For wellbeing and wildlife
We aim to promote and support the protection and improvement of the natural environment of the River Wye and its tributaries for the benefit of the public and wildlife.
Friends of the Wye is the supporters’ group for the Revive the Wye Partnership. It was formed in 2016 to encourage people within the River Wye catchment to be fully engaged in helping look after their local river; to protect and improve its natural environment and to make it a special place that local people and visitors can enjoy and in which wildlife can flourish.
Members will enjoy opportunities to:
- learn about their local river
- explore its heritage
- care for the environment
- attend occasional walks and talks
- receive updates and notifications
- join practical conservation work parties
- monitor the river and its wildlife
You can show your support by making a donation or, as a volunteer, by assisting at conservation work parties & events, providing expertise on the river or local wildlife, and helping withwildlife monitoring and recording.
Thanks to Foundation for Water Research for their generous donation.
Meet – Learn – Volunteer – Support
Why are chalk streams special?
Chalk streams are globally rare. There are only about 200 in the world and almost 80% of them are found in England. They are fed from groundwater aquifers that store rainwater which has soaked through the chalk. As it passes through this filtering process, the water becomes alkaline and rich in nutrients. It eventually emerges through springs at a constant temperature, year round.
The channel bed of chalk streams typically consists of gravels derived from the natural flint deposits found embedded within the chalk geology, and contain relatively low amounts of clay and silt deposits. The unique characteristics of chalk stream ecology are due to the stable temperature and flow regimes combined with highly transparent water and the lack of sandy sediments. This fosters an abundance of insects (including scarce species of invertebrates and a range of mayfly and damselfly species) which in turn provide food for a variety of fish, including brown trout, and small mammals such as water voles and water shrews.
About the Wye
The River Wye is one such chalk stream which rises in the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire and flows for around 9 miles through High Wycombe on its way to Bourne End where it joins the River Thames above Cookham Lock..
Despite the legacy of the harmful impacts of historic industrialisation, incompatible development pressures, water abstraction and some farming practices, the quality and attractiveness of the River Wye has been improved gradually over the last two decades. However, the water quality of the River Wye is still rated as falling below the ‘Good Ecological Status’ standard by the Environment Agency. The river, and its smaller watercourses, remain vulnerable to ill-advised human intervention and unforeseeable natural events. If continued improvement is to be maintained, the river network will require constant attention and care to ensure that all the factors influencing its special chalk stream environmental quality are wisely managed.
Revive the Wye and Friends of the Wye
Revive the Wye was formed in 2007 as a partnership of three local environmental charities – the Chiltern Society, the High Wycombe Society and Wycombe Wildlife Group. The Partners formed a Steering Group to take actions on behalf of these, and other organisations that had expressed a desire to implement the findings of a WDC-led study of the Wye Chalk Stream.
The number of Partnership organisations has grown and the enlarged Steering Group now concentrates on strategic issues. It comprises Buckinghamshire Council, Chilterns Chalk Streams Project, Chiltern Rangers, Chiltern Society, Environment Agency, Friends of the Wye, High Wycombe Society, and Wycombe Wildlife Group.
Friends of the Wye is the newest Partner, set up to take practical actions which support the aims of the Revive the Wye Partnership.
As a separate entity, Friends of the Wye has arranged small charity status, a bank account, and third party liability insurance.
It is responsible for the support tasks such as managing the Friends of the Wye Conservation Volunteers and arranging a task programme, tool purchases and maintenance, website and other publicity tasks.
The separation of responsibilities between the Revive the Wye Partnership and Friends of the Wye brings benefits to both organisations.
Support us
You can show your support by making a donation or assisting with our conservation work as a volunteer.
If you value your local river please let us know and, as Friend of the Wye, we’ll keep you updated.
Support us with a donation
Your donation will help us with costs such as insurance, tools and equipment, waders and boots, volunteers’ refreshments, promotion and publicity, stationery and printing, and venue and speaker costs.
You can make a one-off donation by bank transfer:
Account name: Friends of the Wye
Bank: NatWest
Branch: Henley on Thames
Sort code: 60-10-35
Account number: 13264397
Reference: Please enter your name
Or a regular donation:
If you would like to support Friends of the Wye with a regular donation please set up a bank standing order using the details above. Our suggested amount for an annual donation is £10.
In any case please contact us to inform us of your donation so that we can acknowledge receipt with our thanks
Support us by volunteering
Personal volunteering is managed by Friends of the Wye and our enthusiastic volunteers take on various roles to help ‘make it happen‘.
Volunteer roles include practical conservation, monitoring the river’s condition, publicity & promotion, and the all-important jobs ‘behind the scenes’.
If you’d like to join like-minded volunteers in making a difference go to the Volunteering page where you’ll see details of these and all other opportunities.
Next: Volunteering