Tyne Rivers Trust hosted a celebration event at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts on the banks of the River Tyne, to mark 20 years of work to protect, improve and safeguard the Tyne rivers, their biodiversity and the surrounding environment.
One of the highlights of the event was the premiere of the trust’s 20th anniversary film Your Kind of Tyne, narrated by television presenter Alexander Armstrong, who is the trust’s patron.
Alexander Armstrong said:
“The Tyne rivers hold a very important part in my life and many happy days have been spent fishing and they are where I learned to swim. Those rivers ran through my childhood, and are a hugely important part of my life, so I really feel deeply connected to the conservation and upkeep of these beautiful, biodiverse habitats.”
Guests from the trust’s past, and those linked to their future, heard about the trust’s beginnings, the work it has carried out since, and its plans for the future, as well as hearing the national perspective from Mark Lloyd, chief executive of The Rivers Trust. There was also a launch of the trust’s Impact Report which highlighted how the trust operates and examples of its success.
Dr Ceri Gibson, chief executive officer of Tyne Rivers Trust said:
“The event was an opportunity to say thank you to those who have got us to where we are now but also to look forward to our next 20 years. We wanted to inspire individuals and organisations to join us on our mission to connect people with the Tyne’s rivers, improve water quality and the biodiversity of our catchment and support climate resilience and a prosperous local economy.”
The event was attended by a wide range of guests including volunteers, funders, corporate sponsors, volunteers, councillors and key partner organisations.
You can watch Your Kind of Tyne here.
Reports are available from www.tyneriverstrust.org/impact
