Whichever way you look at it, there’s never been a more important time for international learning, collaboration and celebration for everyone who’s involved in restoring rivers.
The Prix Charles Ritz has been awarded in France for many years…
… endors(ing) conservation focused on the recovery of wild fish populations in balance with their natural environment, rewarding individuals or communities who improve their local river habitat.
In 2019, the International Fario Club decided to extend the Prix Charles Ritz to the UK for the first time…
… to build a bridge between the parallel fates of our rivers and wildlife, and a link with the various public involved in water preservation, including water and rivers statutory bodies, local communities, farmers, foresters, scientists, and consumers… on both sides of the Channel.
International Fario Club director Laurent Sainsot recruited a judging panel of experienced river restorationists – including Charles Rangeley-Wilson, Johanna Halford, Richard Sankey, Roger Harrison, Tony Bird and this website’s editor Theo Pike, under celebrity president Albert Roux – who narrowed an impressive array of 11 dossiers down to 3 finalists:
- Don Catchment Rivers Trust’s Living Heritage of the River Don project
- Wye & Usk Foundation’s Gravelling the Elan System project
- Wilton Fly Fishing Club’s Stoford and South Newton Improvement project
The judging panel visited each of the finalists’ project sites, and (perhaps in a sign of the times and the innovative nature of contemporary urban river projects?) eventually made the decision to award first prize to the Don Catchment Rivers Trust.
The Prix Charles Ritz was presented at the Athenaeum Club in London last week – where Albert Roux also gave a personal award to the Hampstead and Highgate Angling Society for their efforts to protect and promote fishing on Hampstead Ponds, including tuition sessions for local schoolkids.
Congratulations to the Don Catchment Rivers Trust on winning the UK’s first Prix Charles Ritz for this exceptional community-focused urban river restoration project!
