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Electrofishing the following year showed some success with 11 Young salmon above the road crossing. Over the next couple of months we will be back to electrofish again Fingers crossed we see yet another increase in Salmon numbers now they have had access for 2 breeding seasons

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So @WelshDeeTrust we have brought in tonnes of large boulders. Placing these strategically we have created a ramp that allows salmon and other fish to swim up and over the roads.

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The cause? Several forestry road crossings were probably stopping salmon migrating upstream. The photo shows one of these crossings. Although Salmon can jump 2 meters, they need deep water to get a run up. Downstream of these crossings was very shallow.

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In the lower sections of the river, Salmon are spawning. You can see a hen and cock fish spawning in the video below. But when we electrofished higher upstream, we found 0 salmon in the tributary. Even though the habitat looked perfect!

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

This is the Llynor. It's one of the cleanest tributaries on the Dee. No farmyards or sewage treatment works upstream. And it's mostly forest, a big section being restored to ancient woodland. But it has a major problem.

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More detail on the 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 sustainable farming scheme has been released. This is the Welsh governments biggest investment in nature conservation and food production. 12 universal actions required to receive £70 a hectare.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

How's this for nature friendly farming? This is WelshDeeTrust site on the Cheshire plains. The 3D buffer will help protect the watercourse from any pollutants in the field and also provide valuable habitat for 🐛🦋🪶🐦‍⬛🐀.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Ecological restoration question? This is one of our grassland restoration sites @Cefn_Ucha farm. We have grazed hard this winter and spread hay from another species rich grassland. Do we buy in some more seed? Or wait and see what happens?

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Spring is so close I can almost taste it.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

As part of a grassland restoration project at cefn Ucha farm we have been rolling out hay for sheep. This is hay collected from another which is full of wildflowers, hopefully this process will help spread seed to our restoration site.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

700 trees planted yesterday by @welsh-dee-trust.bsky.social volunteers. Couldn't do it without them. 👏

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

Recent woodland shelter we've created on the farm. Expanding what was a hedge and ditch into a corridoor of ponds, woodlands and scrub. Can't wait to see it in a few years when it's grown a bit.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Today I am creating a new woodland. Which is a very pleasant way to spend a sunny Saturday. 😀

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

The Dee floodplain goes under water regularly. How much water? Well Chris our programme manager is 5'11 and the high water mark is quite a bit above his head. This regular flooding helps create an area of exceptional biodiversity, couldn't count the number of wading birds we saw this day.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Here is a section that has been fenced off. Long grass and lots of young regeneration of trees. + My dog.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

This is the river Alyn in the Dee catchment. Typical of a lot of Welsh rivers the banks are devoid of any wildflowers or trees under 15 years old. This is because of grazing from livestock particularly sheep. The solution is to fence off the riparian area and remove the grazing pressure.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Advertise your account using one (1) Simpson's image.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

We are hiring at Welsh Dee Trust. Head of project delivery. This leadership role will lead the planning and delivery of all the projects at Welsh Dee Trust helping achieve our overall objective of a river dee free of pollution and full of wildlife. www.welshdeetrust.com/we-are-hirin...

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Just came across a heavily polluted brook from spread digestate. Full of nutrients this will severely impact the ecology of the brook. This is in England so not technically anything illegal here. In wales this would be illegal due to the new closed season.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

You would enjoy this recent project on my farm where we have brought a drain to the surface by digging down to create a large ditch/pool.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

It's Salmon spawning season on the Dee. 😍😍

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Photos from a Welsh Dee Trust habitat restoration site. It started as an awkward field next to a river. Previously growing intensive grass species for grazing cattle. We have removed the grazing, cut scrapes to collect floodwater and planted a woodland. Eventually this will become woodland.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

We've also added these smaller ponds with a wooden 'leaky dam' at the end. These again capture storm water and release is slowly. We put in 3 of these. And really excitingly I just saw a Teal using one of these ponds. A new species for the farm.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Storm Bert is giving a great opportunity to see the new farm wetlands filling up with water. These wetlands have been designed to store thousands of litres of water during storms and release it slowly, reducing flood risk down stream.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

95% sure I just saw a Ring Ouzel while in my lunchtime walk. If correct it's a very exciting addition to the list of wildlife living in the farm.. Even if he is just passing through on migration.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Flyover of a recently finished Welsh Dee Trust habitat restoration site. A new fence was installed to stop livestock grazing in the riparian area. This will now be left to allow trees to regenerate, creating a large scrubby buffer alongside the watercourse.

