Country diary: Kneeling by the river, hoping the water is clean | Mary Montague

Forth River, Ligoniel, north Belfast: A riverfly monitoring survey involves rapt focus on these tiny creatures, whose presence is an indicator of water healthI wish I'd worn kneepads. But then I hadn't imagined that a riverfly monitoring survey would require this much genuflection. Like the followers of an undine creed, we kneel on the riverbank, bent over the Forth's secrets. What is her message? How do we understand it?With me are Patricia Deeney and Geoff Newell, conservation officers from Belfast Hills Partnership (BHP), an environmental charity, and we're in a wooded glen below Wolf Hill, close to the former mill village of Ligoniel. Like many community groups and angling clubs, BHP uses the riverfly survey (a citizen science protocol) to monitor local rivers. Continue reading...