Riverfly on the Esk

04/10/2026

‘Ugly but not all bad’ is the title of this interpretation board along the Danube. Great to have a caddis fly board though for me beauty / ugliness is in the ‘eye of the beholder’
Personally using words like ugly for invertebrates only feeds into the hands or those who don’t like them!
Ps Köcherfliegenlarven - cased caddisfly larvae
Köcher = quiver
Fliegen = Fly

05/09/2026

We know that there are many pressures on our rivers. Here is another we should be aware of. Also detected in our local river. Links to 2 reports below for your interest.

Toxic chemicals used to kill fleas on hundreds of thousands of pets have contaminated more than 50 rivers across Scotland at levels that could harm wildlife, according to the Scottish Government’s green watchdog.

The rivers polluted with fipronil included the Clyde near Rutherglen, the Esk near Musselburgh, the Carron and Bonny Water in Falkirk, the Tyne in East Linton and the Braid Burn in Edinburgh. The worst contamination – 25 times above safe levels – was detected in May 2024 in Quhomery Burn at Inverquhomery in Aberdeenshire.

https://www.buglife.org.uk/news/love-your-pet-not-pesticides-new-report-warns-of-flea-and-tick-treatment-threat-to-rivers/

https://beta.sepa.scot/media/5lrdh5hu/report_lc-hrms2024_-fipronil-and-imidacloprid.docx

02/09/2026

Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust are running a refresher session on MorPH (https://modularriversurvey.org/) as well as Riverfly and Extended Riverfly sessions.

This is a free event!

Learn how to survey your river health and collect data that will feed in to local knowledge.

Mining Remediation Authority Midlothian Council Midlothian CAN East Lothian Climate Hub Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Scottish Water NatureScot Esk Valley Trust

21/07/2026

Anyone fancy a bit of Riverfly in West Lothian?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DETxdei4G/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Are you joining Buglife Scotland and West Lothian Council , tomorrow, as part of West Lothian Biodiversity Month, for our free freshwater workshops?

Join us for a fascinating look at invertebrate life in the rivers of Polkemmet Country Park. From mayflies to stoneflies and caddisflies to freshwater shrimp, take a closer look at what's living beneath the surface and find out what this tells us about water quality.
🗓️ Wednesday 22 July 2026
🕙 11:00-12:00 and/or 13:00-14:00
📌 Polkemmet Country Park, Whitburn, Bathgate, EH47 0AD

Good to know:
✅ Family-friendly event. Suitable for all ages;
✅ All activities will take place on the river bank and participants will not need to enter the water.;
✅ Please wear sturdy footwear and come dressed for the weather;
✅ No need to book, just turn up on the day!

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Buglife Scotland Conservation Officer, Elaine, via [email protected]

09/06/2026

Are you interested in joining our crew? Have a few hours a month to spare? If so, get in touch with Elaine!

Free training and support!

Feel free to share 🙂

Midlothian CAN Midlothian Council Midlothian Community Action Esk Valley Trust Esk Valley Rotary Mining Remediation Authority Scottish Water Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) NatureScot Sustaining Musselburgh Eskmuthe Rowing Club East Lothian Climate Hub Scottish Coastal Clean Up

27/05/2026

Big day out on the river today!

Full freshwater macro invertebrate samples collected from the North Esk along with nitrate and phosphate samples from each site.

One more to collect then we will have a full baseline! ↪️samples collected from 5 sites in the South Esk and 5 sites in the North Esk running from source to sea.🌊 🙌.

✨Establishing a full baseline of freshwater macroinvertebrates is essential for tracking aquatic health, as these organisms act as sensitive bioindicators of pollution and habitat degradation.

Thank you to both the landowners for allowing access and to the volunteers who continue to monitor sites along the river. Special thanks to Kat who helped today and to Kev for going the distance and dropping the samples off 🙂.

Riverfly on the Esk is run entirely by volunteers who give their time to help support their local river.

Thank you Midlothian CAN for the seed funding that helped support today’s surveys 🙏

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) NatureScot Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust East Lothian Climate Hub Earthwatch Midlothian Community Action Riverfly Partnership The Wildlife Information Centre (TWIC) Keep Scotland Beautiful Esk Valley Trust Scottish Freshwater Group

26/05/2026

Great article about Riverfly in Scotland!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czj21vv3z7eo?at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_id=265C196E-5927-11F1-887B-F1633F5A6F39&at_campaign_type=owned&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_link_type=web_link&at_format=image&at_medium=social&at_link_origin=BBC_Scotland_News&fbclid=IwdGRleASC4sZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeXepLTQ3QFZy6otkAvs725S9SAeCNbDcWgeE6EjwKH9JIAuxswmidEy1Tz-U_aem_VWV8oQ0DNcwEN_zgPD53ag

Hundreds of volunteers survey Scotland's watercourses and report any issues of concern quickly.

25/05/2026

25/05/2026

Only a few weeks left to apply for our Seedcorn funding for 26-27! Our fund is open for applications until the 8th of June, for grants of up to £1,500. The fund is specifically for community groups working in Midlothian. More information: https://www.midlothianclimateaction.org.uk/seedcorn-fund/

19/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18pHATe7hU/?mibextid=wwXIfr