Category Archive

Tim’s continuing battle to remove junk dumped in the river by thoughtless and selfish people. Click here

The Environment Agency is gathering data and putting together the evidence supplied to them to understand what impact the burst main had on the river. There were dead fish reported from Haxby down to Foss Islands, as well as other seen struggling to breath in the lower reaches. It is difficult to be sure at this stage how much the … Read More

You may have seen in the local news that the Environment Agency have four pumps running along the Foss for the last few days and wondered why. Yorkshire Water reported the presence of both dead fish and others struggling to breath on the surface around Foss Islands Road, as well as in several other places. The cause was found to … Read More

We’re running  a series of balsam pulls over the next few weeks – here are the dates confirmed so far. More will be added as time goes on. If you’d like to join in, please let us know via events@riverfosssociety.co.uk so that the leader knows who to expect and can contact you if there are any changes due to weather … Read More

Alan Robertshaw is leading a bid to create a hay meadow in the grassy area behind West Nooks, an activity very much in-line with our desire to be involved in creating a green corridor along the river. We will be working with him and supporting him as the project progresses. He says: “City of York Council has now agreed to … Read More

We talk a lot about Water Voles on the Foss, and from time to time we see traces of them, though the last time was in 2018. The survey done at the behest of the Environment Agency in the area of the Strensall flood alleviation project was quite depressing with no confirmed sightings or active burrows. So here are some … Read More

  Have you got any old photos of the Foss carefully (or even carelessly) stashed away?   Would you like to share them with the RFS and through us with the wider world? (Not essential – we can just keep them in our archive if you prefer.)   We’ve got three reasons for asking you.   One is for a … Read More

I’m sure you’ve seen and heard quite a bit about otters and mink, recently regarding Covid in farmed mink, but also over many months concerning the effect each of them has on the environment. We have both of these mammals along the Foss from time to time, and have had quite a few reports, as well as photos and videos, … Read More

We’ve got three new videos on the site for you to enjoy, have a look under “The River” 1) Water Monitoring – carrying out the monthly check of water quality 2) Litter picking – a glimpse of the last water-borne pitter pick 3) Slow ‘TV’ – a trip along the Foss from Huntington Road in a kayak.

The RFS has for quite a while been trying to get the waymarking of the Foss Walk improved and the path maintained. Council budgets did not allow for such activities before Covid, thanks mainly to government cuts, so now it’s going to be impossible for the foreseeable future. We’ve been talking to NYCC for a while and the culmination of … Read More