Staff and students at Ramsey Grammar School have joined forces with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on a river improvement project.

They spent the day with River Management Officer Karen Galtress and Peter Keenen from the Forestry Division, coppicing and thinning trees along a heavily shaded section of the River Neb.

Overhanging vegetation provides valuable cover for fish, but extensive stretches of heavy shade can limit salmon and trout populations.

The reduced light can also limit the growth of herbaceous plants, which help keep the river banks stable.

During the day the students also took a close look at creatures such as stonefly and mayfly larvae, which live on the river bed

(Picture: Hard working volunteers Aaron Lawley; teacher Dave Radford; Daniel Taylor; teacher Sarah Stephenson; and Karen Galtress work on thinning the trees along the River Neb)