Trout release? Wye-ever not!

Date: 25th March 2026

On the 21 March, the Not Bourne Yesterday team, accompanied by Dadima’s CIC, an intergenerational community walking group, released thirty brown trout into the precious River Wye in High Wycombe.

Six young children gather round a woman as she kneels in front of a white tray full of river water and invertebrates.

Each child was given their own trout to release into the gravel base of Desborough Recreation Grounds. Under sparkling sunshine, they discussed the importance of trout for the chalk stream ecosystem, and wished the trout good luck on their respective journeys.

Dr Geeta Ludhra and Subash Ludhra, are co-founders of Dadima’s and impassioned chalk stream advocates. Geeta writes of the event: “the youngest person to attend was our granddaughter aged 4 months; we’ve had grandparents in their 70s at our first intergenerational family event. It felt so special to get children, parents and grandparents into the chalk stream for the first time to learn about and identify the wildlife and also appreciate why these streams are so special.”

The brown trout fry were provided by the Chiltern Chalk Streams Project as part of Trout in the Classroom programme, where a number of schools in the Chess and Wye catchments receive an aquarium containing eggs, or young fish. The children care for the fish, learn about their extraordinary lifecycle, then release the trout into their local chalk stream. This immersive, educational experience embeds chalk stream ecology in local schools.