Giles Rickard
The DRY project is working with the Rivers Trust in several of our catchments as a key stakeholder on river management. Giles Rickard is a Land and Fisheries Officer with the Westcountry Rivers Trust and has been involved in the project since we started our work in the River Fowey catchment. He is part of our Local Advisory Group there. We have a DRY Local Advisory Group (DRY-LAG) in each of our catchments, meeting every six months to feedback on local level activities, share local knowledge and advise on how best to develop the project at the community level.
Liz Roberts (project team) met with Giles on a stretch of the River Fowey in August 2015 to discuss his role within the Trust and the implications of drought and heatwaves on his work and on river ecosystems. The video below reflects that conversation and tells a story of a tree-lined river, vulnerable coastal streams, and feeling the early effects of changes in climate in the South West, such as increased summer water temperatures and fungal disease associated with low flows. The Fowey catchment is unique because of strategic reservoirs that compensate low flows in the summer.