Rivers to Reef: Yorkshire Launches New Movement for Cleaner, Healthier Waters

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has launched Rivers to Reef, a landmark new initiative designed to protect Yorkshire’s rivers, estuaries, and coastal reefs from pollution. Developed in partnership with Aire Rivers Trust, the Yorkshire Derwent Catchment Partnership, and supported by Yorkshire Water, Rivers to Reef is creating a movement across Yorkshire to protect rivers from their source areas in the hills and moorlands down to the North Sea, with a focus on the Rivers Aire and Derwent.

Every year, litter, microplastics, agricultural run-off, sewage, and chemicals enter Yorkshire’s
rivers and eventually reach the Humber Estuary and the North Sea. These pollutants
threaten freshwater invertebrates such as mayflies and caddisflies, migratory fish like salmon
and sea trout, shellfish including mussels and oysters, and marine mammals such as seals
and porpoises. Yet traditional conservation efforts have often treated rivers and seas in
isolation, leaving conservation successes, and ultimately marine species, vulnerable to
pollution from upstream sources.

Yorkshire’s rivers drain one-fifth of England’s landmass into the Humber Estuary, the largest
freshwater contributor to the North Sea and a site of international conservation importance.
However, the estuary’s ecological condition has been classified as “unfavourable” for more
than a decade, with vital habitats like saltmarsh, seagrass, and shellfish beds in decline.
Rivers to Reef addresses this by combining science, policy, and people power to tackle
pollution from source to sea.

The initiative will expand citizen science across Yorkshire by introducing standardised
water-quality monitoring to track pollutants and identify hotspots, organising bi-annual
Water Quality Blitzes in collaboration with Earthwatch to engage communities in
coordinated sampling, and supporting community-led litter surveys to measure and reduce
river and coastal debris.

Rivers to Reef also empowers individuals to take practical steps at home and in their
communities to protect waterways. Simple actions - like cooling, scraping, and binning fats
and oils instead of pouring them down the drain, correctly disposing of wet wipes, using
wash bags or natural fibres to reduce microfibre pollution, planting buffer strips to limit
agricultural run-off, and choosing water-safe flea and tick treatments - can all make a
tangible difference. By reducing, reusing, and recycling plastics, taking part in local
clean-ups to stop plastics entering rivers, and checking that wastewater from homes and
businesses is correctly connected to the wastewater drainage system, everyone can help
keep our rivers, estuaries, and coastal reefs clean and healthy. Even small actions inland can
safeguard marine ecosystems, highlighting the vital connection between rivers and reefs.

Martin Slater, Deputy Chief Executive at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust:
"Yorkshire’s rivers and seas bring life into our landscapes but they and the wildlife they
support are under pressure like never before. Rivers to Reef is about giving everyone, from
families to local communities, the chance to make a real, visible difference. Every water
monitoring sample, every piece of litter picked up, and every small action adds up to
cleaner, healthier waters we can all be proud of."

Rachel Forsyth, Chief Executive at Aire Rivers Trust:
"We all rely on our rivers and seas, yet pollution from everyday life is quietly harming them.
Rivers to Reef is a chance for people across Yorkshire to see the impact they can have, from
the stream in their village to the reefs off our coast. By working together, we can restore life
to our waterways and leave a legacy of clean, thriving waters for generations to come."

Clare Beasant, River Health Improvement Manager at Yorkshire Water:
“The quality of our rivers is something that is incredibly important to us, and we know it’s
equally important to our customers in Yorkshire. There is a lot of work to do to get our rivers
and coasts where we want them to be and, alongside significant investment into our capital
infrastructure, working in collaboration with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Aire Rivers Trust
on this project will certainly help us to achieve it.”

Rivers to Reef will only succeed with Yorkshire’s people at its heart. Every water sample
collected, wet wipes binned correctly, plastic bottle picked up, or conversation shared helps
protect local rivers while contributing to a bigger, connected picture.

The first opportunity to get involved is the Great UK Waterblitz, taking place between 24th
and 27th April 2026, a weekend of citizen science that will map water quality across
Yorkshire. To take part and help Yorkshire’s rivers and seas thrive, visit:
https://www.ywt.org.uk/rivers-to-reef