Get Involved
Feel like getting involved?
The River Tweed Commission & the Tweed Foundation are always looking to engage with more people about the river and the work that we do. One way in which we do so is by giving you the chance to get involved and take part in some of what we do, and there are various ways in which you can do so!
Guardians of the Tweed
Guardians of the Tweed is the Tweed Foundation's new citizen science programme aiming to promote the health of our rivers through the voices of our community. To achieve this, we will…
- Direct our projects based on concerns from the community.
- Provide you with the knowledge, tools, and training needed to collect data.
- Facilitate communication and understanding between communities and the relevant parties (e.g., SEPA, Scottish Water, landowners)
- Provide accessible data from your volunteering.
Would you like to become a Guardian of the Tweed? See how you can get involved below.
Anglers Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (ARMI)
Have you ever wondered how healthy your local river is? Invertebrate sampling is a great way for you to find out. The Tweed Foundation have become an Anglers’ Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) hub, using invertebrates in our rivers to monitor water quality and highlight any pollution concerns.
Tree Planting
Increasing water temperatures in our rivers is a growing concern and the best method we have of keeping the river cool is by planting trees. We are therefore undertaking riparian planting throughout the catchment and would very much appreciate your help. You can make a donation here.
Electro-fishing
Each year the Tweed Foundation carry out electro-fishing surveys, monitoring the health of juvenile fish stocks at hundreds of site throughout the Tweed and Eye catchments. If you would like to help with this monitoring - or even just experience some electro-fishing in your local area - then please do get in touch.
Trout Log Books
Since 2006, trout anglers have been filling in catch log books, recording their angling effort, how many fish they catch and their sizes. This information is then crucial for the Tweed Foundation to better monitor the health of the Tweed's Trout stocks. We are always very appreciative of any catch log books that get returned to us.
Trout Spot Pattern
Each individual Trout has a unique spot pattern on their gill cover. The Tweed Foundation can use then use pictures sent in from trout anglers to identify individual fish and build up a data base of the Tweed's Trout. If you fish the Tweed catchment and would like to contribute to this study, then please do send us your pictures.
Scale Reading
Much like the growth rings on trees, the growth rings (or the circuli) on a fish scale can tell us the age of any individual fish. Scale reading provides the Tweed Foundation valuable insight into the demographics of the different stocks of fish throughout the Tweed catchment. If you would like to learn how to read fish scales, or even have some scales that you would like read, then please get in touch and come along to one of our training days.
Bird Counts
Each year, the Tweed Foundation carry out several bird counts along the main stem of the Tweed to help in monitoring the levels of fish predation in the river. These are carried out at different times of the year and involve people walking sections of the river at the same time recording the numbers of goosanders and cormorants. If you would like to start your day off with a walk along the river while helping us in monitoring the numbers of these birds, then please do get in touch.
Other ways to get involved
Sponsor a smolt
Each year we tag Smolts leaving the Tweed to monitor their survival and this year 1000 Salmon and 500 Sea trout smolts will be tagged. Losses at this stage of the Atlantic salmon life cycle cannot be replaced. With numbers of returning adult salmon continuing to decline, we need to make sure as many smolts make it to the sea as possible.
Please support our work by sponsoring a smolt.
Tweed Start
Tweed Start is the Tweed Foundation's angling initiative aimed at getting more people fly fishing. With Tweed Start days involving an introduction to entomology, freshwater ecosystems, fly tying and casting instruction, we are always grateful for volunteers to help out on days.
If you would like to get involved with Tweed Start or make a donation - it would be great to hear from you.
