Our latest newsletter is out! Featuring some key developments on the River Wye, our meeting with MPs, art by Jim Murray, a Clean Water Bill for Wales and more! mailchi.mp/4dfa77402993...

We are delighted that the first steps to the Rights of The River Wye Charter took place this week - our sincere congratulations to Hereford Council for this bold and visionary step. The Charter was presented in a Notice of Motion by Cllr Elissa Swinglehurst and agreed by a majority of full council.🧵

"£500m over 20 years is sod all," said @jakefiennes.bsky.social, responding to this week's announcement of govt funding for Landscape Recovery As Jake rightly points out, this is a fraction of the overall farming budget & not what was originally promised www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Actor, artist and activist Jim Murray is selling some extraordinary paintings which he made in collaboration with the River Wye - and he's kindly offering to donate a share of those profits to Friends of the River Wye! Read all about it… friendsoftheriverwye.org.uk/news/jim-mur...

Wait… what?! 😡 This is corporate greenwash on steroids - and our rivers are paying the price. 💩 Real green finance should = real environmental benefits. ❌Not glossy labels. ❌Not excuses. ❌And definitely NOT a mask for ongoing pollution. READ MORE: www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Extremely useful meeting this morning with cross-party River Wye MPs and campaigners to discuss next steps to tackle pollution. There is so much more that needs to be done, especially considering the disappointing Diffuse Water Pollution Plan published last week. Determined to keep up work on this!

We had a brilliant and productive meeting in Hereford this morning with three of our MPs representing the River Wye catchment. Huge thanks to @catherinefookesmp.bsky.social @elliechowns.bsky.social & David Chadwick. Lots of action to come to tackle flooding & river pollution.

Exclusive: Farmers and landowners fear Defra is putting its flagship Landscape Recovery schemes at risk. While the large-scale projects are intended to last 20-30 years, the government could pull the plug at any time with a year’s notice. cutcher.co.uk/linklog/2025...

🆘 PETITION CALL: SAVE THE RIVER CHERWELL @friendsofthethames.bsky.social have launched a petition calling on the government to take urgent action to contain & remove this hazardous waste before irreparable damage is done. ✍️ Sign the petition & demand action TODAY: www.change.org/p/action-aga...

Brilliant to spend the day at the Rivers conference in Herefordshire discussing innovative technology and projects combatting pollution, soil loss and more! Always fantastic to hear about the great work already being done to restore our rivers and discuss what more we need to do!

Severe flooding like we've seen across Monmouthshire will only become more frequent as climate breakdown progresses - building resilience could not be more important. By investing in #RiverFriendlyFarming, govt can help farmers manage floodwater and prevent disastrous outcomes.

🚨 SHOCKING 🚨 A HUGE illegal waste dump has appeared between the A34 and River Cherwell, linked to organised crime. Every rainfall risks toxins washing into the river. We’re calling on the Environment Agency & Cherwell Council to act NOW. Our rivers cannot wait. 👇👇

Our latest newsletter is out & launches our RUN-OFF REPORTER. We need soil on land, not in our rivers. If you spot spoil running off fields and into watercourses or onto roads, please report it. Healthy soil is also our best defence against flooding! mailchi.mp/44dbe537d6be...

New report with @WWFCymru.bsky.social exposes the hidden link between Welsh food, Brazilian deforestation and river pollution in Wales 🌍 Read Food, Forests and Injustice: 👉 sizeofwales.org.uk/news/new-rep... #SizeOfWales #WWFCymru #ClimateAction #COP30 #CymruatCOP30

Wales' Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker has called for a "deforestation-free public sector" by 2028. www.bbc.com/news/article...

It’s been one year since 15,000 of us met to March for Clean Water! 🚶🌊 But one year on, what’s changed? Has the government listened? Are our rivers and seas rebounding from decades of neglect and abuse? 🤔 Our Head of Campaigns reflects on what's happened and where we go next. Read the blog below 👇

Sources for the drinking water of 6 million people in England so contaminated with PFAS forever chemicals, the Drinking Water Inspectorate has ordered water companies to act. Our story featured on @BBCr4today this morning + here on BBC Online: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A great article in The Times this morning, putting the spotlight on the recently banned Red Tractor ad & proving that even “trusted” food labels aren’t immune to greenwash. TAKE ACTION: Contact your supermarket TODAY & tell them to to call out Red Tractor: 👉 bit.ly/4nPC3Ko #UpYourStandards

“Rights for nature are a crucial step towards rethinking our place in the world.” Protecting nature’s rights means protecting ourselves. #RightsForNature #ClimateAction

In a statement in the Senedd today, Wales’s Deputy First Minister admitted that much-needed reforms to the regulation of the water industry may take several years to implement. While it is important to get it right, this is time Welsh rivers can ill afford. More here: bit.ly/4ovRGGW

📢 Supermarkets - up your standards! ⚠️Big-name supermarkets use the Red Tractor logo to reassure shoppers of environmental protection — but rivers are still being polluted. ✉️TAKE ACTION - Tell your supermarket to call out Red Tractor, today! 👉 bit.ly/42G6YQV

Red Tractor's #greenwash has been exposed. Will supermarkets face reality - or cling to a broken system until public trust collapses? - @charleswatson.bsky.social READ MORE 👉 riveractionuk.com/news/its-tim... TAKE ACTION - email your supermarket, today! 👉 bit.ly/3J5PhDP

Launch of the new short film ‘Remember to Remember’, giving a glimpse above and below the surface of the ritual activism work with the River, the Goddess and the Lady of the Wye. Bringing the power of sacred connection to the fight for a River’s survival. Watch here: youtu.be/-aNaWD5GpJ4

Huge news! Red Tractor = false advertising. I broke this original story in The Times over 2 years ago…. And River Action took it to the Advertising Standards Authority

Red Tractor greenwashing claims banned by Advertising standards authority. Your regular reminder that Red Tractor is wholly owned by Farming Unions and the big food retailers. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🚨 NEWS! Red Tractor ad banned for misleading environmental claims 🚨 A TV ad by the UK’s biggest farm assurance scheme has been banned after the @adstandards.bsky.social found “insufficient evidence” that Red Tractor farms met basic environmental standards. READ MORE: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨 The @adstandards.bsky.social rules Red Tractor misled customers on environmental standards. 🌍 🚫 📢 River Action urges supermarkets to stop relying on Red Tractor’s environmental certification and demand REAL action for our rivers. READ MORE 👉 riveractionuk.com/news/asa-rul...

