This campaign has now closed
The Bristol Avon RiverBlitz is a water quality sampling project which empowers and equips communities with the knowledge and tools to monitor their local rivers, streams, wetlands, or lakes. Our RiverBlitz explorer tool can be viewed here: https://bristolavonriverstrust.org/riverblitz/
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
Only 14% of England's rivers are in good ecological shape, and none of them meet required chemical standards. Nationally, roughly 90% of lowland surface freshwaters, including rivers and streams, are marked by ecologically harmful levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, or both. In the Bristol Avon catchment, rivers face significant agricultural impacts, especially as they traverse rural areas. Meanwhile, Environment Agency monitoring is being reduced, so the chance to address these issues diminishes.
Solution
BART empowers Citizen Scientists to assess water quality in local streams and rivers across the Bristol Avon catchment. The project establishes an evidence base, informs strategies to enhance river health, and raises awareness of aquatic environment issues. This involvement encourages the public to actively participate in scientific monitoring, and the collected data helps identify opportunities for targeted actions.
