BIG RIVER WATCH
Get involved in the Big River Watch!
The Big River Watch is an invitation for everyone to love their local river and be a part of the movement demanding better for them. Wherever you are, you can get involved.
By spending a little time watching your local river and completing a simple survey within the free Big River Watch app on the wildlife and pollution you see, you will contribute to a UK and Ireland-wide dataset that can be used to create and demand positive change.
The next Big River Watch will take place between 6th-12th of September 2024.
Get involved, reconnect with your local river, and be part of the movement working to restore our waterways with the Big River Watch.
Download The Big River Watch app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
We would love to get as many people from across Essex and Suffolk involved in this event as possible!
Once you’ve finished your survey why not share a photo or video on social media to encourage others to join in too. Not up for a selfie? That’s okay we’d love to see a photo of your river too! Tell us your stories and facts, we want to know why your river is important to you! Please tag Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust (@EssexSuffolkRT) in your social media posts so that we can see them!
Why is Big River Watch needed?
Rivers are suffering from sewage, plastic, chemical and nutrient pollution. To change this, we need to know where our rivers are having the problems, and which problems are the most prevalent. The free and open Big River Watch survey is your chance to make a difference. Data gathered during Big River Watch can support policy change; helping turn the tide on plastics or stem the flow of untreated sewage. It also helps identify the best places for river clean-ups, or the creation of things like wetlands.
Find out more about the Big River Watch on The Rivers Trust website.
Explore the Data
The Big River Watch is held twice a year. The first Big River Watch event took place in September 2023 and was followed by a spring event in May 2024.
Over 250 Participants across Essex and Suffolk have completed 176 surveys, the equivalent of 69 hours spent river watching!
Autumn 2023
Data displayed was collected between 22-28th Sep 2023
Spring 2024
Data displayed was collected between 03-09th May 2024
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You can find out what Big River Watch-ers recorded in their river health surveys in the UK and Ireland during previous Big River Watch events on the Rivers Trust Data Explorer.