Emerging young filmmaker Mykyta Osadchyi has made a compelling 25 minute documentary about the River Wye. It gives an excellent overview of the issues and our campaign to save the Wye. Here’s a trailer, but you can watch the full film on YouTube here: youtu.be/i45B-NfPr-4?...

We spoke to Nathan Jubb, a fly fishing guide who's fished the Wye for 45 years. He describes the change he's seen in the river + the impact on fish: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

Campaigners + local businesses claim phosphates + nitrates from the collective poo of as many as 23million chickens packed into the Wye catchment from a growing number of intensive chicken farms are driving algal blooms, harming fish + wildlife. 🧵 1/ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The biggest environmental pollution legal action brought in the UK will be filed in the High Court on Wednesday over alleged degradation of the River Wye. Story 👇 www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Thousands take legal action over ‘widespread pollution’ of Rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk - alleging that Welsh Water & two corporate chicken producers are responsible: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

“This is the largest legal action concerning environmental pollution ever brought in the UK. In a context where government and regulators have failed to prevent degradation of our rivers the court has become last avenue for justice” @ollyholland.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

THIS IS SHOCKING! 😳 See those white and blue pieces? That’s plastic.... In sewage sludge that is being spread on our farmland and often ending up in our rivers. 💩😱 🛑 THIS NEEDS TO STOP 🛑 Add your name to the petition - act.gp/4nHfsAc 📸 Credit: Fighting Dirty #SewageSludge #ToxicSludge

#WorldRiversDay - protect the life beneath www.cardiff.ac.uk/llyn-brianne...

🚨 BREAKING NEWS! Shocking new evidence suggests Environment Agency failed to attend many serious pollution incidents, relying on water companies’ word instead. Internal EA rules say staff should attend all serious incidents, yet in 2024 they missed nearly a third of them. 🫣 🔗 - bit.ly/4nnmqtC

Delighted to be interviewing the actor and activist James Murray about the state of our rivers. Join us on Saturday 29 November at 2.30pm in Hay Castle!

Excellent video here: A story of one British river - The River Wye youtu.be/i45B-NfPr-4?...

Revealed: Sewage overflows twice as bad inside national parks Exclusive: @campaign4parks.bsky.social attack ‘outrageous’ situation, saying waters in protected areas should be cleanest Story by me www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Huge thank you to @savethewye.bsky.social, Friends of the Wye and @peoplevsprofiteers.bsky.social for their vital work in the Nandos campaign. 🐔💩 From creating unique content to community testing and amplifying the voices of communities along the Wye. Thank you for holding polluters to account. 💙

🏆 We did it! Our Nandos campaign won the ‘Best Use of Social Media’ at the Third Sector Awards 2025. This award belongs to everyone who made the campaign such a success, from those who signed our open letter to everyone who helped spread the message loud and clear: "stop killing our rivers." 🐓💩

Our citizen scientist testing at Eaton Bishop on the Cage Brook yesterday found and reported his highest phosphate readings in 4 years - 2.27. The EA has been alerted and we look forward to hearing what they find. We’re looking for more volunteers to test between Clehonger and Eaton Bishop!

Liquid oozing from landfill + industrial waste + sewage - treated for pathogens then split, the solid part spread on farmland, the liquid part released into rivers - what could go wrong? Our latest article out now: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

We were delighted to present the Rivers & Seas Award to @elliechowns.bsky.social tonight. 🎉 She has been an inspiring advocate for change through her efforts to protect the River Wye from factory farming pollution and co-chairing the Water Pollution APPG. Thank you, Ellie, for all your hard work 🙌

Spike in phosphate level to 0.97 at our FOUW site 029 on Eign/Yazor brook. Brook has taken a beating - 2.5 weeks of no water flow. We are in Hereford city & usually notimmediately affected by agricultural run off from rain which pushes up levels. @savethewye.bsky.social @herefordshirewt.bsky.social

Our weekly test for E. coli at the Warren in Hay yesterday was an appalling 2644 - nearly 3 times over the threshold for “poor” quality, so advise against bathing. Thanks to @riveractionuk.bsky.social for the kit! You can see all our test results here: friendsoftheriverwye.org.uk/hay-clean-ri...

The #Wyescapes project in my constituency is a testament to the dedication of farmers battling agricultural pollution and protecting our farmlands—but they can’t do it alone. Farmers need much more govt support to scale up these vital measures and invest in #RiverFriendlyFarming.

Lots of activities for children and adults alike - discover some of the creatures that lurk beneath the surface of the river Wye and see coracles in action. @riverflies.bsky.social @riveractionuk.bsky.social @yourherefordshire.co.uk @hfdsgreennetwork.bsky.social

The biggest lake in the UK is being steadily poisoned The rescue plan demanded by residents & fishermen, whose lives are being blighted, is being blocked by a powerful farming lobby www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This report highlights once again the disastrous impact of unchecked intensive chicken farming on the Wye. With 80 chickens for every person in the catchment, the Wye is at the sharp end of this appalling story of pollution for profit. www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/huge-im...