What?
On Saturday 3rd September Wessex River's Trust CEO Dave Rumble is undertaking an upstream 'Salmon Dash'; he will be kayaking up the river Itchen estuary...towing a giant salmon!

Where?
The tidal river Itchen will be hosting numerous river goers on the 3rd September at the All Aboard festival. You can come and view the spectacle or join in by taking to the water yourself; enjoy a day of watery theatricals and music around the St Denys and Bitterne Park stretch of the river Itchen. Dave will be kayaking approximately 1.5km upstream to Woodmill as part of the event.

Why?
Dave's goal is to increase awareness of the difficulties facing our salmon, particularly following recent drought events. Salmon will be swimming upstream over the coming months to spawn but it is uncertain whether the river will have recovered enough from the drought for them to spawn successfully this year. Their presence indicates a healthy environment and the population on the River Itchen is perilously low; salmon used to be here in such high numbers that they fed the monks in St Denys Priory. Pollution, engineering of rivers, warming water due to climate change, low flows caused by drought and people using too much water all have an impact.

Dave also hopes to raise funds for the Wessex Rivers Trust; a big part of our work is to re-naturalise rivers and improve their resilience to drought and pollution. We also promote healthy catchments and inspire the next generation to care for our rivers.

"The sponsored Salmon Dash is a fun way of bringing to life the challenges faced by river wildlife and at the same time raising funds for Wessex Rivers Trust in support of our work improving local rivers. Personally it’s great to be doing this in my community at the All Aboard festival which is a celebration of life and culture on the river. Please sponsor me!"
Dave Rumble, CEO Wessex Rivers Trust.

Please click here if you would like to sponsor Dave's Salmon Dash!