River Holme Connections

23/06/2026

We have two spare places on our Wildflower Identification Walk and Talk tomorrow morning at Thunder Bridge meadow. Join us for a slow wander round this beautiful grassland meadow. You can find more information and book your place here: https://www.riverholmeconnections.org/event/wildflower-id-session-at-thunderbridge-meadows/

We will be meeting outside the Woodsman, then walking over to Thunderbridge Meadows together. The Woodsman, Thunderbridge Lane Kirkburton Huddersfield HD8 09X

19/06/2026

It's the season for balsam bashing! Himalayan balsam is an invasive non-native species which spreads by pinging out lots of seeds and outcompeting with other vegetation. It's particularly damaging on riverbanks as it has shallow roots and dies over winter, leaving banks bare and vulnerable to erosion during heavy rain and high river flows. When riverbanks erode, more fine sediment enters the water. This damages habitats and harms wildlife.

Our fantastic volunteers come out with us in all weathers, working in among the nettles and brambles to pull up balsam. Each plant can produce 500 seeds so in an average volunteer session which might remove a million potential seeds from the environment!

This week, we've also been cutting back and clearing paths to improve access along the river next to Crown Bottom carpark. We also had a team in the river, doing a litter pick and (of course!) pulling balsam along the way. Most interesting finds this week were a sombrero and a set of false teeth! We also spotted 22 ducklings and a grey wagtail feeding young. Sadly no tiger though - already gone elsewhere!

Thanks as always to our - we couldn't do any of it without you!

12/06/2026

Hasn't it been a soggy week this last week; it's a good job we have a bunch or hardy volunteers who aren't deterred by some bad weather! We have been in the river and on land to complete another week of Himalayan Balsam removal and water vole surveying. We tried recruiting some four legged friends for balsam, but they were more interested in what biscuits we had for break. Maybe next time!

A big thank you also to Lubrizol who kindly came out with us for one of their CSR days, it's always a pleasure introducing people to the world of balsam.

05/06/2026

This week has been volunteer thank you week, so we wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed even a little bit of their time to River Holme Connections. The charity is built up of all the wonderful volunteers who care about making this little section of the world a better place for people and the environment, and we are so lucky to have them as a part of the team!

You see a lot of our practical conservation volunteers on here, but we also have huge support from people who volunteer their time by doing things like growing plants for us, helping out on our events and education sessions, working on fundraising projects, completing citizen science projects, helping out on behind the scenes admin, and so much more.

We want River Holme Connections to be a vehicle to improve the river ecosystem and environment, but we also want it to bring people together and strengthen the wonderful community we have in the Holme Valley. Our volunteers are River Holme Connections, and they make it a great place to be a part of. So a big shout out to everyone, new and old, for joining us along the way!

A big thank you also to Third Sector Leaders Kirklees for providing us with thank you card which we have been handing out to our volunteers this week, and will continue to do so over the following weeks.

04/06/2026

Juliet Thomas is the Founder of 'From Seed To Sky' - a multi-passionate business supporting people through mentoring, coaching and creative & wellbeing workshops, to bring their ideas, and dreams to life. In our latest “Holme Story” she tells us about her connection to the River Holme Catchment.

"I fell in love with the River Holme when we were looking to buy our home, 4 years ago, I didn't realise that the river actually ran across the foot of our 'to be' garden and that sealed it for me. I'd grown up swinging over the river in Lepton Woods and once we moved into this house, I could instantly hear the theme tune of the river in the background and felt completely at home.

Since then, it's become a very special place to me, I walk alongside it daily on the footpath in Sands Park or up towards Netherthong, where it cascades down. I nod to the heron, spot the dippers, wagtails and ducks going about their business, have found a family of moorhens with tiny chicks, and witnessed the dart of the Kingfisher which stops me in my tracks; there is always something wonderful to see.

Running a busy business from home means I really appreciate my morning walks with the dog, a chance to slow down, focus in on what I can see, often inspiring creative ideas that I then take back to my desk. The book I'm writing 'Creative by Nature' has a whole section on creative flow, and I link this to the flow of our river, getting lost in its rhythm, and finding the same peace as being hypnotised by the ripples of water.

A few years back, I attended the creative writing event with River Holme Connections, walking around Bottoms Mill Damn which I thoroughly enjoyed with author Lawrence Rose, taking time to connect with nature in a creative way which I'm passionate about too, through writing, art, and photography.

