Tees Estuary Restoration Initiative

Who are we and what are we doing? 

The Tees Rivers Trust is a registered charity (Charity Number 1128953) located in the North East of England. For over 13 years we have been actively working to improve habitats along the river. We are a not for profit charity with the main aim to improve biodiversity, water quality and climate change resilience of the river Tees and its tributaries. We work at a river catchment scale from source to sea and in 2018 we started our first project focussing on creating intertidal habitats in the estuary. From here we have developed our work to reintroduce seagrass and native oysters; both of which were previously present in the estuary. 

Our goal is to restore once-abundant species to the estuary, working with natural processes to build resilience and mitigate the impacts of human activity and  make the Tees a vibrant space for nature. To help achieve this we are asking for your help. Your funds will go towards the following schemes to realise our vision: 

• Expansion of our Native oyster restoration work: bio-engineering, carbon- sequestering filter feeders, oysters are bivalve powerhouses, excellent at cleaning water and providing a habitat for many different species
• Installation of fish hotels: Due to land reclamation and channelisation of the river, there a limited places for fish to hide or breed in the estuary. Fish hotels will help solve this issue 
• Upscaling our seagrass planting: seagrass meadows are biodiversity hotspots and can support local fisheries. They also sequester carbon to aid in the fight against climate change  
• Creating intertidal habitats: the Tees Estuary is a vital location for many internationally important bird species. More intertidal habitat will create space for these birds to feed and breed. 

Our achievements so far

Why is the Tees Estuary important? 

For centuries the Tees has been the life blood of the people who live and work alongside it. It has provided a source of food, a means of transporting goods across the world from salt and brine in the middle ages to steel, coal and chemical products in the mid-20th century.   

The estuary has played a vital role in shaping industrial development in the UK, and industrial development has, in exchange, shaped the estuary, reclaiming land for business yet at the same time leaving a legacy of unexplored wilderness amongst the buildings and making the estuary a globally significant site for many birds, invertebrates and mammals.  

However, this history has led to decades of poor water quality and high levels of pollution within the estuary. In 1970 it was described as "so horribly polluted and starved of oxygen that life was impossible". Things have improved since but many native species have become locally extinct. We believe we can do more to give nature a helping hand in our estuary and help nature restore itself to bring benefits to those who work and live alongside the Tees.

What will you be funding?

•  £250 will pay for one native oyster nursery to be installed in the estuary 
• £5,000 will pay for 20 oyster nurseries 
• £5,000 will pay for 10 fish hotels to be placed in the estuary 
• £6,500 will help us offer a summer paid work placement to a student for 4 months 
• £10,000 will pay for divers to collect seagrass seeds from a donor site 
• £50,000 will enable us to position 10 fish refuges around the river 
• £53,000 will pay for an experienced intertidal project officer for one year 
• £200,000 will pay for 500m of intertidal habitat to be recreated or restored (our aim is to restore 2 sites) 

By donating to this project you can help us to use natural solutions to filter contaminants out of the water, to restore biodiversity to the river, to create natural reefs for carbon sequestration, to offer student placements to improve their employability and ultimately put the Tees in the global spotlight of leading ground breaking restoration work. 

Thank you reading this far and we hope you are inspired to help us reinvigorate the Tees Estuary.

For more information on the Tees Rivers Trust please check out our Website: https://www.teesriverstrust.org/