Developing environmental skills and restoring Valley Brook through the Mersey Rivers Trust and Bentley
Earlier this year, thanks to funding from the Bentley Environmental Foundation, Sophie and Amara kickstarted their careers in the environmental sector joining the team at Mersey Rivers Trust. Learn about their experience so far.
20/09/24
The Rivers Trust, in partnership with Mersey Rivers Trust, are working with The Bentley Environmental Foundation to help regenerate the local community around Valley Brook, situated close to Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe. Initiatives to safeguard and improve the river include engaging local communities in habitat creation and conservation work and helping to build the environmental skills required to deliver lasting improvements through mentoring and traineeships.
Earlier this year, thanks to funding from the Bentley Environmental Foundation, Sophie and Amara kickstarted their careers in the environmental sector joining the team at Mersey Rivers Trust. Their new roles are supporting a wide range of activity to help deliver river restoration projects including work with local communities on the Valley Brook project.

Sophie joined the team in May as a Water Quality Trainee. Her journey towards river restoration and working with nature was not straightforward. After a degree in applied arts, she went back to college to study land and wildlife management before taking on this traineeship. She is now regularly testing water quality along the Valley Brook and Englesea Brook to establish if there is any significant pollution happening along these sites. Her findings will provide a baseline for assessment of water quality from which we can measure improvement on the Valley Brook project.
“I’m learning about monitoring river health and getting firsthand experience of water vole surveys, Riverfly kick sampling, collecting e-DNA samples, different river restoration techniques such as willow spiling, and how to identify and manage Invasive Non-Native Species”, says Sophie.
When asked what she’s most enjoying about her traineeship, Sophie replies:
“I get to go all over the catchment meeting people and learning more about how to implement river restoration and some of the practical skills. I’m also learning about the communities and different people who need to be involved”


For her fellow trainee Amara whose role focuses on Farm Advice it’s “the hands-on experience and engaging with the community through events like litter picks and volunteering days that have been most rewarding”.
Having the space and paid opportunities to learn from colleagues who have been working in the field for years and all the various aspects of what having a job in the environmental sector is invaluable for young people taking their first steps into the sector.
Amara adds: “this traineeship has been instrumental in providing me with valuable work experience in the environmental sector. The variety of tasks and projects has allowed me to build a diverse skill set and a network of contacts within the industry, significantly enhancing my employability in this field.”
The team at Mersey Rivers Trust are also benefiting from having both trainees onboard and being able to pass on their knowledge to the next generation. Successful river recovery and building resilient landscapes depends on having the capacity, capability and environmental skills required to deliver long-term environmental improvements. For Sophie and Amara, their future seems set on continuing to grow their skills to improve and protect rivers and the natural environment.
“Once my traineeship ends, I hope to continue working in the environmental sector, ideally in a role that involves both fieldwork and community engagement”, says Amara.
Sophie adds: “I hope to continue with a career in the environmental sector, wherever it may take me, and use what I learn to help my family’s farmland support more wildlife whilst still providing food.”
For now, thanks to match funding they will both be staying a little while longer with the team at Mersey Rivers Trust to improve river health as both their traineeships have been extended into 2025.
