Thank you for your interest in becoming an Urban Riverfly Monitor! For more information about the Urban Riverfly scheme, which was developed by the Riverfly Partnership, please click here.

Date: Saturday 21 March 2025

Venue: Braywick Nature Centre, Hibbert Rd, Maidenhead, SL6 1UU

Timings: 09:15 - 16:00 (more details are in the below table). Please note, timings are slightly flexible, so we may finish slightly earlier/later than 16:00.

Structure of the day:

09:30 – Arrivals, registration and refreshments

09:45 – Introductions, health & safety and biosecurity

10:15 – Introduction to Riverfly monitoring (RMI)

10:45 – Break (tea/coffee)

11:00 – Target groups: identification, life history & ecology

11:45 – RMI fieldwork – theory

12:15 – Lunch break

12:45 – RMI fieldwork – practical session in the river at North Town Moor

15:15 – Clean equipment and kit

15:45 – ID quiz (back inside the pavilion)

16:00 – Online database and RMI in practice

16:15 – Questions and feedback

16:30 – Finish

Getting there: The centre is a 25-minute walk from Maidenhead Station and a 2-minute walk from the Grove Academy stop (53 bus). If you're driving, there is a car park at the centre, which is free for the day

Lunch: Please bring your own lunch with you.

Clothing: Please dress appropriately for the weather: If there is rain in the forecast, bring a raincoat. In general for riverfly monitoring, please wear long trousers and wear or bring a long-sleeved top/fleece/jumper to protect yourself from nettles or giant hogweed. Please also wear sturdy shoes for the walk to the site for the practical session.

Waders: Please fill in the waders section in the sign-up form, so I know your shoe size and can make sure I bring enough waders to fit everyone. I won't be able to let you keep these waders, unfortunately - they will just be loaned to you for the training day. Also, please let me know if you are going to bring your own waders. 

Equipment: All equipment for the RMI practical fieldwork will be provided on the day - I will give you/the person representing your group your monitoring kit to take home with you. This kit includes: a large net (approximately 1.5m tall so I would advise not cycling if you are the designated person in your group who is taking the net home), a 16 litre bucket, a large white tray, a nine-section divided tray, a large pipette, a couple of small pipettes, a couple of plastic spoons, a magnifying glass and a paintbrush.

Under 18s: Please note, if you are under the age of 18, you must be accompanied by a legal parent or guardian in order to attend.

Let me know if you have any questions by emailing me at harrison.tremain@thames21.org.uk