About us
What is FLOW CIC?
For the Love of Water (FLOW) CIC, also known as FLOW CIC, was founded in 2022 to harness our passion and expertise in addressing biodiversity loss at a local level. Our mission is to protect and enhance our local Hampshire Avon through monitoring, enhancement and engagement. While our roots are in the Hants Avon catchment, we fund our work by delivering commercial environmental projects nationwide.
As an asset-locked CIC, we can access grant funding and reinvest all profits directly into river-friendly projects. Everything we do is aimed at restoring and supporting this unique and rare chalk river.
Our purpose
Our goal is to strengthen and support the great work already being done across the River Avon catchment by regulators, NGOs, landowners, and utilities. Instead of working in isolation, we aim to connect efforts, share knowledge, and amplify impact. The Avon is a globally rare chalk stream under threat from pollution, habitat loss, and climate change. It is failing to meet both its conservation status and WFD Good Ecological Status. We believe collaboration is essential to its recovery and long-term health. That’s why we work with everyone from grassroots groups to national organisations to protect and enhance this precious river for future generations.
Our focus areas
Monitoring
Partnering with land managers, community groups and individuals to fill gaps in data through professional and citizen science monitoring.
Enhancement
Enabling river enhancement and restoration within the catchment. Creating climate change resilience by restoring natural processes.
Community
Empowering local communities to take ownership of their local river, and make positive actions to help protect and enhance it.
Our mission
FLOW CIC aim to carry out activities which benefit communities within the River Avon SAC catchment across Wiltshire and Hampshire through engagement, monitoring and improvements in river health.
Meet the team
Dr Daniella Montali-Ashworth
(Non-Exec Director)
Daniella is a chartered engineer and water environment manager, currently conducting research at CREWW (University of Exeter) on water quality improvements through habitat restoration. She brings a creative, research-driven approach to solving complex environmental problems. As a non-executive director, Daniella ensures we stay aligned with our not-for-profit objectives and keeps us focused on the task at hand.
Adam Ellis
(Managing Director and Principal Consultant)
Adam has worked in the environmental sector for twenty years in a variety of public and private sector roles. His deep-rooted passion for rivers, sparked by his love of angling, led him to found FLOW CIC. Adam oversees the company’s operations, manages projects, and provides technical input into a wide range of projects, particularly those related to river restoration and fisheries.
Maddie Crabb
(Director and Senior Environmental Consultant)
With over five years of experience in river restoration design, Maddie supports the technical delivery of our river and biodiversity net gain projects. She combines ecological understanding with practical design tools, using GIS, CAD, and graphic design to explore and communicate landscape change. She’s particularly interested in making complex information more accessible through clear, thoughtful visuals that support nature-based approaches. Maddie’s work aims to connect scientific understanding with visual storytelling, helping to shape restoration strategies that are both effective and inclusive.
Stay connected with our latest projects and insights
Sign up to the FLOW newsletter for updates on our consultancy work, project highlights, and opportunities to get involved in in our conservation work.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Community Interest Company?
A Community Interest Company (CIC) is a special type of limited company designed to benefit the community rather than private shareholders. CICs operate like regular businesses but must reinvest profits into social or environmental purposes. They are regulated to ensure transparency and accountability, with an asset lock that protects community assets. For the Love of Water (FLOW) CIC uses this structure to ensure all income supports our mission to protect and enhance the River Avon and other rivers across the UK. Our work is driven by impact, not profit, with the river as our sole shareholder. CICs are a form of social enterprise. For more details, see Home | Social Enterprise UK.
If you don’t make a profit, then how do you pay your staff?
Each year, we conduct a salary analysis to ensure we pay a fair market rate to our staff. Our core salaries are paid purely through commercial project delivery, not through grants or donations. We only pay staff through salaries; we do not pay dividends.
How many Directors do you have, and how are decisions made?
We currently have three directors. One non-executive (a bit like a trustee in a charity) who helps to ensure we keep on track with our not-for-profit aims, and two salaried directors. All directors have an equal say in decision-making.
Can I Volunteer at FLOW CIC?
We have a network of volunteer water samplers on the Hampshire Avon, if you’d like to get involved see here.
Can I Donate to support your work?
Yes, we accept donations towards our Hampshire Avon Citizen Science project. Any donation, small or big, is gratefully received. Donations cover: Equipment Cost, Data Hosting, and Part-Time Citizen Science Coordinator. Donate here or get in touch.
We’re looking at our Environmental and Social Governance (ESG), can we work with FLOW CIC?
Yes, we’d be happy to discuss. Local businesses can support by sponsoring a local water sampler or helping to fund water testing kits.
How do I report pollution on the river?
Call the Environment Agency Incident Hotline immediately on 0800 80 70 60. For non-urgent reporting, you can also use an online form here https://www.gov.uk/report-water-pollution.
Where can I go swimming on the Hampshire Avon?
Much of the River is privately owned and sensitively managed for the important wildlife that lives there. Fordingbridge Recreation Ground was designated as an inland bathing water in 2024, and provides a fantastic location for swimming and paddling, see here for more details.
Where can I go fishing on the Hampshire Avon?
There are lots of opportunities to try fishing on the Hampshire Avon. The main coarse angling clubs on the lower river are listed below. There are also several private / syndicate beats for both coarse and game angling:
Christchurch Angling Club https://christchurchac.org.uk/
Ringwood Angling Club https://www.ringwoodfishing.co.uk/
Salisbury and District Angling Club https://salisburydistrictac.co.uk/
Day tickets are available for the river in Downton, bookable here https://salisburydistrictac.co.uk/mixed-fishery-day-tickets/, in Fordingbridge https://fordingbridge.gov.uk/fishing-on-the-river-avon/ and on the Royalty Fishery in Christchurch https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/royalty-fishery#a