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Or water wise farming programme provides support and advice to fix pollution problems. We particularly focus on soil loss into rivers a major problem in the Dee.

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Our 'It shouldn't be in the Dee programme is tackling sources of pollution within the river. We are leading litter picks to tackle plastic, marking drains to stop accidental pollution and training citizen scientists to find the sources of pollution.

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At Welsh Dee Trust we are trying to turn that decline around. We are in year 2 of a 5 year strategy, which has 5 programmes of work Restoring river habitat. This programme is restoring the natural function of the river. We hope to restore 40km of habitat by 2027. Before and after of one site

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The river Dee is a very special river and has the highest level of environmental protection: a special area of conservation. In part because of the rare and endangered species living within the river, but particularly the Atlantic Salmon. Sadly things are not well and the river is declining.

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Blue sky. Let me introduce you to Welsh Dee Trust. It's the environmental organisation I am very lucky to manage. The overall objective of the charity is: A river Dee free of pollution and Full of Wildlife. The river Dee is the longest river in North Wales, which flows into Cheshire.

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Sunday morning on the way to lead a litter pick on the litter with all the equipment and the truck breaks down on the side of the main road . 👎👎👎

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Either way when a gravel is removed or becomes smothered the river wildlife drops very quickly. This is why I think gravel is (almost) as important to river wildlife as the water. 😁 This brown trout almost definitely hatched from an egg buried in gravel. 🐟

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The other threat is that the gravel can be removed from the river. This is usually the result of drainage activities where the gravel has literally been dug out with machinery. Or it can be the result of a reservoir trapping new sediments flowing downstream.

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Unfortunately, river gravel is also under threat. If too much sediment enters a watercourse the gaps between gravel can become choked. This essentially suffocates the invertebrates and fish eggs

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This means you also dont get the large mayfly hatches or Salmon runs that lots of predators and larger animals rely on.

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Many fish, particularly salmon and trout lay their eggs in redds dug into the gravel. Without gravel these species of fish and the invertebrates within the gravel disappear very quickly.

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Much of a river's wildlife is completely dependent on these gravels to complete their life cycle. Invertebrates live amongst the small gaps in the river bed gravels. This is why you use kick sampling to capture river invertebrates, not just dipping a net in the water.

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Gravel is the unsung hero of healthy rivers. I think it is (almost) as important for river wildlife as the water that flows over the top. The sediments, pebbles rocks and stones are vital to healthy rivers but they are also under threat. Read on to find out why 👇

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

A habitat restoration site I am working on at the moment. A scruffy wet corner of a field which grew little grass or biodiversity. Digger has already been in and enlarged the ditch into a big scrape. I have added a large pile of deadwood. A fence still to be added and trees planted.

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A guest in the Welsh Dee Trust office today. Baobab the spaniel who is resting up after breaking his toe. He has learnt quickly that hopping up to people means he gets lots of attention. 😂

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Drone shot of one of our habitat restoration sites at Welsh Dee Trust. In an awkward field of grassland, we worked with the farmer to plant a new wet woodland. We have added scrapes and planted around 2000 trees. Its already buzzing with new invertebrates but will only get better over time.

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

An Atlantic salmon parr we found living in the middle of Wrexham. How's that for amazing urban wildlife? 😍

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Peter powell @peterpowell.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Visit to one of the habitat restoration sites we have completed at Welsh Dee Trust. Previously this was a maize field and last time I visited, soil was pouring off into this brook and polluting the Dee. Working with the landowner we have put in a large buffer with wetland scrapes.

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This work is carried out as part of the @WelshDeeTrust It shouldn't be in the Dee programme. In 2023 we found 12 pollution sources like this one This programme is funded entirely by donations. If you can please donate to our work and help us find even more sources this year.

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Unfortunately this drain is connected to a system draining a very large housing estate, several roads and an industrial estate. Finding the source is going to be very difficult and it's probably more than one!

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We kept monitoring and also contacted the local council and water company to find out who owned the pipe as it wasn't clear. Nobody knew who the owner was at first but after some digging we found out it was a clean water drain owned by the council.

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we test for phosphate and turbidity as general indicators of pollution. One of our citizen scientists tested the water coming from this pipe and got a very high reading for phosphate. The high reading is concerning, so we asked our citizen scientist to keep monitoring.

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