In a world that is increasingly chaotic, it's soothing to come back to the reliability of nature and its changing seasons in the UK, and I’m evangelical about this in my creative and wellbeing workshops, using nature as a tool to inspire, slow down and ground us. Being around water in particular, is proven to do just that, regulating our nervous systems to feel much calmer in our bodies and minds.

The current never stops, which I fully relate to! But I feel very lucky that when I need to take a breather, I can sit on our bench at the bottom of our garden, close my eyes and just listen to the song of the river, and the birds who call it their home too."

To find out more about Juliet's work, you can visit her social media page here:

If you have a story about your connection to the River Holme or us at River Holme Connections, we’d love to hear from you: contact [email protected]

02/06/2026

📢Aged between 16 to 25 and looking for something fun, active, and rewarding this summer? 🌞

Green Skills in the Hills is a brilliant opportunity to get outdoors, learn practical skills, meet new people, and build confidence through fun hands-on activities with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and partners (including us at River Holme Connections), with sessions based on or near Stirley Community Farm (near Castle Hill) in Huddersfield.

By taking part, you gain:
✅ Outdoor & employability skills
✅ New experiences & connections
✅ Wild Youth Award certificate after attending 3 sessions🌱
✅ Great discussion point for CVs, college & job applications

Come along, try something new, and enjoy the outdoors this summer!"

YWT Stirley

01/06/2026

Balsam bashing has officially begun! We have seen a big variation in the size of balsam so far this year, some spots are still relatively small and other area are large enough to get a good snap from the plants. This year we are going to use a combination of slashing in denser patches (using a w**d slasher to cut through the balsam below the first node) and hand pulling in sparser areas. This will allow us to tackle more areas and make a real impact on the spread.

During the last two weeks we have also squeezed in a river clean and litter pick in Spa Wood, where we retrieved 11 bags of rubbish from the footpath and River. From the river we also removed lots of plastic wrap, some drain pipes, various bits of rubber and hosing, lots of rusty metal, a security light, a massive wooden spool, and part of a table. This is a really important riverside path which allows people to connect with a green and blue space in an otherwise urban environment, so it's important to us to keep it accessible and clean for the community (and for the diverse aquatic populations too).

Our Assistant River Ranger Penny has also been joined by a small group of volunteers to commence some important water vole habitat surveying, which we hope will influence plans for habitat restoration to support this endangered species. These surveys have to be done in small specialised groups to keep disturbance to a minimum, and involve looking for things such as burrows, latrines, vegetation diversity, and bank side habitat suitability.

28/05/2026

Some really important guidance from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue about staying safe around water this summer! Please be careful everyone; cold water shock can occur in any water under 15 degrees, can cause heart attacks (even in young people), and involuntary gasping which can both tragically result in drowning. Stay water safe and float to live.

✅ Water Safety: Know what to do if you or someone else gets into difficulty ✅

With temperatures rising again this week, we’re urging people across West Yorkshire to take extra care around open water.

Please do not enter rivers, reservoirs, canals, lakes or other open water to cool off.

Even on a hot day, open water can be dangerously cold, deep and unpredictable. It can quickly lead to cold water shock, panic and serious difficulty - even for strong swimmers.

If you find yourself in trouble in the water:

➡️ Lean back and extend your arms and legs
➡️ Control your breathing
➡️ Call for help or swim to safety

If you see someone in difficulty in the water:

📞 Phone 999 to get help
🗣️ Tell the person in the water to stay calm and float on their back
🛟 Throw rescue equipment to help them until the emergency services arrive

Do not enter the water to try and rescue someone. You could also get into difficulty.

You can also find lots more advice on our website - linked in the first comment below.

Stay safe. Thank you,

| Bradford Council | Calderdale Council | Kirklees | Leeds City Council | Wakefield Council | West Yorkshire Prepared |

23/05/2026

As we now head towards summer, it is a great opportunity to look back at the wonderful spring we have had here in the Holme valley! From bluebells and flowers coming into blossom to some very cute tots, there has certainly been the fair share of brilliant views these last couple of months.

Thank you to everyone who sent in their wonderful photos of spring from across the catchment, it is brilliant to see so many brilliant pockets and sites of nature that are thriving!

22/05/2026

Thank you! 😊

As our River Explorer sessions are in full swing and with an exciting summer of engagement events ahead of us, we wanted to say THANK YOU!

Thank you to all the schools that work with us and all the teachers that welcome us in.

Thank you to every school child who has engaged with our River Explorer workshops with intrigue and excitement.

Thank you to every young person who has helped pick litter, clear balsam or build a bug hotel.

Your passion for our local river and the nature that surrounds it is infectious and energising! It makes us so hopeful for the future.