Save Our Taff

Our rivers are in danger. We need to act fast to Save Our Taff.

Rivers are the lifeblood of our natural world. They shape our landscape and sustain a huge diversity of life. In fact, all animals are dependent on an abundant and reliable supply of clean water. Rivers sustain the natural environment, wildlife, and people in equal measure.

To say that the state of our UK rivers is worrying would be an understatement. The UK is ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for water quality, with 40% of rivers failing quality targets due to pollution. In 2022, raw sewage was discharged into UK waterways on over 300,000 separate occasions.

Welsh rivers are no exception, with 6 of the 20 most polluted rivers in the UK being found here in Wales. The Taff was on this list, having experienced over 9,500 hours of sewage being pumped into its waters in 2022 alone. And it's not just sewage, there's a chemical cocktail of pesticides and plastics making their way into our river as well. This is simply unacceptable and cannot be tolerated any longer.

Our rivers are no longer suitable for people or wildlife, and an unhealthy river can only spell disaster. This is a crisis – and one which the public along with our youth forum members want to see urgently resolved.

A youth-led campaign

Our Wilder Youth Forum are the driving force behind the Save Our Taff campaign. Together we're working to:

• Connect with existing groups already tackling the pollution issues on the Taff. 
• Involve the communities that live along the Taff to engage with the campaign with events in different community spaces along the river. This includes litter picks, engagement stalls, and river species ID sessions.
• Partner with researchers to set-up citizen science sampling of the river. Through this we aim to collect quantitative evidence of the pollution in our river to build a long-term dataset which continues to track river pollution in the future.
• Collate all the data collected through the different activities. This includes pictures, blog posts, data from the citizen science projects. We are keeping a record of this through our website, where partners and members of the public can engage with it. 
• Present this evidence to our politicians and decision makers. We are using sessions throughout the year to engage the people who can make a difference to this situation we're facing, showing them the evidence and the work we've been doing throughout the campaign. Our aim is to ask our government what they are doing to tackle this issue, and to make sure they recognise the value of the Taff.

How you can get involved

Complete our survey

The easiest way to get involved is to complete this short river pollution survey, which will only take about 5 minutes. You can help us build a picture of the pollution issue here on the River Taff.

Complete a river pollution survey

Become a River Guardian 

To protect and restore the River Taff, we are inviting you to take on the role of a River Guardian: someone who actively cares for the river, ensuring its health and wellbeing through collective action. By becoming a River Guardian you will:

1. Be the eyes and voice for the river 

You will act as a local ambassador to your nearest stretch of the river Taff, helping us keep an eye on pollution incidents and monitoring changes in river health. You will help us map the river, noting potential pollution sources and areas where invasive species can be found. And you will speak on behalf of the river in your local community, helping to raise awareness on how we can treat our rivers more kindly.

2. Hear about ways to help the river 

We will share updates with our River Guardians about upcoming events and training opportunities, whether that's through the Save our Taff campaign or through other local community groups. We will lead educational walks to learn about river wildlife, how to identify different types of pollution, how to report it, and how to speak to decision makers about river health. 

3. Celebrate the river through ceremony and art 

Reconnect and learn about the history and folklore of the river with local artists, storytellers and writers. Build a relationship to the river to reclaim collective ownership, restoring the river as a space to be enjoyed, shared, and protected by all. 

4. Join a growing community of River Guardians 

You will help to build this community from a tiny brook into a roaring river. We will host a river forum regularly where River Guardians can connect with one another, share ideas together, and mobilise as a community to raise the profile of the river. This will lead to more engagement with local decision-makers and stakeholders, helping to get them on board with protecting the river.

Interested? Register your interest with our online form and we'll be in touch with more information and how to get started. 

Become a River Guardian

Join our Wilder Youth Forum

If you’re between the ages of 15-30 and want to help with this campaign, join our Cardiff Wilder Youth Forum today!

Join our Wilder Youth Forum 

Collaborate 

Interested in collaborating? Then get in touch with our Wilder Engagement Officer Alex at a.griffiths@welshwildlife.org