United Utilities funds eight charity river improvement projects

United Utilities has shared an award totalling £300,000 among eight charities to fund river improvement projects, including to encourage community engagement with nature or bring together different partners to maximise funding for schemes.

The successful applicants for the CaST (catchment systems thinking) funding were:

• Eden Rivers Trust to work with school children and residents in Carlisle and the Eden Valley to create the next generation of river champions for the River Eden catchment;

• Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire, and Merseyside to recruit and train 25 volunteers to begin conservation work at Lever Park in Rivington;

• Groundwork Greater Manchester will focus on the River Irk and its brooks, engaging local communities and partners to co-design and deliver a year-long programme of events, networking and training opportunities;

• Mersey Rivers Trust will establish a community-participation project focused on the lower catchment area of the River Bollin from Trafford to Macclesfield;

• Ribble Rivers Trust is seeking to explore other forms of quantified ecosystem services for woodlands, such as natural flood risk management, public amenity, and air quality;

• South Cumbria Rivers Trust will engage communities in the restoration of 800m2 of reed beds in Lake Windermere;

• The Conservation Volunteers will engage a wide audience of people in the Upper Mersey Catchment, working across Tameside, Stockport, Manchester and Trafford, targeting people who would not typically visit these environments including disabled people, young people, people from ethnic minorities and older people; and

• The Land Trust will deliver a programme of educational sessions, community events and activities for a wide range of people of all ages and abilities at Port Sunlight River Park in the Wirral.