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Latest contributions
Wed May 27 2026
Fig Trees
Sheffield’s wild fig trees are a fascinating quirk of urban ecology born from the city's heavy steel industry. Exotic fig trees thrive along the River Don because warm, industrial wastewater from steel works created a tropical micro-climate that allowed fig seeds, discarded in human waste, to germinate and grow.
Thu May 14 2026
River Dôn Project post-workshop walk (3/3)
Nature swallows
Slowly sinking, lets carry on
Picnic in the don
(Optimism after the fall)
Thu May 14 2026
The River Dôn Project post-workshop walk (2/3)
Ball Street Bridge, an island
How do we clean up this mess?
Overthrown, the past weighs
(Taking care, of traffic cones)
Thu May 14 2026
The River Dôn Project post-workshop walk (1/3)
Above, clouds go grey
Ducks gliding under the bridge
Together, we bring
(New ideas, new perspectives)
Fri Mar 06 2026
Splash
Since being at University starting 2017, I have regularly visited the plunge pool throughout the year for a quick dip, often joined by dippers and wagtails, and the occasional heron (or kingfisher if im lucky!). See the flow rate and water quality change in response to the weather is always exciting, from a gentle 'clear' waterfall to powerful torrent of silt!
Thu Feb 12 2026
Viewpoint 6 - Myrtle Road Bridge - Connecting Limbs (6 of 6)
Peaking over the bridge or between broken fence panels and railings, you can catch a glimpse of the river next to the railway line. This in-accessible bit of the River Sheaf has more naturalistic features and greenery, offering potential shelter and areas for wildlife to enjoy, without too much disturbance.
To find out more and take action, visit https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-to-receive-the-river-walk-pack
Thu Feb 12 2026
Viewpoint 5 - Cutler’s Walk - Connecting Limbs (5 of 6)
As you enter Cutler’s Walk here, you can really feel the industrialisation and containment of the river between the railway and the industrial unit, and see the uniform, often grey-looking (and foul-smelling) river running perfectly straight below. As you exit under the railway bridge, stop and listen to the sound of water
tumbling over a small partially collapsing weir, not visible from the footbridge.
To find out more and take action, visit https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-to-receive-the-river-walk-pack
Thu Feb 12 2026
Viewpoint 4- Connecting Limbs (4 of 6)
The boxed-shaped channel geometry and reinforced bed and banks offer little ecological value. However,
crumbling river walls and trailing, dense bankside scrub in isolation offer nesting potential.
To find out more and take action, visit https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-to-receive-the-river-walk-pack
Thu Feb 12 2026
Viewpoint 3 - Connecting Limbs (3 of 6)
Standing on the bridge, with the scrap yard to your left, you can see a patchwork of bank stabilisation measures which have been added to over the years, a historic weir (now buried by a mixture of coarse sediment and rubble) with a fish passage and a ‘gravel trap’, all acting to control river processes and interrupt natural functioning. The fig trees and tomato plants you will see along here are evidence of historic and recent sewage entering the river. Think about where the seeds come from!
To find out more and take action, visit https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-to-receive-the-river-walk-pack
Thu Feb 12 2026
Viewpoint 2b - Connecting Limbs (2b of 6)
Here, a footpath provides a riverside view and a riverside park (opened by the Sheaf & Porter Rivers Trust), provides a glimpse of nature inviting you in to enjoy a locally rare pocket of mature native tree canopy over the channel, a good mix of native under story and some ancient woodland indicator species (dog’s mercury and wood melick).
Then, out of site from the general public, channel modifications are again present, in this case, in the form of gabions (cages filled with stone) which are failing and scour holes are forming.
To find out more and take action, visit https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-to-receive-the-river-walk-pack
