We wish to appoint a consultant to scope the opportunity for riparian tree planting within the Northern District Salmon Fishery Board area. Data shows that water temperatures are rising in rivers in the NDFSB region, threatening their delicate ecosystems. Riparian tree planting may help to address this issue, as well as offering other benefits.

The main roles for this 2-year contract will include:

- Scoping opportunities for riparian planting within the NDSFB

- Mapping suitable areas and preparing a budget for planting and maintenance

- Identifying funding streams

- Working with other organisations to deliver maximum benefit

The project will help to ensure that the salmon rivers of the Far North are better protected from the threat of rising water temperatures associated with climate change. The Northern DSFB covers some 1,000km2, much of which is located within the environmentally important Flow Country which is currently bidding for World Heritage Site status.

The Upland Summer Mayfly is in trouble. It lives in rivers and streams in upland areas where it thrives in the cold water conditions found there. But climate change is making these streams warmer. Freshwater invertebrates like the Upland Summer Mayfly are the most threatened by these changes. They are being pushed further and further up in to the hills, in to increasingly smaller, isolated areas. The Upland Summer Mayfly (Ameletus inopinatus) has already disappeared from lower altitudes in some areas - if we don't act now we could lose it completely.

There is hope though. We can build resilience in upland catchments by keeping upland watercourses cool. By establishing trees along the banks of these rivers we can help stop the Upland Summer Mayfly being lost from south and central Scotland.

We will work with land managers at multiple locations across Scotland to identify high risk watercourses and key areas for tree planting. We'll survey streams to give a baseline of the invertebrate fauna present. We'll train volunteers to monitor the invertebrate life in these streams and work with land managers to design planting schemes.