Birse parish and the communities within it, are very largely defined by rivers and burns.

Over 90% of the parish's boundaries are a river or burn or else the catchment boundary of one, while the communities of Finzean, Ballogie and Birse very largely coincide with the catchments of the Water of Feugh, Burn of cattie and Burn of Birse respectively.

This link between these rivers and burns and the communities was reflected in the Dedication of the Birse Millennium Stone on 1st January 2001, when the chairmen of each Community Association brought water from their respective rivers for use in anointing the Stone.

Following on from that Event, BCT has started a project to find out more about the parish's rivers and burns. The project includes mapping them all, locating the names of as many as possible and collecting together existing information on aspects such as their water quality, wildlife and management, and then publishing the results for the interest of Trust members and others.