In early December, The Rivers Trust All-Ireland team gathered in Dublin for a year-end meeting to reflect on 2025 and plan for 2026. I was asked to prepare a short overview of what we had delivered in 2025—no more than 15 minutes. This was arguably one of the hardest tasks I faced all year! Here are just a few highlights, what a year it has been!

The Rivers Trust movement grew to 21 trusts on the island of Ireland, with the establishment of two new trusts in 2025: the Nanny-Delvin Rivers Trust in the east and East Cork Rivers Trust in the south. This growth is expected to continue into 2026, with new groups already laying the foundations for rivers trusts across the island. We worked closely with the Local Authorities Waters Programme in Ireland and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to support our growing family of rivers trusts.

Some of the new and existing rivers trusts benefited from €115,000 of funding through our Trust Development Fund, aimed at building capacity and sustainability—and, in many cases, employing that crucial first member of staff. This step is vital for project delivery and further fundraising to continue and grow our important work.

In Ireland, our programme of peatland projects, funded through various EU streams, grew from strength to strength, with partnership working and learning stretching from Spain to the Arctic Circle. At home, we secured a pilot peatland restoration site in Donegal and a wet-crop (paludiculture) peatland site in Mayo. Both demonstration sites, along with learnings from across Europe, are informing improvements to Ireland’s Climate Action Plan regarding the protection and restoration of our precious peatlands—amplifying the multiple benefits for water quality and quantity, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation.

In Northern Ireland, we continued to deliver and grow the Sustainable Catchments Programme, a multi-annual, multi-catchment agri-environmental scheme delivered by The Rivers Trust in partnership with Ballinderry Rivers Trust, with funding from the Department for Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs. We offer free, non-regulatory advice to landowners, and whole farm plans have now been produced for almost 500 farms, with just under £3,000,000 worth of work completed on farms in 2025 alone. This model of non-regulatory advice is now being adopted by rivers trusts in both Northern Ireland and Ireland, most recently by Boyne Rivers Trust, working closely with food processors and their supply farms.

We also learned that two cross-border Peace Plus-funded projects—supporting communities and rivers trusts to install nature-based solutions across multiple catchments—had successfully secured funding, and foundation work has commenced.

One of the highlights of the year was seeing our Big River Watch grow even bigger, with participation on the island of Ireland increasing from 200 surveys in spring 2024 to over 400 in spring 2025, and more than 800 records submitted. This huge growth was largely due to the effort and charm of our ambassador, Manchán Magan, who sadly passed away in October. We are indebted to Manchán for his support, kinship, and his immeasurable spiritual connection to Ireland’s land, waterways, and people.

On behalf of The Rivers Trust, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who makes our work possible. From our funders who provide vital resources to the dedicated volunteers and trustees who give generously of their time and expertise—your support is the lifeblood of our mission. Together, we are safeguarding and restoring our rivers for future generations, and none of this would be achievable without your commitment and passion. Thank you for standing with us and for being an essential part of this journey.

Our work is essential to tackling the water, biodiversity, and climate crises. Join us in protecting and restoring rivers for a healthier, more resilient future.