New kit bursary fund launch

Members of Cressbrook and Litton Flyfishers Club (C&LFC) have raised an incredible £2466 via their annual raffle to support the creation of the new Riverfly Kit Bursary Fund. 

The idea behind the bursary came from FBA Executive Director, Simon Johnson who wanted to support the activities of new monitoring groups that struggle to find the funding for the equipment necessary to be able to sample their rivers, streams and becks. 

Simon is a long-standing friend of C&LFC Secretary, David Marriott and between the two of them they hatched a ‘cunning plan’ to support the setting-up of this new fund. 

Simon Johnson said, “I would like to thank members of C&LFC for their incredible generosity in helping to set-up this new fund. It is my hope that many of our extensive network of riverfly monitors and groups might be able to raise funds to grow the impact of the bursary. As we move towards the end of our Esmée Fairbairn grant, it is vital that we develop new, inclusive and creative approaches to fund the action-focused citizen science activities of the Partnership”.

David Marriott said, “Our Riverfly Team has become an integral part of Cressbrook & Litton Flyfishers, to the extent that we now have two teams on the Derbyshire Wye led by Andy Middleton.  We are very fortunate to have a Membership that is supportive of the aims of the Riverfly Partnership and we are conscious that other groups and clubs might be put off by the initial cost of equipment and training. We are therefore delighted to be the first contributor to the FBA’s Bursary Fund and hope to continue this support in the future”.  

We are also pleased to say that NHBS (suppliers of the Riverfly Partnership approved kits) are supporting the bursary by providing two additional free kits, so that more groups can be helped.

If you would like to support the Riverfly Partnership through fundraising such as donations, raffles, sponsored challenges and auction, please contact us at info@riverflies.org. We’d love to hear from you and can provide promotional materials such as flyers, QR codes and eco-friendly stickers. You can directly donate money to the fund at our ‘Donate’ page, which now has the option to allocate your donation specifically to the Kit Bursary.

If you are forming a new Riverfly group, you can apply for up to three kits via the Kit Bursary. Please see details and the application form on this page.

Simon & David (far left) with members of the CLFC ‘Riverfly Crew’ on the banks of the Derbyshire Wye.