Tonight we were tasked with inspecting the various types of fish passes on the weirs of the River Don for the Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT). This is to make sure that fish are free to complete their migrations upstream unencumbered. The main species to make use of these are salmon, trout, and grayling, along with dace, chub, and barbel. The passes also help eels and other fish species navigate weirs that were previously impassable. The data and photographs we record are used by the DCRT to assess which passes need maintenance. Thankfully, on this occasion all of the passes we inspected were fully functioning with no obvious damage.

A fin-tastic time was had by all

We managed to survey three weirs- Lady's Bridge, Walk Mill, and Burton Weir- before running into a blocked section of path, which I thought, wrongly, that we would be able to negotiate. We did discover that this section was blooming with blackberries and rosehips, if any foragers are looking for a tip-off. The fenced-off section is absolutely thriving with no foot traffic passing through.

The following is the gathered inspection data for each of the passes. Lady's Bridge: Clear at top. Clear at bottom. Flowing freely. No damage visible or debris present. Walk Mill: Clear at top. Clear at bottom. Flowing freely. No damage visible or debris present. Burton Weir: Clear at top. Clear at bottom. Flowing freely. No damage visible or debris present.

On a hot, muggy evening it was goodgym time again and this week we were surveying the cities fish pases to check that they are free from debris.

Keeping the fish pases free from debris is essential to allow for the fish to navigate the rivers to get to their prefered place to lay their eggs.

The passes we saw were all in good health with free flowing water and now even have QR stickers so that anyone passing the fish passes on the weirs can report of there are any obstructions.

Why not give it a go next time you are passing?

Swimming up a post industrial river is no mean feat when you are a salmon, trout or grayling. All these weirs get in your way of making it to the spawning grounds in the nice gravelly upstreams; and thats no exception on our local Don river and its tributaries.

Thankfully, fish passes have been built on the weirs.

Where there's a weir, there's a way!

But these must be checked regularly for obstructions; Leaping to the task were a (s)t(r)out team of GoodGymers: Rachel, Michelle, Cat, Celine, as well as Helen whose first GoodGym deed it was! Welcome Helen!

We were joined by Matt from Charity DCRT who shared his knowledge of all things weirs, fish passes and local wildlife with us, including the sand martins and the nest box in Kelham island - I'd never noticed that before!

Observing wildlife never fails to lift my spirits - it's always amazing to notice it on your doorstep, even in our urban environments. Giving wildlife a little care is even better! Join us on our next weir watch!

Thank you for all the fish (passes)...

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.

A big welcome to new runner to the group Stephanie. Stephanie did a fantastic effort on her first group run out and even cycled to and from The Showroom as well!

This week we were completing our final weir fish survey for the Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT).

It is really getting to the stage where it is too dark to be able to see the weirs and once the clocks change at the end of the month it will most certainly be too dark so it's the right time to be wrapping it up.

We got to 3 passes and all were looking good as far as we could see, although there was some pretty large overgrowth in some areas, making it tricky to fully see some areas.

With a good 5km or there abouts by the time we returned, this was a good distance for a first run so we called it there until the next one.

Happy running! :)

On a rainy Monday evening two gregarious goodgymers gathered to assess the freeways of fish. There are various types of fish passes on the weirs on the River Don which allow fish to migrate upstream. Our job tonight was to make sure that these paths past the stone obstacles were easily accessible and able to fulfill their intended roles.

We ran to four weirs and noted down the conditions of the different types of pass on each one to report back to the DCRT, alongside pictures for their records. The weirs we surveyed were Lady's Bridge, Walk Mill, Burton's and Sanderson's.

After running a reyt respectable distance river reviewing we headed back to the Showroom where we stretched off and debriefed.