Why our rivers?

The race to climate resilience, protecting our communities from climate breakdown, will be won or lost on rivers – and right now we're losing.

Damage to river systems has been so extensive that an urgent need has emerged, not only to conserve, but to restore these systems.  Our degraded  rivers are less able to cope with the rain we expect in the future, making flooding more likely to impact communities River rand riparian habitat restoration is an important measure to mitigate against these effects. Heavily modified rivers are often less resilient and have lost their ability to hold water in both droughts and floods.

Rivers are the veins of the Earth, transporting the water and nutrients needed to support the planet’s ecosystems, including human life. Unfortunately, they’re still threatened. 

We must commit to recovering freshwater biodiversity, restoring natural river flows and cleaning up polluted water for people and nature to thrive.  

Fish, amphibians, birds, insects, and invertebrates live in rivers, or find their food there. Rivers play a vital role in connecting habitats, and their value to plants and animals extends far beyond the surface area they cover.

Carbon starts its journey downstream when natural acid rain (which contains dissolved carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) dissolves minerals in rocks. This neutralises the acid and transforms carbon dioxide to bicarbonate in the water that then flows in our rivers. Bicarbonate can remain in water for thousands of years.  (BBC)

Why Our River?

The Bothlin burn as it runs through the ancient woodland of the Moodiesburn Glen which sereates the communities of Moodiesburn and Chryston is a significant tribuary to the Luggie water and thereafter the clyde, restoring the river and riparian environment here has the capacity to bring multiple wins in tersm of biodiversity, community wellbeing, climate resilience, active travel, combatting health inequalites, improving community cohesion and restoration of fish populations.  The burn being a positive contribution to the local environment rather than a polluted detrimental hazard is incredibly important to the surrounding communities who have expereinced an overwhelming loss of local greenspace which is essential to combat systemic health inequalities.

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The Lothian Esks which start their headwaters in the Pentland and Moorfoot Hills flowing through Midlothian and after flowing through a number of towns and villages joins together before discharging into the Firth of Forth at Musselburgh.  On the way it tumbles through ravines and communities providing life for wildlife and people who live and work in the area.  A river loved by people but needs a holistic catchment scale initiative to ensure it is resilient in the future and supports both wildlife and communities.

There are areas within the Lothian Esk catchment which are at risk of flooding which could damage houses, businesses and infrastructure.  The catchment is also impacted by the presence of weirs and manmade dams which impact on the natural movement of species particularly fish - salmon , trout, eels and lamprey and also damaging impounded waters and loss of sediment transfer.  This is further exacerbated by the presence of sewage, and mine water pollution and invasive non native species.

Working across all communities the river needs a plan and action which can be taken to boost and support the work to prevent flooding as well as protection of drinking water assets and sewage treatment plants.  Improvements are required to both longitudinal and lateral connectivity which will lead to the recovery of nature supporting both local and visitors alike.  The river and its people can, by working across the whole river catchment and on sustainable nature like solutions, potentially reduce to the costs of flood mitigation measures, reduce sewage spills, provide sustainable solutions to net zero energy production and bring iconic species back to the river supporting tourism.

Measures could include the re-introduction of the beaver to aid river engineering, reconnection of floodplain, planting or riverwoods along the catchment, removal of impediments to fish passage up and down stream as well as ensure the sediment transfer function to provide nutrients and energy to the river system.  This would include bring the communities together to prepare a plan as well as looking innovative types of funding for delivery.  We believe this would also support the measures being put forward for the delivery of flood mitigation measures within the catchment.