
Budget | £987k |
Partners: | National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, City of Doncaster Council, Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, FCC Community Fund, local ‘Freinds of’ groups. |
Key outcomes: | Community engagement, habitat restoration. |
Local watercourse: | River Don |
The Don Catchment Rivers Trust has been successful in obtaining funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver the All Hands on the Don project, which is based around the natural, historic and cultural heritage of the lower River Don between Mexborough and Thorne.

The river, which has been radically transformed and engineered over the course of centuries, is central to the long and complex history of the area, being the main reason why Doncaster and many of the settlements that line the river’s banks exist.
All Hands on the Don aims to:
Realise the River Don’s potential as green-blue infrastructure, and as a source of health, wellbeing and skills development
Explain the profound transformation of the River Don and drive forward biodiversity gain
Celebrate and promote natural and historic heritage
An imaginative programme of volunteering, events, access improvements, work placements and habitat improvements will look to;
- increase health and wellbeing
- foster community action, inclusion and community cohesion
- increase skills and employability
- improve access to the river, celebrate river heritage and foster understanding of the river and river issues