BBCKatie Jones said there were practical solutions to the problems the Teme facesAn environmental charity has offered to match all public donations made to an appeal to protect the River Teme between 22 and 29 April.
The Severn Rivers Trust said the money raised would pay for river restoration, improving water quality, protecting wildlife habitats and flood resilience.
It described the Teme as "one of the regions most important rivers", but said it faced challenges because of river modification, a loss of tree cover, eroding banks and pollution from surrounding land.
Katie Jones, the charity's head of fundraising, said: "We know there are real challenges facing our rivers, including water quality, but there are also practical solutions."
Over the last six months, Severn Rivers Trust said it had created 22 new ponds, restored three hectares of wetland habitat and more than 10 hectares of woodland.
One of the species that would benefit, it said was Atlantic salmon, which faced challenges in getting upstream to spawn.
PhD researcher Ed Noyes, who studies Atlantic salmon in the Severn catchment, said there had been a "real decline" in the river in recent years.
But he believes there are solutions and said: "Improving habitat and helping fish move more freely can make a real difference over time."
The Severn Rivers Trust said the Teme faced a number of issuesThe charity said it had worked with the Environment Agency, Shropshire Council and local farmers, to carry out its work.
It added that money raised during its one-week appeal would be used on "habitat restoration, tree planting, wetland creation and ongoing monitoring".
Sophie Bloor, who works as a restoration officer for the Severn Rivers Trust, said all the farmers she had worked with were "super keen, super on board".
"They want to do stuff to help the rivers," she said.
She added that there was no shortage of ideas for projects and the issue was funding.
"We just need the finances to support it, so anything that anyone can give [helps] and then it gets doubled. That's a huge win for us," she said.
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