In a Radio 4 programme aired in April as part of the Nature series, Brett Westwood explored the growing use of coarse woody debris (CWD) in managing rivers.  

 ''According to Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, fish live in trees too'', says the BBC Radio 4. ''The Trust's biologists are using wood as a remarkably effective tool to change the depth and flow of streams and improve them for wildlife. They don't just stop at streams either: at the confluence of the Tame and Trent rivers, they've submerged entire willow trees in gravel islands in a project to widen the river channel.

A two day conference was hosted by the River Restoration Centre and held at Nottingham University in April. The event presented some of the most cutting edge and innovative ways of achieving river restoration to a 200 strong audience of international environmental experts.

Between 9 and 11 May 2012, the International Workshop 'Sharing River Restoration Knowledge and Experience in Europe' will be held in Iasi, Romania, organized by the Romanian Institute of Hydrology and Water Management with the support of DLG Goverment Service for Land and Water Management, The Netherlands.

The 1st international Conférence on "Integrative Sciences and sustainable development of rivers" will be organized in Lyon, FRANCE, from the 26th till the 26th of june

 

Finnish Environment Institute has published a new guide "Restoring urban brooks". Targetted at planners and decision makers in the field of land use planning, environmental assessment, green areas and construction the guide offers a versatile information package on the restoration of small water bodies in densely populated areas.

http://www.ymparisto.fi/download.asp?contentid=134697&lan=fi

(in Finnish with English and Swedish abstracts)