Hello. I work for the Clyde River Foundation as part of BTCV’s Natural Communities programme.
For anyone who doesn’t know what BTCV’s Natural Communities programme is about, here’s a bit of background blether.
Through this scheme, I work for the Clyde River Foundation – a charity dedicated to promoting the ecological health of the entire Clyde freshwater catchment. It is part of a national network of rivers and fisheries trusts/foundations throughout Scotland. The CRF also has a very strong focus on science education, and runs projects designed to inform a whole new generation of young people about why the health of the river is crucial to the quality of their own lives.
This mixture of science and education makes the Clyde River Foundation a very good place to be…
I work alongside a dedicated and passionate team of scientists who undertake fish and river surveys throughout the Clyde catchment. This is far from science in a vaccum. Not only does the CRF provide valuable, independent data for interested stakeholders, over 10,000 primary school pupils have learnt about the ecology of the River Clyde via the highly-respected ‘Clyde in the Classroom.’
My personal role centres around the Kelvin river catchment. As well as helping to develop a website for primary school educational programme, Kids and the Kelvin (a Kelvin-specific version of Clyde in the Classroom), my remit is to scope out – and possibly help establish – a forum or network for stakeholders across the River Kelvin catchment, plus explore ways to promote the Angler Monitoring Initiative on the river.
I’m also getting trained up in the day-to-day work of the Foundation, from river habitat surveys to devising educational materials. In short I’m on a steep learning curve about river ecology and all things fishy…
For a trained journalist, this represents a slight evolution in my work. For a long time I have been passionate about reporting on environmental issues, especially as they relate to management/policy for building resilient communities. I suppose I am now no longer just on the reporting sidelines and see this is an opportunity to skill myself up in the community dimension of river and fisheries management. BTCV’s approach to building community capacity has been impressive to date and I’m glad to be part of this pioneering successor to BTCV’s Natural Talent scheme.