Volunteers needed to count river flies in County Armagh
- Published
The river fly monitoring project will take place along the Forkhill river (above) and the Creggan river in County Armagh
A conservation group is looking for volunteers to monitor river flies as a barometer of the water quality in its area.
The Ring of Gullion, external team will check two rivers in County Armagh at Creggan and Forkhill.
They will be looking for eight specific river flies that are an indicator of the health of the water.
Their larvae live in the gravel and silt of the riverbed and are sensitive to pollution.
If they are not present, it indicates there is a problem.
Training
Organisers have said the main problem in the area's watercourses are nutrients linked to farming.
Volunteers will be asked to look for eight specific flies in the County Armagh rivers
The volunteers will receive training and will check the rivers once a month, reporting back the data.
The training is being provided by the Ballinderry Rivers Trust, the Riverfly Partnership and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
The Riverfly Partnership, external is a UK-wide scheme to monitor river quality, involving 100 organisations.
They include anglers, conservationists, entomologists, scientists and river managers.
The training is free.