The Royal Society of Arts, in conjunction with the Environment Agency, are asking students to design or update a method of tackling water pollution. The aim is to reduce the impact of man-made structures, restore natural features to water environments, and to reduce the impact of water pollution. 

Two awards are available for this brief, including a paid internship at the Environment Agency or an RSA Fellows Award of £1250. 

Submission requirements for the competition can be found on the RSA's website 

Download this brief (PDF)

This video presents the most common means for restoring a brook for vulnerable brown trout.The filmed restoration workshop took place at Longinoja brook in Helsinki, Finland. The workshop was held and the video was made as part of the Life+ funded RESTORE partnership.

Want to know more about river restoration in Europe?

RESTORE has developed a River Wiki to share information on river restoration projects and it is now live. This is an interactive online source of information on river restoration schemes from around Europe.  For example, you can search the database to all the case studies in Finland; case studies that have had monitoring on them or how much it costs to carry out river restoration.

before and after photos of restoration on the River Ravensbourne in London.

Adding your own projects

Please also add your own river restoration scheme to the database.  Please note that you can add projects from

 A review by the Forest Research and ADAS, jointly commissioned by the Forestry Commission and the Environment Agency has shown the important role of woodlands in delivering WFD objectives.

A summary of the report is available on the Environment Agency website (here), and the detailed scientific review is available on the Forest Research website (here).

Less than 50 years ago, the River Wandle in South West London was officially a sewer. Last summer it was declared one of England’s 10 most improved rivers, supporting all sorts of wildlife and even spawning trout. One of the most recent projects, nearing completion, is the restoration of a branch of the river through Wandle Park in Croydon which until recently was buried in a culvert. It won’t be long before the newly excavated channel is reconnected to flow freely through the rejuvenated park, for everyone to enjoy.