RESTORE attended an international symposium in Vienna in September.  The symposium gathered 300 participants to look at research and new solutions for our rivers. If you look at the proceedings you can see the discussions on large hydro power schemes around the world, like Mekong River.  The sturgeon can not migrate along the Danube and other fish struggle to move around our rivers.  At the event the work and cooperation in Austria between river managers and power companies is helping to solve some of these issues.  Discussion consisted of presentations about the benefits of river restoration, upstream and downstream fish migration, environmental flows, modeling and aquatic ecology.  New fish pass cases, combined with reproduction habitats, were presented in some presentations. Jukka Jormola from RESTORE gave a presentation on natural fish bypass channels and work that is being undertaken in Finland. Technical tours were organized to fish passes and a new side channel under construction on the Danube.

Proceedings: http://www.ise2012.boku.ac.at/

Algae Be Gone (ABG) is a project with partners from Sweden and Denmark. We work in two eutrophic lakes and their catchments, Lake Ringsjön in Sweden and Lake Sjælsø in Denmark. The overall aim of the project is to develop cost efficient methods for restoring eutrophic lakes in the region. These methods are needed in order to meet the ecological and chemical requirements according to the EU Water Framework Directive.

http://www.algaebegone.eu

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.

The final programme is now confirmed for the 'Improving morphology and fish passage in high energy rivers' RESTORE workshop to be held at the Birnam Institute, Dunkeld, Scotland, PH8 0DS. The workshop is 25th September and optional site visit on 26th September (based around Pitlochory and the Rivers Tay and Tummel).

Following the release of  beavers into an enclosure in Cwm Einion near Machynlleth, Powys  2 years ago, the Welsh Beaver Project has published a report outlining a proposal to release beavers back into the river valleys of Wales. In an article by the BBC proponents of the project argue that the beavers will cut flood risk and help boost biodiversity. Project co-ordinator Adrian LLoyd Jones told the BBC that beavers are'gentle and effective managers of wetland and river woodland habitat and that beaver dams would help reduce flash floods by slowing down rivers in spate'