Stop intensive farming killing our rivers

Just 15% of rivers in England meet 'good ecological status'.

Agricultural pollution is the single biggest source of river pollution in the UK.

Huge volumes of manure from intensive chicken farms spread on land near rivers is seeping into the water, causing algal blooms which starve the river of oxygen, killing precious habitats for wildlife like otters and kingsfishers.

At the Soil Association we’re doing everything we can to stop this happening. But as a charity we need your support.  

Join us as a member today, and together we can save our rivers before it’s too late. 

Join the battle to save our rivers

• We're running out of time

  Right now, rivers across the UK - from the Wye in Wales to the Thet and Wissey in Norfolk, the Arrow and Frome in Herefordshire, the Severn in Gloucestershire and the Witham in Lincolnshire - are under threat from intensive chicken farming.

  We’re determined to stop rivers like these from dying, but we can’t do it without you.

• Together we can save our rivers

  With your support as a member, we can lobby UK governments to ban the construction of new intensive chicken farms. You'll also help farmers move to more humane ways of farming chicken that don't pollute our rivers, and in doing so, protect precious wildlife like otters and kingfishers.

Become a member today

Join us as a member from £5 a month, and you'll help us:

• Lobby UK governments to ban construction of new intensive chicken farms
• Demand higher standards for chicken farming that don't harm our rivers and are fairer to chickens
• Support farmers to adopt nature-friendly, river-safe farming

• Member benefits
  • Join a community of people dedicated to building a world with good health, in balance with nature, and a safe climate
  • Receive a monthly newsletter updating you on how you're making a difference
  • Receive your member's Living Earth magazine three times a year
• About the Soil Association

  We understand that many of the problems society and nature face, are connected. We work on multiple fronts to transform the way we eat, farm and care for our world.

  But we can only create a fairer, healthier food system with the support of people like you.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our work, or being a member of the Soil Association, please email us at mailto:memb@soilassociation.org or call 0300 330 0022. You can read our membership terms and condition below.

Join by post

If your Direct Debit account requires more than one signature, you can join by completing a paper form and sending it to us. Click here to download a paper join form.

• Membership terms and conditions.

  Soil Association Charity Membership Terms and Conditions

  The following are the membership terms and conditions of the Soil Association Charity (the “Charity”) and you should read them carefully as they set out your rights and obligations as a member of the Charity. These terms and conditions are based on our Articles of Association.

   

  The Soil Association is a registered charity: number no 206862 in England and Wales; number SC039168 in Scotland.

  Eligibility

  Membership of the Charity is offered to the public and to licensees of Soil Association Certification Limited.

  Public membership

  These terms and conditions apply to the following current public Charity memberships: Individual, Joint, Soil Friend, Soil Circle and Producer.

  The terms and conditions also apply to holders of the following public Charity memberships that are no longer actively offered by the Charity: Family, Concessionary, Life and Honorary.

  All these public memberships have Company Law membership rights.

  Licensee membership

  Licensees can be either full members of the Charity with Company Law membership rights, Associate members without Company Law membership rights or decide to have no relationship with the Charity.

  For the avoidance of doubt there is no requirement for a licensee of Soil Association Certification Limited to have any kind of membership relationship with the Charity. Licensees who are members of the Charity may terminate their Charity membership at any time and this will have no impact on their relationship with Soil Association Certification Limited.

  These terms and conditions apply to the following current licensees of Soil Association Certification Limited: Organic food producers, Organic food processers, Health & Beauty and Textiles, providing they were licensed prior to 5th November 2015 and unless they have opted out of full Charity membership.

  These terms and conditions apply to the following current licensees of Soil Association Certification Limited: Organic food producers, Organic food processers, Health & Beauty and Textiles, who were licensed from 5th November 2015 and who have opted in to full Charity membership.

  The Charity will grant the status of Associate member to eligible licensees who either opt-out of or choose not to take up full Charity membership. Associate membership of the Charity does not convey Company Law membership rights or obligations. With the exception of the section entitled “Charity membership rights and obligations”, these terms and conditions also apply to Associate Members.

  Eligible licensees and any other customers of Soil Association Certification Limited offered Associate membership by the Charity, are free to opt out of or may choose not to take up such Associate membership.

  Your details

  You are responsible for informing the Charity of changes to your personal details. If you are provided with individual passwords for access to our on-line services these must not be shared with anyone else.

  All members agree that postal addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers and other personal details provided to the Charity may be used for administrative purposes and to fulfil your Charity membership. As part of your membership the Charity may also send you information about our work and our fundraising where we feel this would be of interest to you. We may contact you by post, telephone and/or email where you have provided these to us.

  You can of course opt-out of communications from us at any time, save that we are legally required to communicate with members who hold Company Law rights and obligations on certain matters governed by Company Law for as long as you remain such a member of the Charity. Any such member joining the Charity after 10th August 2015 will be provided with Company Law information by means of our website unless the member contacts us to request that such information is sent to them directly.

  The Charity takes great care of your personal information. If you would like to see full details of how we process your data, or to change how we communicate with you please see our Privacy Policy.

  Charity membership rights and obligations

  The Charity is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee: company registration number 00409726. As a member of the Charity you have certain rights and obligations laid down in Company Law and our Articles of Association.

  As a Charity member your rights include, the right to:

  - Attend the Annual General Meeting of the Charity

  - Receive the Annual Report and Accounts of the Charity

   

  • What is matched funding?

    The Savitri Trust and our Chair of Trustees Martin Nye have committed to match the first year of membership for anyone who joins the Soil Association before April 30th. The first 250 new memberships will be matched (up to £15,000).

    This means that if you pay £10 a month, for the first year of your membership the Trust or donor will also pay £10 a month. In the first year of your membership, an additional £120 could be donated to the charity through matched funding, at no extra cost to you.

    Who are the Savitri Trust?

    The Savitri Trust is a UK based family foundation, with a sister foundation in India. They are driven by the belief that everyone has the right to good health, donating up to £1 million towards environmental and community health programmes globally each year. Savitri is supporting the Soil Association's 'Stop Killing our Rivers' campaign, matching every new donation to the campaign up to £10,000.

• Research and references

  -"Just 15% of rivers in England meet 'good ecological status'."

  The Rivers Trust, 2024. State of Our Rivers Report 2024.