The Tees Rivers Trust

24/08/2026

😲 RUSSELL PUTS THE GIANT IN GIANT HOGWEED.. 😲

As our Giant Hogweed management season closes, we had to share this absolute whopper we found at Dinsdale. ⬇⬇
We estimate it around 15ft (measured here in Russells, our new standardisation)

You can see why it impressed the Victorians who brought it over to show off as an showstopping garden ornamental, little did they know the detrimental effect it would have on our riverbanks..



Thank you for making this possible The National Lottery Heritage Fund 💙

21/08/2026

🌱⛈️ Dodging storms and collecting seeds... just another day at the office!
This week our staff and brilliant seagrass volunteers headed to Lindisfarne for our annual seagrass seed collection. With timing that would impress even the most seasoned weather forecaster, the team managed to gather ripe seed pods just before thunder and torrential rain arrived.
The seed pods are now back at our Hartlepool nursery, where they'll be processed and prepared for what we hope will be another successful year of germination and growth.
A huge thank you to our fearless volunteers, who proved that a little threat of a soaking isn't enough to stop a seagrass mission, and to the teams at Natural England, NIFCA and Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve for helping make the collection possible.
Tiny seeds. Big ambitions. Slightly damp conservationists. 💚🌊

19/08/2026

🪺WHO LAID THESE EGGS?🪺

Since our last nest was such a hit with the guesses, what are your thoughts on this one?

Spotted by volunteer, Geoff whilst conducting INNS management in Stapleton. He says it wasn't him!

Any ideas as to which bird they belong to? 🐦🦆🪿🐦‍⬛

Don't worry, we made sure not to disturb the surrounding area.

17/08/2026

💙JOIN THE TEES TEAM💙

Project Officer Role:

📍 North East and North Yorkshire
🕒 40 Hours Per Week, full time.
📅 Closing date: 12:00 Sunday 6th September 2026
Salary: £28,500 - £40,000 Depending on Experience and Skill Set
​​
We're looking for a practical, enthusiastic and experienced Project Officer to join the Tees Rivers Trust team and support the continued growth of our commercial trading arm, Nature Based Solutions Ltd.

Based across the North East and North Yorkshire, you'll work predominantly for Nature Based Solutions Ltd, helping to deliver high-quality environmental contracting projects that restore habitats, improve rivers and create nature-based solutions for a wide range of clients.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing organisation and play an important role in expanding the delivery of practical habitat restoration and environmental improvement. If you have experience in construction, groundworks, forestry, landscaping, agriculture, conservation or countryside management, and enjoy working outdoors, this role offers the opportunity to apply your existing skills while developing new ones in the environmental sector.

Find out more and how to apply here: ⬇️⬇️
🌐https://www.teesriverstrust.org/vacancies

11/08/2026

‼️📣VOLUNTEER SHOUT OUT 📣‼️

Today we wanted to do a post entirely dedicated to our fabulous volunteer, Geoff. 💙

Geoff began volunteering with the Trust last year and got stuck into access clearance activities, prepping sites across the catchment for invasive species management tasks. When the management season came round, Geoff got stuck in and brings heaps of enthusiasm to each session. 💪

Hardworking, full of energy, passionate and funny, Geoff is just the person you want on your team. One of his best qualities is his ability to communicate and make everyone feel welcome. Geoff thrives on sharing his knowledge, chatting away and creating a sense of community throughout our volunteer networks.

Thank you, Geoff. We are so grateful for all the time and positive vibes you bring to the team.
Not all hero's wear capes, some wear Tees Rivers Trust caps. 💚🙌🦸‍♂️🧢





The National Lottery Heritage Fund 💙

07/08/2026

🪏 ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS DIG 🪏

Last week we teamed up with the North Pennines National Landscape to tackle a garden escapee, Alchemilla Mollis (Garden Lady's Mantle) which had found its way into Drygill Syke in Langdon Beck, Upper Teesdale.

The North Pennines National Landscape team and volunteers have done some incredible management work over the past 5 years and we had a thoroughly enjoyable day collaborating with them to tackle the final stretch. We also got to see the efforts of the years previous which made all the hard work feel even more worthwhile. 💪💚

🌼❌






The National Lottery Heritage Fund

06/08/2026

05/08/2026

🐛🦋MAGICAL MOTHS🦋🐛

One of our volunteers, Brian, found this gigantic moth in his garden, spanning 3 inches across! 😮

We think it might be a poplar hawk moth and the little green blobs, the eggs - what do you think?

https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/poplar-hawk-moth

31/07/2026

🌾🥀EVENING SEED COLLECTING🥀🌾

Fancy spending a summers evening walking along the river Tees and collecting some wildflower seeds? 🏞🌻🌼🌸🌺

Come and join us as we begin to collect a seed bank of native species for us to grow into plug plants. Our aim is to reintroduce these plants to areas where we have eradicated invasive species!

🗓Tuesday 18th August
📍Low Coniscliffe
🕥5pm – 8pm

🗓Wednesday 26th August
📍Winston
🕥5pm – 8pm

This is the perfect opportunity to volunteer with us if you have commitments during the day 😌

📩[email protected] for more information.

📸Martin Rogers Photography
https://martinrogersphotography.co.uk/

29/07/2026

🌱 Small plants, big hopes! 🌱
Six weeks ago, we made our fourth attempt at reintroducing seagrass to the estuary. This time, we planted small seagrass bags (which looked a little like steak bakes! 🥟) across two trial plots.
The exciting news? A follow-up survey a couple of weeks ago revealed that not only are some of the plants still surviving, but they're also producing seed pods! 🌾
If all goes to plan, those seeds will mature, drop into the sediment, and hopefully sprout a whole new generation of seagrass next year. 💚
It's still early days, but these are incredibly encouraging signs and a reminder that restoration takes patience, persistence, and teamwork.
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible:
👏 The WI for creating the seagrass bags
👏 Industry volunteers who helped move them into our outdoor tanks
👏 Teesmouth Seal Rescue Centre for providing welfare support during planting
👏 Cleveland Divers for helping with planting and surveys
👏 And last and most definitely not least - our amazing Seagrass Squad of volunteers, whose enthusiasm and hard work keep this project moving forward
This effort truly has been a community project, and we couldn't have done any of it without you.
Here's to hoping these tiny plants are the start of something much bigger! 🌊🌱