MoRPh Training Day Spring 2026

The Chilterns Chalk Streams Project are pleased to be offering a Modular River Survey (MoRPh) training day this Spring. MoRPh is a way of monitoring the physical condition of a river habitat, and we use it to guide and measure our restoration schemes within the Chilterns Chalk Streams Project. We are looking for new recruits to join our teams of MoRPh survey volunteers to monitor beautiful chalk streams across the Chilterns National Landscape. Current rivers of focus for MoRPh include the Hamble, Hughenden, Ewelme, Misbourne and Chess.

You do not need any prior experience, this is a great opportunity to learn a new skill and make a real difference to river conservation!

The training will take place on Saturday 15 November 2025 in Hughenden (National Trust site) 10:00 - 16:00.

The day will consist of presentations in the morning to teach the MoRPh method until lunchtime, after which you will work in pairs to practice the method along a small section of the river nearby; this survey is conducted from the riverbank and not in the river.

Please bring the following with you on the day:

• Packed lunch (tea/coffee and biscuits will be provided)
• Pen/pencil to fill out survey sheets; you can bring a notepad if you wish to take notes.
• Layered clothing suitable for outdoor fieldwork in the afternoon.
• Waterproofs in case of wet weather.
• Footwear suitable for uneven (and possible wet) ground for the practice session.

You will be provided with your official MoRPh field guide and booklet. The £10 cost of this training day is a subsidy towards the purchase of your survey materials.

Venue & Parking

The room where we are meeting is Studybase which is situated in the Estate Office at Hughenden. For parking please follow the signs for visitor parking on the Estate. The walk down from the visitor car park will take about 7- 8 minutes, please ask the staff at the visitor kiosk who will direct you onwards to the Estate Office. Attendees will need to explain they are going to the MoRPh training day and no entrance fee will be charged.

This citizen science survey is designed for adult participation.

Please direct any queries to: chalkstreamsvolunteers@chilternsoanb.org.

Please note: We have limited space for this event and we would like those attending to be able to survey regularly, please do let us know which river you would be interested in surveying. Book early to avoid disappointment and please let us know at least one week before if you can't make it any more, as this event has limited spaces and high demand.