The Vital River is a documentary on the importance of rivers. It looks at the conservation of a familiar habitat, showing how rivers are vital to a wealth of specialised plants and animals as well as to man. The film also illustrates how river management can meet the needs of both man and wildlife. A film by RSPB. Scenes of countryside landscape and rivers are shown. A river is shown splashing/flowing. A still river is shown with bird noises in the background. Title – The Vital River...

The Vital River is a documentary on the importance of rivers. It looks at the conservation of a familiar habitat, showing how rivers are vital to a wealth of specialised plants and animals as well as to man. The film also illustrates how river management can meet the needs of both man and wildlife. A film by RSPB. Scenes of countryside landscape and rivers are shown. A river is shown splashing/flowing. A still river is shown with bird noises in the background. Title – The Vital River A swan is shown cleaning its feathers on the river. There are flowers on the riverbed, and a dragonfly and butterfly sit on a leaf near the river. Birds can be seen in the trees, and a countryside landscape is shown. The still river with the sun reflecting from it is shown. Next, there is extreme flooding in the streets amongst houses, and floodplains are shown. A kettle being filled at a household sink is shown. Shots of reservoirs. Water travelling via a damn waterfall from the highlands to the lowlands. A dial on a washing machine is turned and the drum can be seen spinning with clothes being washed inside. A woman is seen washing herself in a bath, and a little boy flushes a toilet. Waste water is shown splashing. Water shown going through mechanisms at treatment works. Weirs are shown. A boat travels down alongside the weir; the locks are shown for the boat to bypass the weir. Cogs are shown turning at a water mill. Water is shown splashing on a water wheel. Power plant chimney is shown. A man is shown sitting at a table in a garden, reading a book and drinking a pint of beer. A man is shown sitting on a fold-out chair, fishing on the river bank. Several other people are seen on the river bank fishing, with umbrellas/parasols giving them shade. Rivers are shown in the countryside. Streams are shown in upland river systems. A waterfall is shown, with the water crashing downwards. A rocky shallow riverbed is shown, where the rocks settle after gushing down the falls and river. Small invertebrate animals are shown latched onto a stone. The hills are shown above the river. A common sandpiper is shown walking onto a rock from the grass. Its nest is seen on the ground. One sandpiper walks down to the river in search of food (small invertebrates), whilst one stays with the nest. A grey wagtail emerges from the river with food (flying insects). The mother grey wagtail is sitting on the nest of chicks in a rocky crevice, waiting for the food. A large aerial landscape of the countryside is shown. A dipper bird is seen on the edge of a waterfall with food in its mouth. It takes this to the chicks in the nest who are close to the water side. The dipper removes droppings from the nest and disposes of them at the river, to conceal their nesting spot. The dipper is shown close up with an insect in its mouth at the river side. A dipper is shown nesting in a man-made bridge above the river. A goosander duckling is shown nesting in a hollow tree near to the river. Several goosander ducklings jump out of the tree nest and onto the grassy ground. The mother goosander is seen swimming on the water. The goosander ducklings make their way into the river, and are shown swimming around. The roots of bankside trees are shown, where otters take residence. An otter is shown in the river. Otter droppings are shown at the side of the river. Cattle are shown standing in the river, eating/drinking. White blossoms are shown on the water’s surface. Countryside landscape is shown. Flatlands and natural floodplains are shown. A digger is shown adding flood banks to the river by widening and deepening the area. A worker is shown in the cab of the digger. Flood banks are shown surrounding the river. A moorhen is shown in the river, foraging in the aquatic plants. Chicks are shown amongst the river plants. Reeds swaying in the river are shown. Aquatic weed harvester is shown being used to cut some of the plant life in the river to stop the obstruction of water flow. Plant growth shown at the side of a river. A coot is shown in a nest in branches that have fallen in the river. Pollarded willow trees are shown. Lots of riverside trees are shown. A bird is seen singing from the top of a tree branch. Fungi on dead wood is shown. Marked trees are shown (one marked L for leave and one marked P for pollard). A worker is shown cutting a tree branch with a chainsaw, and then treating the wound to prevent disease. Tree planting sites are shown with chutes attached to wooden poles. Sandmartin birds are shown in a communal nest, dug into an excavated area of river bank. They are shown digging the burrow further. A kingfisher nest is shown in the river bank covered in droppings. A kingfisher is shown sitting on a plant. Steel piling reinforcement shown on the riverbank near housing. Riff raff stone riverbank reinforcement is shown, with plants growing between the cracks. Workers are shown creating river bank spiling from willow. Early stages of concrete honeycomb are shown lining an entire channel. Concrete honeycomb in its later stages with plants colonising on top of it, are shown lining the river in a subtle way. A water vole is shown eating a plant. Flowers at the edge of the river bank are shown. Reeds flowing in the water are shown. A worker in a digger is shown dredging the river. Landscape of the river is shown. Aquatic plants at the side of the river are shown. The digger is shown replacing the top soil and sediment after dredging. Plants that were moved at the start of dredging are shown being replanted after the work is complete. A dragonfly is shown on a plant. The re-planted plants are shown fully grown. A river groyne is shown. A landscape shot of still water is shown, with small shallow bays at the side of the river. Aquatic plants are shown in the shallow bays, as well as small fish where the ground serves as a nursery ground. A low stone weir is shown. The water splashes over the rocks, and aquatic flowers can be seen on the surface. An excavated upper channel, prepared for times of flood, is shown. The lower channel for normal water flow is shown. Large fish are shown swimming in the water. Lots of plant life, including lily pads and reeds are seen on the surface of the river. A butterfly is shown on a flower. Reeds are shown at the side of the river. Birds and chicks in a nest are shown at the side of the river. A landscape shot of the river is shown. Credits: Our thanks to County Nature Conservation Trusts, Nature Conservancy Council, The Otter Haven Project, Water Space Amenity Commission, Water Authorities in England and Wales RSPB Film