Your River, your community, your impact
Adopt a Tributary is a community-driven initiative that connects people with their local rivers and streams. Whether you’re an individual nature lover, a family, a school group, or a local organisation, there’s a place for you in protecting and celebrating our freshwater habitats.
Why it matters
Every tributary feed into something bigger. When local people help us monitor the health of their waterways, it helps us identify pollution, protect biodiversity, and prioritise restoration work where it’s needed most.
Without community involvement, we simply couldn’t do what we do.
Ways to get involved
Our Adopt groups get involved in a wide range of activities, from reporting issues while out walking, to litter picks, wildlife surveys and water quality monitoring. Some groups may also choose to undertake practical improvements where appropriate.
We provide training, guidance and resources to help you get started and build confidence in looking after your local river. These are intended to support and inform your activities, but do not replace the need for you to assess conditions and act safely based on your own judgement and local circumstances.
You bring the local knowledge and passion—we’ll help you get started and support your learning along the way.
How it works
Many Adopt groups operate independently within their local communities, choosing when and how to get involved. In these cases, activities are undertaken at your own discretion and are not directed or supervised by WWRT.
Where WWRT-led events or supported activities are arranged, these will be clearly identified and managed separately.
Staying safe
Rivers and surrounding environments can present a range of hazards which vary depending on location, weather and site conditions. Any guidance we provide is general in nature, and it is important that volunteers:
- Consider the risks specific to their location
- Work within their own competence and experience
- Avoid activities where conditions are unclear or unsuitable
- Stop and seek further advice where necessary
We encourage all volunteers to take a sensible and proportionate approach to managing risks when working near water or undertaking practical activities.
Get involved
Look out on our socials (links at bottom of page) and our events page to keep up to date with events near you.
If you’d like to host an event in your area and would like us to be involved, we’d love to hear from you.
You can see our existing adopted river sections on the map below.
Whether you’re already part of a local community group or looking to bring people together around your river, we’re here to help get you started.
Do you want to be part of this growing network of river guardians? Get in touch at adopt@westwalesriverstrust.org.
Thank you to all of our fantastic volunteers, we couldn’t have done all of this without you!
