The English community that brought its river back from the brink: ‘If we can get it right here, we can do it everywhere’

‘For too long, water has been seen as a problem’ … Jan Cope and Ruth Needham beside the River Mease Photograph: Amber Banks Brumby/The Guardian

‘A noisy river is a healthy river,” says Ruth Needham of the Trent Rivers Trust (TRT). The Mease in the Midlands must be in fine fettle, then, as it gurgles merrily along. Sunlight glints off riffles in the water and shoals of fry dart past. Needham whips out her phone to video the tiny fish: “My colleagues will be jumping for joy to see them!”

Needham has good reason to be buoyant. Last month, the Mease won the UK River prize 2026 – which was established by the River Restoration Centre in 2014 to acknowledge innovative projects – in recognition of the trust’s 13-year restoration campaign. “The prize has been a massive boost,” says Needham. “If we can get the Mease into better condition, we can improve other rivers, too.”