An Evening by the Avon Water: Welcoming New Volunteers

On a warm July evening, as the light softened over the New Forest, a dozen people of all ages and from different destinations, gathered on the banks of the Avon Water in Sway. There’s something especially lovely about being beside a river at that time of day, when the water catches the last of the sun and the air feels calm and full of life. It proved the perfect setting to welcome a new group of New Forest Water Watch volunteers.

We were incredibly fortunate to use this beautiful riverside spot, kindly made available by local landowners who are now part of the project themselves. With gently sloping grassy banks, safe access to the water, and even a well-placed picnic table, it couldn’t have been a better outdoor classroom. Around us, the river was alive with movement: pond skaters and water boatmen were very evident on the surface, while Beautiful Demoiselles flitted up and down the river in flashes of blue.

The session began with the fundamentals: how to safely and correctly collect a water sample. For many, this was their first hands-on experience, and it wasn’t long before confidence grew. From there, we moved on to nitrate and phosphate testing, with volunteers practising techniques using blank tubes before being let loose to work with real samples this weekend.

E. coli testing followed - a moment of intrigue- as we explained how these bacteria can tell a much bigger story about river health. The evening concluded with a demonstration of ammonia testing, led by Robbie, using a sample taken from a nearby polluted stream currently under investigation. It tested positive for ammonia indicating the presence of recent sewage contamination, a powerful reminder of why this work matters.

But it wasn’t all science. We talked through safety, shared guidance, and we hope we made sure everyone felt comfortable and prepared. Forms were signed, test kits and incubators handed out, and by the end of the evening, this group of new volunteers was ready to head out and begin monitoring their own stretches of river.

As people drifted away into the long summer evening, there was a sense of momentum and community. At a point in our project where we resolved to move into the north western part of the Forest, we were thrilled to see that people had come down from Wellow to join us for the evening. These are the moments that build something bigger: a network of people who care deeply about our rivers and are willing to take action to protect them.

Thank you to Tom and Katie for letting us use your beautiful riverbank.

A great evening, in every sense!