Join us for a 1-day training to become a certified Riverfly Monitor!
This is a special Riverfly Training being delivered as part of our Community Action for the Bear Brook project which aims to increase community involvement from volunteers in the Aylesbury area. If you are a resident in the Aylesbury area the registration fee is optional. If you live outside Aylesbury, we ask that you give a £35 donation to RTCT at the door to help cover the costs of running the event and keeping our catchment Riverfly network going.
This event is hosted by River Thame Conservation Trust and aimed at anyone interested in monitoring and protecting their local watercourses from pollution events through the ‘Angler’s Riverfly Monitoring Initiative’. Monitoring is an excellent way to protect river health while fostering local community, science and sustainability. Monitors aim to carry out a survey at their site on a monthly basis, where they collect a sample of the invertebrate life and submit their counts to a national database.
In this training you will learn:
– The Riverfly scoring system and how the scheme was designed
– How to identify a range of key aquatic invertebrate groups sensitive to pollution
– The methods for collecting an invertebrate sample using the kick sample technique
– How to score your samples and submit your data online
– What to do if your sampling indicates a pollution incident
Once trained you’ll receive a certificate and be fully certified to start monitoring your own site in one of your local watercourses.
The training day will roughly follow the below schedule:
Morning: Theory sessions (9:00 am to 12:00 pm)
Introduction and context, The Anglers’ Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (ARMI), Target groups – life history & ecology
Lunch Break
Afternoon: Practical Sessions (12:00 pm to 4:30 pm)
Sampling Method, Fieldwork, Riverfly Identification, Summary
On the day you will be provided with all the equipment you need and resources for species identification, health & safety and so much more.
All you need to bring is your wellies, suitable clothing and a packed lunch; we’ll provide you with tea/coffee and biscuits.
We will also supply waders for the sampling, if you have not filled out the “shoe size” field on your Better Impact account you will receive an email asking for this information.
