How Much Do You Know About the River Clyst?

I have been lucky to live all my life within a few hundred meters of the river, and on a farm with fields alongside.

Since the age of about four I have been “swimming” in the river, although not so much in the last 40 years. I have witnessed some extraordinary events, like the occasion, about 30- 40 years ago, when a lorry fire on the M5 caused a pollution event, with Environment Agency personnel down on the farm here fishing dozens of dead trout out of the river.

On other occasions I have watched the Agency do “electro-fishing” when they bring fish to the surface using an electric charge. Once doing some farm work down by the river, my wife and I were lucky enough to see a kingfisher catch a fish and eat it. Another time when we were walking along the bank, we found a dead part-eaten lamprey. When I was small, I used to trap eels regularly, although I would never do that now that they are rare.

We have got used to otter spraint and sometimes see the otters themselves. When I was young I spent what seems like most of the summer with a friend, spuddling about with dams, and a sort of boat. Later a friend moved to Topsham and we used to trespass down onto the Clyst between Topsham and Clyst St Mary.

More recently, in the interests of pulling up Himalayan balsam, (which we are managing to control, unlike every other river I know), I have walked the river banks of fellow farmers for most of the middle run of the river. So I think I have seen a bit more of the river than some people.

Could You Be a Citizen Scientist and Find Out More?

Yet how much do I really know about the Clyst? Very little really. Is the plant and animal life improving or deteriorating? Are the levels of nutrients or E.Coli a cause for concern? I sometimes feel that the Environment Agency moves in mysterious ways, with none of the rest of us having any idea of what they are thinking or doing.

So I very much welcome their recent initiative with the Westcountry Rivers Trust to train and equip “citizen scientists” to sample and analyse the river and also provide help in understanding the results. A couple of members of Broadclyst Environment Group have already signed up.

This article was writen by Henry Gent and origionally published in the Spring 2023 edition of Broadsheet.