A CONSERVATIONIST will be going to Russia next year following the success of a recent fact-finding visit by Russian environmentalists.

Rob Cunningham, a fresh water officer at the Devizes-based Water Policy Unit of the National Wildlife Trusts which covers all wildlife groups nationwide, will be spending several weeks in Russia as part of a pilot project.

Dr Gary Mantle, who set up the unit last year, said: We need to work together in partnership to tackle many of the world's environmental ills. By sharing our experiences we can look into finding appropriate solutions.

The three Russians spent part of their visit last May looking at the community-based Wiltshire River Monitoring Scheme, which is one of only two in the country.

The scheme, which was set up by the Wildlife Trusts and is staffed by volunteers, has monitoring stations at 33 river sites throughout Wiltshire. It has been running for seven years.

The volunteers make monthly visits to rivers, take measurements and look at the plants and animal life.

This material provides information on the impact of land drainage, pollution and forms of land management that pose a threat to rivers.