08. June 2026 River Pearl PLUS

Off to the Aubonne

A look back in pictures on the first excursion to river pearls in Romandy, French-speaking Switzerland. At the start of spring we went on a fascinating trip to the banks of the Aubonne.

Arriving at Bière railway station, we embarked on a walk along the water to the castle at Aubonne, enjoying unspoilt nature, birdsong and some surprising encounters along the way: white-throated dippers, grey wagtails, amphibians, dragonflies and large invertebrates.

Armed with landing nets, magnifying glasses, bowls and brushes, we took a closer look at the river to assess its water quality. Bioindicators such as the larvae of mayflies, caddisflies, dipterans and freshwater shrimp (small crabs) helped give us a better understanding of the health of this ecosystem. Many of these larvae are particularly sensitive to changes in the water body and often take a long time to mature. Their presence indicates that the water quality has been good for a number of years.

Sarah, one of those present, says, “I enjoyed getting the chance to dip my landing net in the river. Often only children get to do this activity, and I thought it was brilliant fishing for aquatic insects!”

The tumbling series of pools and mini waterfalls in the above photograph do not occur naturally. In fact, they are fish ladders designed to enable trout to swim upstream and reproduce.

As well as observation itself, the trip also offered an opportunity to chat about the effects of human activities and the need to protect these valuable yet sensitive natural habitats. Spending time by the river encourages mindfulness, particularly of living things, and a sense of responsibility towards the small animals we come into contact with. What those on the trip particularly enjoyed was using landing nets to search for aquatic life using landing nets in order to assess the water quality.

The participants were given a flyer with rules setting out how to behave in and on the river. It can be downloaded from (German): https://gewaesserperleplus.ch/media/download/39/743/WWF-Gewaesserperle_Verhaltensguide-hoch-DE_V1-1.pdf

Would you too like to discover the most beautiful river pearls in Switzerland?
On our next two trips in June we will be exploring the Alte Aare and the Nozon.

For more information and how to register, go to: https://www.wwf-ouest.ch/projets-themes/cours-deau-et-marais/rivieres-perles/excursions-rivieres-perles