Trust Update

COVID-19 Mersey Rivers Trust Update

The Covid 19 outbreak and the important measures introduced by the Government are hitting hard across a range of UK businesses and firms. The Mersey Rivers Trust (MRT) has worked hard to deliver our projects and initiatives and for the last 10 days all staff have been working from home.

We are committed to continuing our excellent progress and improvements to the rivers in the Mersey Catchment, however following a review of our activities and workload we have reluctantly decided to “Furlough” a number of MRT staff under the terms of the Government’s “Job Retention Scheme”. The Trust will maintain a small team of staff to carry out desk based engagement with our partners and funders in addition to managing the Trust.

The above measures will help to

  • Protect the health and wellbeing of our staff and the public by not travelling and working outdoors
  • Ensure a strong future for the Trust by retaining all of our staff and allowing us to continue our important work as soon as possible
  • Provide the best service to our partners, funders and volunteers during this difficult time.

If you need to contact the Trust please do so via our info@merseyrivers.org email address and not via your normal MRT contact.

We suspended all of our volunteer activities several weeks ago to protect the health and wellbeing of volunteers. We will keep in touch with our volunteers and arrange new events as soon as this becomes possible.

We will continue our online communications and continue with online hosting of the Lower Mersey, Upper Mersey and Alt Crossens CaBa partnerships, plus online engagement with the River Bollin BEACON group. We will continue to engage with our partners online as far as possible.

Your help and understanding would be appreciated under these exceptional circumstances which we hope will end as soon as possible.

News

Alt Weir Removal Planning
Plans are currently being explored for removal of the only major weir on the River Alt which is a barrier to fish migration
Mersey Valley Way: first National River Walk
The Mersey Valley Way along the River Mersey in Greater Manchester is the first designated national river walk in England.
Coppicing and dead hedging at Newgate Nature Reserve, Wilmslow
Tuesday 3 March. We're joining the Bollin Valley Partnership to undertake coppicing and dead hedging work at Newgate Nature Reserve, Wilmslow.
Battling the Birch at Lindow Common, Wilmslow
Wednesday 25 February. We're joining the Bollin Valley Partnership to help conserve the special habitat within Lindow Common in Wilmslow by removing self-seeded Birch.
Urban Riverfly Monitoring Upskill
Wednesday 18 February. Join us for a 1 hour online training webinar that builds skills in riverfly (invertebrate) monitoring, identification, data collection, and urban water quality.
River Mersey Guided Walk & Litter Pick on the Mersey Valley Way, Stockport
Friday 6 February 2026
Farm Demonstration Day - Rostherne, Cheshire
Tuesday 3 February. An event for farmers and landowners. Join us for a Farm Demonstration Day at Rostherne Mere, Cheshire to discover cost-effective ways to boost land productivity and filter water with ponds & reed beds!
Alt Crossens Newsletter
A look back at the projects and achievements in 2025 in the Alt Crossens catchment and what is happening in 2026
Outfall Safari Training for Citizen Scientists
Thursday 28 January. Join us for an online training session for the public to learn about outfall safari citizen science river surveys
River Mersey Guided Walk & Litter Pick: Mersey Valley Way, Stockport
Friday 23 January 2026
Mersey Valley Way
Mersey Rivers Trust is delighted that the River Mersey in Greater Manchester has been selected for the first national river walk
Litter Raft in Manchester
Adventure filmmaker Raphael Holt raising awareness of the litter & flytipping issues facing Manchester’s waterways
Manchester College Water Quality STEM Session
Soil and Water Health Day
Thursday 30th October
We are hiring ! Finance & Governance Manager
🌿 Join Mersey Rivers Trust and Help Make a Real Impact for Rivers, Wildlife and Communities! 🌿 
Vision for Sustainable Water Management in Liverpool City Region
Ambitious new vision to clean up rivers, prevent flooding and maintain water supplies
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