£30,000
2024
£162k+
THE CHALLENGE
Social enterprise Riverlution wanted to establish a new Stewardship Partnership model in the Humber region to improve the local environment through hands-on conservation, training, and community engagement.
THE OUTCOME
In October 2024 Efficiency North provided £30,000 in seed funding as a catalyst to help Riverlution start up a new Stewardship Partnership model in the Humber region. The funding was made possible from Social Value Credits accrued through Hull City Council’s appointment of Caddick Construction via the EN:Procure new build framework to construct 34 new, affordable, energy-efficient social homes in the Orchard Park area of Hull.
This support helped build Riverlution’s reputation and presence to help secure further funding.
The Riverlution Humber Stewardship Partnership is increasing its reach and impact with ongoing support from Caddick Construction, River Stewardship Company and Environment Agency, a growing portfolio of river and dyke bank maintenance for Hull City Council, and periodic work for the Environment Agency in North Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. Riverlution’s aim is to grow the Humber Partnership to a similar size and impact to their longer established Sheffield Partnership. To support this, they held an event in Hull on 6 November 2025 to introduce the Humber Stewardship Partnership to potential new partner organisations.
The new Humber Stewardship Partnership has also received a commitment from the Environment Agency WEIF (Water Environment Improvement Fund) Dynamic Drains Project to fund a Stewardship Skills Scheme. The Hull and Humber partnership team regularly carry out work in partnership with the Dynamic Drains project. The team have done regular maintenance of signage on the Beverley-Barmston Drain and fishing platforms on the Holderness Drain and helped run family events and litter picks along this stretch of waymarked trail.
Efficiency North will continue to support the Humber Stewardship Partnership as it grows its reputation and offer in the region.
Efficiency North’s initial seed funding has been truly catalytic for Riverlution in the Humber. It gave us the ability to start delivering our Stewardship Partnership model on the ground, build a reputation for high-quality environmental and social impact work, and unlock further investment into the region. In just twelve months, their early support has helped generate over £160,000 of measurable social impact and created a legacy that will continue for years. Quite simply, this partnership wouldn’t exist without their belief in us at the start.”
Geoffrey Guy, Managing Director | Riverlution
ADDED SOCIAL VALUE
In its first year, the Humber Stewardship Partnership achieved a total social impact of £162,718 from the £30,000 seed funding received from Efficiency North. Due to the legacy effects of the partnership’s employment and upskilling of apprentices, there is an additional impact valued at £13,188.40 over the following two years to achieve a total impact of £175,907.08 and £4.03 of measurable social impact per £1 contributed, measured by Social Value Engine.
Added social value activities have included:
- Delivering workshops at St Anthony’s and Walkington primary schools, giving the children opportunities to help build a dead hedge at Oppy Woods Fishing Lake, litter picking to help keep the area clean and teaching them how to survey for small animals by dissecting owl pellets.
- Working with the East Yorkshire Rivers Trust, the Humber and Sheffield teams gave 24 hours of volunteer time to help remove vegetation to keep the rivers open at Driffield Beck.
- Several successful efforts to clear accumulated litter and debris that helped improve rivers and green areas in Orchard Park, Fordyke and Counter Dyke.
With funding support from Hull City Council, the team worked at Counter Dyke to rebuild a section of the bank that had collapsed.
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