A 10-STRONG team is preparing to run and cycle the route of the salmon’s migration up the Tyne to raise funds to educate youngsters about their journey.

To celebrate 2019 as the International Year of the Salmon, the group from Tyne Rivers Trust will be running and cycling from Tynemouth and covering 83 miles from the mouth of the Tyne to the Kielder hatchery.

The money raised from the Salmon Run will fund the trust’s Salmon in the Classroom project which brings to life the story of the Atlantic salmon.

The project has already been delivered in several Tynedale schools, including Adderlane Academy in Prudhoe, Shaftoe Trust Primary in Haydon Bridge, Ovingham Middle School and Wark First School, but the trust wants to raise the funds needed to take it to even more schools.

The project gives pupils the chance to watch the initial lifecycle of the salmon in real time by hatching salmon eggs in a tank in their classroom. They then take a trip to the riverbank to release them at the fry stage of their development.

Ceri Gibson, director of Tyne Rivers Trust which is the only environmental charity dedicated to looking after the River Tyne said: “Many local schools have already benefited from our Salmon in the Classroom project and the chance to learn on the riverbank. By raising money for this project, we want to give more schoolchildren the chance to learn and explore outdoors.

“Every year, salmon return from their journey out to sea to swim up the Tyne to the spot where they were born to lay their own eggs.

“This is known as the salmon migration. As well as improving habitat, Tyne Rivers Trust support this journey by building fish passes to reduce the number of barriers that migratory fish encounter as they move upstream.

“We also want to highlight the plight of our rivers in the Tyne catchment.

“Only 30 per cent meet water quality targets so our work to improve habitat and water quality is vital for a better river, a better region and a better life for everyone.”

The group will make the journey from Tynemouth to Kielder on Saturday and donations towards the project can be made at: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/SalmonRun2019