A RIVER monitoring project established to check on the health of the River Torridge has got off to a flying start.

Set up earlier this year, the project now has 34 trained volunteers who are carrying out vital regular monitoring.

The initiative, known as the 'Riverfly Partnership', is part of a national project monitoring the long term health of our rivers and helps to pick up on pollution incidents. The Devon version was set up earlier this year in the Torridge catchment.

It was put in place by the Northern Devon Nature Improvement Area (NIA).

After an initial call for 'river monitors' 34 local people came forward to help. They come from a range of backgrounds and include teachers, anglers, farmers, students and an acupuncturist. Members of the team have each been given their own stretch of the river and are now surveying it on a monthly basis, looking for freshwater invertebrates — hence the name 'Riverfly Partnership'.

Louise Davis, the NIA's Riverfly co-ordinator, said: 'The invertebrates found in our streams and rivers can tell us a lot about their health. Their presence or absence gives us vital clues as to what is going on beneath the water's surface.

'By counting the invertebrates on a monthly basis, we are able to look at long term water quality, and if all the invertebrates disappear, we know that something has gone drastically wrong.

'The volunteers have been sampling over the summer months, making sure that vital fish spawning grounds are not disturbed over the winter.'

The Riverfly project is being support by North Devon Fisheries Local Action Group and Torridge District Council. Their generosity allowed the NIA to purchase equipment for the volunteers.

Using hand nets, sampling trays and magnifiers, the volunteers are tasked with identifying eight different groups of invertebrates.

Louise Davis said: 'The work of the volunteers is not too technical, and the Riverfly monitoring scheme is one that anyone can take part in, with no previous experience required. It does, however, take an eye for detail and a certain level of patience to identify the different flies that are found.'

The project is keen to hear from other local people who might want to get involved. If you would like to find out more about the Riverfly scheme, or to register your interest as a volunteer for 2015, please email [email protected]">[email protected], or call Devon Wildlife Trust on 01409 221823.

The monitoring scheme is part of wider work being undertaken by the NIA in North Devon. The project is one of 12 important landscape scale wildlife schemes across England.