Weir-d Whimsies and Fishy Business

6 Goodgymers helped their local community in Sheffield
Gary Bassett
Ines
Celine
James Smith
Rachel
Annie Anthony Mays
1 / 22
Sheffield

Monday 12th May

Credits
Celine
Celine

PHOTOGRAPHER

James Smith
James Smith

SESSION ORGANISER

WELCOMER

REPORT WRITER

DOCUMENT CHECKER

PHOTOGRAPHER

Annie Anthony Mays
Annie Anthony Mays

PHOTOGRAPHER

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Report written by James Smith

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We gathered on a sunny summer's evening at the Showroom in Sheffield to survey some fish passes. We were raring to get running and witness some weirs working. Armed with smart phones, pens and paper, and the energy of caffeinated children we set off on our journey downstream. The weirs we surveyed were Lady's Bridge, Walk Mill, Burton, and Sanderson's.

River me timbers!

The condition of the fish passes and weirs was as follows: Lady's Bridge- Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. There were some builder's lights on the weir. Walk Mill- Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. Channel on left of pass blocked. Burton - Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. Sanderson's- Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. There was a lot of bird life on this weir.

As this was quite a long run at over 7km a fitness session was passed over, with the exception of a few squats for a photo op!

Upon returning to the Showroom we fully stretched off before popping in for refreshments and rest.


This task supported
Weir fish pass surveys
Survey the eight fish passes in the River Don from Steelbank Weir (Penistone Road) to Hadfield Weir (Meadowhall).

Sheffield's industrial past saw the implementation of weirs on the River Don to power the factories. These flow control devices inhibit natural migratory paths for fish. To combat this, fish passes have been installed at the weirs throughout Sheffield. These are important for the movement of fish (particularly salmon) between habitats and breeding grounds. The Don Catchment Rivers Trust have been working on the River Don to bring back the salmon population to the area and now efforts are needed to maintain this. GoodGymers will be part of long term surveying and monitoring of the fish passes to ensure they have not been blocked and remain fully functional.

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Celine
Celine (she/her or they/them)

Tue 13th May at 10:05am

thank you James!

Join us on our next session

Sheffield

School ground improvements at Norfolk Community Primary School
🗓Monday 19th May 6:30pm

Children will have improved opportunities to play and learn outside.

Annie Anthony MaysCeline
2 GoodGymers are going