3 Goodgymmers joined other volunteers from Don Catchment Rivers trust to clean up a particularly grotty spot of the River Don.

We started with a safety brief and getting kitted out with wellies, high vis, life jackets, gloves and litter pickers. We then spent 3 hours picking litter and cutting back vegetation (with a well catered tea break in the middle)

Waterways clear once more for all the wildlife including fish, birdlife and otters! 🦆 🐟 🦦

The nights are most definitely drawing in with the need for head torches now ever present!

This was the last fish pass survey of the year, with the clocks changing soon, making it difficult to see the passes and if they are obstructed by anything.

We got to 3 passes last night and also had a further afield contribution from @James Smith who sent us some photos in the daylight from Meadowhall a bit further down the river. Thanks James!

Get your head torches charged up for the next one folks and we'll see you there!

Happy running! :)

Tonight we ran up and down the River Don to inspect the fish passes on the weirs for the DCRT. We managed to visit 3 fish passes at three sites: Lady's Bridge Weir, Walk Mill Weir, and Burton Weir. Happily, all of the passes were clear and freely flowing. At Burton Weir we saw a great many birds wading and fishing in the overflowing water. There were guls with their chicks (which are now hard to tell apart from the adults), ducks, and even a heron! Following this avian observation session we headed back to the Showroom to stretch off.

Tonight we were tasked with inspecting the various types of fish passes on the weirs of the River Don for the Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT). This is to make sure that fish are free to complete their migrations upstream unencumbered. The main species to make use of these are salmon, trout, and grayling, along with dace, chub, and barbel. The passes also help eels and other fish species navigate weirs that were previously impassable. The data and photographs we record are used by the DCRT to assess which passes need maintenance. Thankfully, on this occasion all of the passes we inspected were fully functioning with no obvious damage.

A fin-tastic time was had by all

We managed to survey three weirs- Lady's Bridge, Walk Mill, and Burton Weir- before running into a blocked section of path, which I thought, wrongly, that we would be able to negotiate. We did discover that this section was blooming with blackberries and rosehips, if any foragers are looking for a tip-off. The fenced-off section is absolutely thriving with no foot traffic passing through.

The following is the gathered inspection data for each of the passes. Lady's Bridge: Clear at top. Clear at bottom. Flowing freely. No damage visible or debris present. Walk Mill: Clear at top. Clear at bottom. Flowing freely. No damage visible or debris present. Burton Weir: Clear at top. Clear at bottom. Flowing freely. No damage visible or debris present.

On a hot, muggy evening it was goodgym time again and this week we were surveying the cities fish pases to check that they are free from debris.

Keeping the fish pases free from debris is essential to allow for the fish to navigate the rivers to get to their prefered place to lay their eggs.

The passes we saw were all in good health with free flowing water and now even have QR stickers so that anyone passing the fish passes on the weirs can report of there are any obstructions.

Why not give it a go next time you are passing?

Swimming up a post industrial river is no mean feat when you are a salmon, trout or grayling. All these weirs get in your way of making it to the spawning grounds in the nice gravelly upstreams; and thats no exception on our local Don river and its tributaries.

Thankfully, fish passes have been built on the weirs.

Where there's a weir, there's a way!

But these must be checked regularly for obstructions; Leaping to the task were a (s)t(r)out team of GoodGymers: Rachel, Michelle, Cat, Celine, as well as Helen whose first GoodGym deed it was! Welcome Helen!

We were joined by Matt from Charity DCRT who shared his knowledge of all things weirs, fish passes and local wildlife with us, including the sand martins and the nest box in Kelham island - I'd never noticed that before!

Observing wildlife never fails to lift my spirits - it's always amazing to notice it on your doorstep, even in our urban environments. Giving wildlife a little care is even better! Join us on our next weir watch!

Thank you for all the fish (passes)...