South East Rivers Trust

South East Rivers Trust (SERT) is an environmental charity working to restore and protect rivers and their catchments across South East England. We bring together practical delivery, scientific evidence and community engagement to create healthier rivers, richer habitats and more resilient landscapes.

Our work connects rivers with the land around them, addressing pressures on freshwater ecosystems through river restoration, fish passage improvements, wetland creation, floodplain reconnection, natural flood management and measures to improve water quality. We work with landowners, communities, public authorities, businesses, researchers and other environmental organisations to develop solutions that deliver lasting benefits for nature and people.

Our expertise spans the project lifecycle: identifying opportunities and engaging stakeholders; undertaking feasibility studies and developing designs; securing permissions and delivering works; and monitoring outcomes. Alongside physical restoration, we support environmental education, volunteering and community participation in river recovery.

For Horizon Europe partnerships, SERT offers a connection between research and practical implementation. We can contribute catchment knowledge, restoration expertise, stakeholder networks and potential demonstration sites in South East England. We are particularly interested in ecosystem restoration living labs and cost-effective biodiversity monitoring, including approaches that help practitioners prioritise interventions, assess outcomes and replicate successful solutions.

We welcome discussions with consortia seeking a practitioner partner to help scope, design, deliver and evaluate restoration, test monitoring methods in real-world settings, and investigate the barriers to restoring nature at scale. We seek funded roles that advance restoration within our catchments while contributing transferable evidence, methods and learning to the wider partnership.