Planting reedbeds slows the water flow, creating habitats for birds like bitterns, and helps remove pollutants before water enters the Derwent.

We’re working with landowners to promote riverside tree planting to restore shade, stabilise the riverbanks and create new habitats.

We’re re-meandering a tributary stretch of the Derwent – back to its pre-industrial revolution course – to slow the flow and allow new habitats to develop. The bypass of weirs allows Atlantic salmon to once again navigate deep inland to their ancient spawning grounds.

Atlantic salmon are back and breeding after an absence of hundreds of years, since we removed obstacles to allow them to swim back to some of their ancient breeding grounds. But pollution, lower water levels and higher temperatures are new threats!

Derbyshire’s otters were almost wiped out due to persecution and pesticide poisoning. Now protected by UK law, and with improved water quality in the Derwent, otters have at last returned. They remain listed as ‘endangered’, and need more habitats to breed and thrive.

The humble water vole works tirelessly to improve its riverbank habitat, in turn helping many other wetland species to survive.

But they are close to extinction along the Derwent due to loss of habitat, and because they are easy prey for the non-native American mink.

Our freshwater white-clawed crayfish population has been almost wiped out by disease, brought to the Derwent by non-native North American signal crayfish. We are finding and monitoring our surviving populations, and relocating some of them to ideal habitats in other Derbyshire rivers.