Buckingham River Wardens
Background
We are a group of volunteers formed by
Buckingham Town Council (BTC),
Upper Bedford Ouse Catchment Partnership (UBOCP)
Environment Agency (EA)
The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)
following the serious pollution incident of the Great Ouse, in June 2018.
What we do:
We carry out monthly Riverfly surveys of certain aquatic insect species at a site in Chandos Park to determine the 'health' of our river.
The results of these surveys are uploaded to the Riverfly Partnership database. If a minimum 'trigger score', set by the EA, is breached we would repeat the survey. If the second survey confirms a breach then the EA would investigate further to check if any pollution event has occurred and take any necesary action.
We also carry out quarterly walk down surveys of a number of designated sections (currently eight) of the Great Ouse through the Buckingham area.
We record and report on the general state of the river, its banks, evidence of pollution or possible sources, flora and fauna plus any signs of invasive plant species. This information is reported and uploaded to the UBOCP database.
Also,as part of the Water Vole Recovery Project, we regularly monitor a number of floating Mink Rafts on the river which have a container of soft clay that records footprints of any mammals that pass through.
These have to be checked, photographed and 'reset' if necessary.
Organisation
The group originally carried out its surveys under TCV (as its umbrella organisation) however, early in November 2023 it was agreed by the group that it should become part of the BDAA.
Following this change the BDAA became a partner of the UBOCP.
The group currently consists of 13 River Wardens and volunteers.
If you would like further information or are interested in joining us, please email Simon Bumstead at info@bdaafishing.org.uk
For the group's Charter.Click Here
Keeping Informed
Keep up to date with the EA's work with various river restoration projects and other initiatives by visiting their
Fisheries, Biodiversity and Geomorphology facebook page.
We are a group of volunteers formed by
Buckingham Town Council (BTC),
Upper Bedford Ouse Catchment Partnership (UBOCP)
Environment Agency (EA)
The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)
following the serious pollution incident of the Great Ouse, in June 2018.
What we do:
We carry out monthly Riverfly surveys of certain aquatic insect species at a site in Chandos Park to determine the 'health' of our river.
The results of these surveys are uploaded to the Riverfly Partnership database. If a minimum 'trigger score', set by the EA, is breached we would repeat the survey. If the second survey confirms a breach then the EA would investigate further to check if any pollution event has occurred and take any necesary action.
We also carry out quarterly walk down surveys of a number of designated sections (currently eight) of the Great Ouse through the Buckingham area.
We record and report on the general state of the river, its banks, evidence of pollution or possible sources, flora and fauna plus any signs of invasive plant species. This information is reported and uploaded to the UBOCP database.
Also,as part of the Water Vole Recovery Project, we regularly monitor a number of floating Mink Rafts on the river which have a container of soft clay that records footprints of any mammals that pass through.
These have to be checked, photographed and 'reset' if necessary.
Organisation
The group originally carried out its surveys under TCV (as its umbrella organisation) however, early in November 2023 it was agreed by the group that it should become part of the BDAA.
Following this change the BDAA became a partner of the UBOCP.
The group currently consists of 13 River Wardens and volunteers.
If you would like further information or are interested in joining us, please email Simon Bumstead at info@bdaafishing.org.uk
For the group's Charter.Click Here
Upper Ouse Recovery Plan
Keeping Informed
Keep up to date with the EA's work with various river restoration projects and other initiatives by visiting their
Fisheries, Biodiversity and Geomorphology facebook page.
