On the 27th of February 2019, we were out on the River Oykel with Steven MacKenzie, and Dr Tim Meadows from APEM, to do the first round of sampling for the sediment fingerprinting study. Using some basic equipment (a metal dustbin with the bottom cut off and a drill with a paint mixer) allowed us to isolate a portion of the riverbed, and agitate the substrate to suspend sediment in the water for us to sample. The result can be seen in the color of the sample bottles, note the variation in how dark some of them are. These samples will be sent away for analysis in a laboratory. In the summer time we’ll take more in-river samples, as well as some outwith the river bed to try and identify potential sources.