Our group combined with the Upper Clun Valley CWG to host a ‘River Health’ training session at Clun Valley Memorial Hall.
The training was provided by Jenna Shaw of Shropshire Wildlife Trust, who hopes that as many people as possible will get involved with sampling the water quality of rivers and streams across Shropshire.
Usually, the training would be done largely in the field, but the heavy rain in the days leading up to the session had left the River Clun running very high and fast, and there were strong winds on the day itself. Undeterred, Jenna ventured into a stream running alongside the Clun to disturb the stream bed where most invertebrates live, returning to the colonial hall with samples to be tested.
Jenna showed how to record the different types of invertebrates, as well as how to run different tests to check for nitrate, nitrite and phosphate levels. The samples collected showed the water to be clean and supporting a healthy range of species.