Ribble Rivers Trust completes £46,000 restoration and wild salmon work on River Hodder near Slaidburn

Practical work to restore salmon habitat on the River Hodder near Slaidburn has been completed with the help of a conservation award which raised more than £46,000 for two community-led projects.

Ribble Rivers Trust was one of the inaugural winners of The Orri Award, launched by the North Atlantic Salmon Fund UK (NASF UK) last year to support projects working to restore wild Atlantic salmon and their rivers.

The Trust used funding from the award to carry out a series of improvements on the River Hodder, including the installation of large tree trunks to act as flow deflectors and create nursery habitat for young salmon.

Berms and riffles have also been created, while gravel has been introduced to improve the riverbed and provide better conditions for salmon returning to the river to spawn.

On Saturday, NASF UK chairman Robert Sloss visited the River Hodder near Slaidburn to see the completed work alongside Ribble Rivers Trust chief executive Jack Spees.

The visit also included a meeting with community scientists taking part in a water quality monitoring event.

The second workshop supported through The Orri funding is helping local people learn how to monitor water quality and establish baseline data which can be used to track changes in the river following the restoration work.

Mr Spees said the award had helped the Trust turn funding into practical work on the river while also building longer-term community involvement.

He said: “£20,000 may not seem like much in the face of all that is needed, but it’s amazing what you can turn that into on the ground.”

The project has also involved schools and anglers, who will continue to play a role in water quality monitoring and monitoring salmon spawning sites, known as redds, over the coming years.

Mr Spees added: “We are delighted to have been awarded The Orri, and our engagement work with schools and anglers, who will be involved in water quality and redd monitoring, will continue over the next few years.”

The Orri Award was created in honour of Icelandic conservationist Orri Vigfússon, founder of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund, and is designed to support locally led projects alongside larger conservation programmes.

NASF UK chairman Mr Sloss said: “Orri was an inspirational figure who inspired me to take the baton of salmon conservation. He was about direct action, physical intervention, and The Orri Award encapsulates his approach.”

Ribble Rivers Trust was one of two inaugural winners, alongside the River Cree Hatchery & Habitat Trust in Dumfries and Galloway.

Together, the projects raised £46,216 through crowdfunding, supported by more than 360 individual donors.

The Ribble catchment covers the area drained by the River Ribble and its major tributaries, including the Hodder, Calder, Darwen and Douglas.

It stretches from the rural hills around the source of the Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales through the Ribble Valley and into the more urban areas of Lancashire.

Applications are now open for the 2026/27 Orri Award, with projects able to receive up to £10,000 in matched funding as well as support with crowdfunding, communications, film, media and public engagement.

Applications close at 5pm on Monday, October 19th.