We Are the River Dee Trust
We are a conservation charity working across the Cairngorms and the River Dee catchment, restoring nature on a landscape scale from Braemar to the Port of Aberdeen. Our mission is to deepen understanding of the river’s ecology and turn science and monitoring into practical action that benefits wildlife, habitats, and local communities.
We work with people who care about the River Dee, and volunteering is a vital part of what we do: supporting tree planting, habitat restoration, education, and community projects. We also provide learning opportunities for schools, organisations, and individuals across Northeast Scotland. Guided by robust evidence, we are dedicated to protecting the River Dee and its wildlife for future generations.
Winner of the Nature and Climate Action Award
for our #OneMillionTrees Campaign
Save the Spring
A major 20‑year project launched in 2023 aims to restore the River Dee by protecting threatened spring‑run Atlantic salmon, reducing flood and drought impacts, and applying innovative science. Public engagement began in January 2024, with work focused on river processes and wild fish repopulation
One Million Trees
The River Dee Trust’s One Million Trees Campaign, launched in 2020, tackles rising river temperatures threatening young salmon. Building on planting begun in 2013, the initiative seeks public and business support to double planting rates and reach one million trees by 2035.
Support us
The River Dee Trust protects the Dee through volunteering, supporter programmes, and its One Million Trees campaign, which aims to plant trees along riverbanks to cool waters and safeguard salmon. You can help by volunteering, becoming a supporter, or visiting the online shop.
Latest news
River Dee Trust welcomes continued support from Ithaca Energy
The River Dee Trust has welcomed the continued commitment and generous support of Ithaca Energy, reaffirming the importance of strong corporate partnerships in delivering long-term river restoration and conservation across the Dee catchment. Since Ithaca Energy became...
Run Balmoral champions the River Dee Trust’s One Million Trees campaign
Run Balmoral participants this year not only enjoyed the scenery of the countryside of upper Deeside but helped tackle the local impact of climate change. In a move to improve sustainability around the flagship annual running festival, event organisers donated over...
Robson Green rallies Friends of the River Dee
TV legend Robson Green is supporting Friends of the River Dee, a new initiative by award-winning Aberdeenshire conservation charity the River Dee Trust. Launched to build a community championing the wellbeing of the Dee and raise vital funds to deliver nature...
A summer of volunteering on the River Dee
River Dee Trust volunteers have been instrumental in tackling the challenge of invasive plants on the Dee and the Don this summer. Corporate teams from Serica, bp and Ithaca got to work on the banks of the Dee at Culter, Garthdee, Inverdee and at RGU’s campus, while...
River Dee’s First Source-to-Sea Clean-Up Makes Waves for Wildlife and Community
Members of the Deeside community helped to tackle the blight of litter this June in the first-ever Source-to-Sea litter pick spanning the length of the River Dee, from above Braemar in the Cairngorms right down to the Port of Aberdeen. Facilitated by the River Dee...
Generosity in memory of a dear friend
It is always inspiring and heartwarming to learn how much the River Dee means to people and how it has positively impacted their lives. The team here at the River Dee Trust would very much like to thank the friends and family of Gail Riekie who recently raised £3,700...