Improving Water Quality and Habitat

Improving water quality and habitats is a priority work stream for GRT. This is delivered through our ambitious 'Flowing Forward - Restoring Galloway's Rivers' programme.

The 'Flowing Forward - Restoring Galloway's Rivers' programme aims to improve freshwater and riparian environments across six Galloway river catchments (Luce, Bladnoch, Cree, Water of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire Dee and Urr) in partnership with various stakeholders, organisations and local communities. 

The objectives of the programme are to:

• improve biodiversity
• promote nature recovery
• re-establish natural processes
• enhance aquatic health
• create habitat complexity
• increase resilience to climate change impacts.

Three full time posts are delivering this project - a Habitats and Climate Resilience Officer, Project Manager (Nature Restoration) and an Ecologist.  The project has the expertise, skills, contacts and staff to identify and deliver a wide range of restoration works.  We work closely with various partners to provide wider specialised expertise, where required, we bring in expertise to produce detailed designs to accurately cost projects and minimise risk. 

Ensuring the work programmes are 'evidence based' means the correct sites are selected and the most appropriate restoration techniques are put into place.  GRT wider data collection work (including electrofishing fish surveys, water quality monitoring, invertebrate surveys, water temperature monitoring, habitat surveys & drone surveys) are undertaken to collect the 'evidence' we need to identify where restoration work is needed and to monitor the environmental benefits from the work completed.

The 'Flowing Forward - Restoring Galloway's Rivers' umbrella programme is delivered through various GRT sub-programmes including:

•  Restoring peatlands to address acidification - we are working up a few 'forestry to bog' peatland restoration sites e.g. 22ha site round Loch Moan (headwaters of the Cree).  
•  Riparian tree planting programmes - e.g. Habitable Headwaters has planted 3,500 native hardwoods over 3 kms of the River Urr headwaters.
•  Wetland & natural flood management - e.g. flood banks lowered and series of wetlands created at Boreland on lower Bladnoch.
•  Restoring river channels - e.g. reconnecting meanders to the historically straightened Barhoise Burn.
•  Focused high impact projects e.g. our Black Water of Dee Restoration Project involving gravel addition, conifer regen removal and planting riparian hardwoods.
•  Rewetting important habitats - e.g. working with a community group to block a forestry drainage network to create wet woodland and wetlands.
•  Developing large scale restoration at scale - e.g. 'Luce Riverwoods - Enhancing the Future', GFT Riverwoods Development Project.  
•  Coastal burn restoration - e.g. our SCAMP programme is working to restore at least 6 Solway coastal burns over the next 10 years.   

These sub-programmes are delivered using both public and private finance.

The project outputs aim to support the objectives of various plans and initiatives including The Scottish Wild Salmon Strategy, Solway and Tweed River Basin Management Plan, Dumfries and Galloway Local Biodiversity Action Plan and the various local Salmon Fishery Management Plans.

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