physical environment, improve water quality, and support the wildlife that depends on freshwater systems.

Now in its 50th year, National Tree Week (NTW), brought to you by The Tree Council and partners, brings together the conservation sector, volunteers and tree-lovers to mark the start of the annual tree planting season by planting thousands of trees and hedgerows and celebrating everything they deliver for us. The theme for NTW 2025 is A Future Filled with Trees.

This Thursday we will be planting trees near Llyn Cwellyn as part of Prosiect Torgoch and National Tree Planting Week. If you would like to join us from 12 - 3 PM please email poppy@northwalesriverstrust.org for more information.

As part of Project Torgoch, we have been conducting weekly water quality testing of the inlets of Llyn Cwellyn. The aim of this testing is to build a baseline dataset and identify where pollutants may be entering the lake in addition to sondes which are being installed in December.

Should a river have rights? Is a river a natural resource for humans or should it be entitled to a right to exist as it’s own living entity? If the species who depend on our rivers could speak, what would they say?

Earlier this month we held a volunteer day where the volunteers had the opportunity to learn about the restoration works taking place as part of Prosiect Torgoch. With guidance from Project Officer Angharad Powell and Keyhoe countrside, we were able to help sculpt small settlement ponds, strengthening their banks using rock and turf from the surrounding area.

Last week our volunteers received a training day from the team at Wild Fish. This was a great session aimed at equipping our volunteers with the tools to start sorting and identifying the invertebrates that have been collected from key rivers within the North Wales Rivers Trust catchment.

Last month the team were back on site with Biomatrix in Rhosneigr carrying out remedial works to our Llyn Maelog Floating Wetland.

We’re excited to share an update from our River Rapping project — and things are really starting to flow!

Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) are one of the biggest threats to our rivers, wildlife, and native habitats.

North Wales Rivers Trust has been working alongside local farming families to repair traditional field boundaries and keep livestock away from sensitive riverbanks.

Josh has joined the team to strengthen connections with local angling clubs and support efforts to protect North Wales’ iconic salmon and sea trout. With over a decade of fishing experience and a deep passion for migratory fish, he brings valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities facing our rivers.

This month we’ve been carrying out peatland restoration work within the Gwyrfai catchment.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ruled that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) must release records of pesticide use by farmers in Wales.

This autumn, the North Wales Rivers Trust team had the pleasure of working with Annedd Ni Day Service in Bangor to deliver a seasonal creative workshop celebrating the Torgoch — Wales’s rare Arctic charr.

Our dedicated volunteers have been busy collecting invertebrate samples from our four River Hub locations — the tributaries flowing into Llyn Padarn, tributaries into Llyn Maelog, the Afon Ogwen, and the Afon Braint.