Director's Christmas Message

2011 highlights for me? The meeting of the Trout in the Town groups on the Wandle in February, the e‑bay and Flyfishers Club auctions, the brilliant WTT annual gathering on the Monnow, some really good collaborative work with the Angling Trust, Atlantic Salmon Trust, Fishmongers Company, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and Salmon & Trout Association, agreeing three more years of AVs & PVs funded by EA, getting Gareth Pedley as a Conservation Officer in a really neat collaboration with Eden Rivers Trust, the Game Fair at Blenheim, the 2011 WTT Conservation Awards, Simon Johnson returning and Gary Mantle joining as WTT trustees and so much day-to-day contact with existing and prospective WTT members.

This bit of feedback from a recipient of a Practical Visit last week on the Gloucestershire Coln says a great deal of what WTT is about:
I had not appreciated what the Wild Trout Trust was capable of but now know that there is a professional and expert body which one can turn to for both advice and practical assistance. If only I had known this years earlier then the river might not have slipped into such a bad state.

What’s maybe even more exciting is what 2012 holds for us. We’ll launch a really fresh-looking Wild Trout Survival Guide penned by Vaughan Lewis, the habitat film starring WTT Vice President Jon Beer, a series of short, hugely practical ​“how to” videos (made with Fish On Productions) and advisory sheets on river habitat enhancement and, as a hub for all this and a wealth of other info on wild trout and river conservation, we will (finally) have our new website. All this is icing on the cake that is the Conservation Officers continuing to get out there and working with clubs and landowners to make life better for our wild trout. There will be plenty more, so watch our various WTT spaces in the ether. Can’t wait.

Thank you to all WTT members and followers for your support through 2011. Have a great Christmas and New Year.

Very best wishes,

Shaun

Shaun Leonard

Director, Wild Trout Trust