Open Country - Ripples of the Ballinderry River

Helen Mark visits Northern Ireland to find out about an exciting new community project taking place along the banks of the Ballinderry River. Along the way Helen meets people who have grown up with the Ballinderry and who are taking part in a very special project, protecting the environment and the wildlife around it and reconnecting people with the river. Helen begins by going on a hunt for the endangered white-clawed crayfish, once a common sight in rivers and lakes and now on an ever-increasing list of globally threatened species. She also meets local people involved with RIPPLE, a project designed to encourage people to get more involved in planning the future of their river, and takes to the water with canoeing enthusiasts. Further along the river, Helen meets local sound artist Paul Moore to hears the river sing, before finishing her journey on the shores of Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles and the winter home for a huge number and variety of birds. But are there as still as many arriving as the 90,000 that wintered here in the late 1980s?