Supporting capacity and capability of organisations working to improve freshwater environments

To help us make progress towards our impact goal of ‘clean and healthy freshwater’, we commissioned the Cardiff University Water Research Institute to undertake a review of organisations working to restore the freshwater environment across the UK.

One of the biggest challenges to the UK environment is the poor state of freshwater and the amplifying impact of climate change on it. We commissioned this report to understand what issues people in the sector saw as the most important to make progress on, and the degree of consensus around them.

This report will help to inform how we direct our resources towards healthy freshwater so that they will have the greatest effect. We also hope it will be useful for others working in this area.

We’re grateful to Cardiff University Water Research Institute, and the individuals and organisations that contributed their expertise.

Learn more

Latest

You might be interested in

  • Gina Crane standing in the woods

    People can’t build for the future while they're fighting fires

    In Gina Crane’s final project for Esmée, she has been working with Oliver French to pull together six years of learning about Esmée’s strategy for Trustees. In this blog, Gina shares the challenges organisations we fund are facing and shares three things she'd like funders to do.

    Read more
  • The Warren Youth Project crew in Hull after their Good Night Out Campaign training session

    Pre-application Q&A webinar: 28 September 2026

    We're hosting a pre-application Q&A webinar on 28 September at 2pm for organisations interested in applying to Esmée for support who have questions about our application process or guidance.

    Read more
  • annual report 2025

    Annual Report and Accounts 2025

    Our 2025 Annual Report and Accounts gives an overview of our funding, investments and operations during the year.

    Read more