Grantee: Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust

Duration:  3 years (May 2025 – May 2028) 

 

Background

Scottish rivers, and the freshwater species within these ecosystems, face a myriad of threats. For example, declining riparian habitats reduce shading and lower bank stability, making aquatic species vulnerable to high temperatures and a lack of shelter. Activities such as re-meandering rivers and riparian woodland creation have powerful potential to boost biodiversity, creating healthy freshwater environments that benefit both humans and nature.

The Project

The Deveron, Bogie, and Isla Rivers Trust (DBIRT) works to enhance biodiversity and habitat resilience across the Deveron Catchment, in North-East Scotland. The Edinglassie Burn Restoration is a key part of the wider ‘Project Deveron’, a 10-year catchment scale initiative driven by the partnership between DBIRT and the Atlantic Salmon Trust.

The Edinglassie Burn project aims to restore the ecological functionality of the Edinglassie Burn, a tributary of the River Deveron. DBIRT will carry out a range of activities, including re-meandering the channel, re-instating historic scrapes and ponds, riparian planting, bank stabilisation, and re-connecting the burn with its floodplain. Monitoring these activities is crucial to evaluate their success, informing an ‘adaptive management’ approach enabling future activities to be adjusted based on evidence. This HIEF grant will enable DBIRT to purchase water temperature loggers, enabling in-depth monitoring to inform future activities across the Deveron, and other catchments.