Applied River Restoration

Course overview

Understanding how rivers function to deciding which restoration method will improve natural processes is the basis of successful restoration projects. This interactive, one-day live online course takes delegates through the full restoration process, from characterising a catchment and identifying problems to weighing up options and critically reviewing a real, delivered scheme.

This course is the first in a series of courses taking completed restoration schemes and understanding every stage, including what we would do differently now, in an effort to create intelligent clients. The case study focuses on groundwater-dominated limestone streams, and is built around a real case study: the restoration of the Dunston Beck. Delegates will consider the site using multiple data sources, before and after delivery of the work. They will also examine geomorphic change after flood events and the results of hydraulic modelling, and then decide how effective the restoration has been.

The course is delivered via a mixture of sessions, combining short knowledge checks, lectures, practical exercises and group debriefs to create a highly interactive experience. Delegates will work through the same decisions a consultant faces when advising a client: which restoration options suit the river type, how to handle constraints, how the river is likely to respond, and how to turn a concept into a deliverable plan.

The course is delivered live by specialists, Matt Parr and Luca Mao from Natural Riverscapes Ltd and the River Restoration Centre.

Who should attend?

The course is designed for early-career consultants, project officers and practitioners who design, assess or manage river restoration projects. It will suit delegates from consultancies, contractors, rivers and wildlife trusts, catchment partnerships, local authorities and statutory agencies, as well as researchers who want to apply their knowledge in practice and anyone who wishes to improve their standing as ‘intelligent clients’.

"Definition of an intelligent client is an organisation, or a person within it, that has enough in-house knowledge to commission and manage specialist work effectively, even if it doesn't do the work itself.

An intelligent client can:

• Define the need: understand the problem well enough to write a clear brief
• Procure well: choose suitable consultants or contractors and judge if proposals are realistic.
• Challenge and question: ask the right questions and spot when advice is weak, over-engineered or missing something.
• Assess what's delivered: judge whether the finished work meets the brief 
• Own the decisions: keep responsibility for the outcome

Prerequisites

Delegates should be familiar with core catchment and reach hydromorphological processes, such as discharge, stream power, connectivity and sediment transport. We recommend completing Hydromorphology for River Restoration (Level 1 and 2) or having equivalent experience before taking this course.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, delegates will be able to:

1. Evaluate how suitable different restoration options are for groundwater-dominated limestone streams
2. Evaluate approaches to the physical, environmental and socio-economic constraints commonly found in UK rivers
3. Identify and anticipate the morphological and habitat responses likely to follow restoration measures, over the short and long term and from local to catchment scale.
4. Critically review river restoration plans against recognised project development stages.
5. Produce a first-draft river restoration plan using real-life data, referenced to the course case study.

Course programme

Session 1: Understanding the site and the problem
This session characterises the study catchment and reach as an example of a groundwater-dominated system, covering geology, hydrology, groundwater, ecology and sediments. It links river types and processes to restoration approaches and explores common constraints, from landowner intentions and infrastructure to contaminated sediments and funding. In a practical Google Earth exercise, delegates will investigate how the river has changed, identify what needs improving, and rank and justify possible solutions.

Session 2: From forms to processes, and the Dunston Beck case study
This session covers sediment dynamics and budgets, and the connectivity of water, sediment and large wood. It also looks at how rivers evolve over time and how that affects fluvial forms and habitats. Delegates will then follow the Dunston Beck project through its development stages and see the restoration plan that was delivered. Using photographs from before and after the work, geomorphic change after floods, and hydraulic modelling scenarios, delegates will predict how the river is likely to change and judge how effective the intervention has been.

Session 3: Building a restoration plan
This session covers how to take a project from first concept to final solution, including optioneering, consenting and approvals, contracts, delivery, monitoring and review, along with best practice for assessing projects. Delegates will review where the Dunstan Beck restoration could be improved. They will then work from a catchment synopsis to develop and justify their own preferred option, and swap feedback with their peers.

Booking

To book a place, please complete the course booking form. Discounted places are available for Trusts and volunteers from small organisations/charities. To apply, please complete the discount request form as well as the booking form.

Please read our Cancellation Policy before booking.

Zoom Session for 1 day intensive course: 9:30am - 4:30pm

Software requirements:

You will need:

• A computer (mobile devices are not recommended)
• Google Earth
• An internet connection capable of streaming video

Delegates using work computers may find access to some websites is restricted. You are advised to test access in advance or contact your IT support staff.