Joining the Wandle Trust River Clean Up: Finding flow (and wet wipes)
A couple of weeks ago I heard from a friend, that there was a monthly river clean up going on the River Wandle.
As I continue to try and live in a less carbon-intensive way, getting involved in local things has become of more interest to me. When I found it was happening less than a mile from my house, and day free, I was determined to go and check out.
This monthly clean-up is run by the Wandle Trust and each month they meet at different stretches along the River Wandle, and volunteers turn up armed with a packed lunch and from 11am-3pm they get to work on cleaning up the river and the surrounding area.
Whilst it is the council’s responsibility to look after land around the river, there is no obligation to look after the river itself, so it falls down to volunteers to look after it. The main issue is fly-tipping which is not just visibly unsightly but also pollutes the water and damages the river environment. Rubbish dumped on the riverbed traps silt which smothers the natural gravels on the riverbed where plants and animals live and fish lay their eggs. Other items can be directly toxic, such as motorbikes which leak fuel.
Unable to recruit anyone to join me I went solo and met the other volunteers. Most of them were probably in their forties or older and there a lot of regulars, some with their river cleaning gear. Would they accept an amateur in the group? Fortunately, yes. Some were fishermen who had a vested interest in maintaining the river health so they could continue to fish, the others I spoke to were motivated to support the local conservation of the area.
After a safety briefing, I donned waders for the first time, I got to work. Standing in the river feeling the stream run against my legs without getting wet was a strange sensation to begin with and took a few minutes to get used to.
As I slowly worked my way upstream I fished out countless baby wipes, plastic bags, chipboard, glass bottles, cans, debit cards, bra and a thong, various parts of a car including car mats, brake lights, wing mirrors and construction sacks. There was even a bike that took four people to excavate out of the river bed.
I was most surprised to see was the sheer number of wet wipes, which find their way into the river through the overflow from the sewage system. By the time they ended up in the claw of the litter picker they are covered in mud and looked like a dirty rag.
If you are a wet wipe user reading this — please remember not to throw wet wipes in the toilet — they will not biodegrade!
Despite the fact I was picking up rubbish, getting in the waders and searching for rubbish was actually fun and strangely meditative. Once I had got the hang of wading through the water, peering down into the silty river, with the sun shining through the trees overhead was pretty dreamy and the hours slipped away. I was in “flow”, both mentally and physically. Maybe it’s this feeling that people love about fishing?
As well as spending time in the river, getting to meet the other volunteers and chatting to other people who were walking by the river was a really interesting part of the day too — as well as the free tea and cake. I learnt about how the wildlife of the river had changed dramatically over time and that despite the litter, there is still a lot of fish along the river, even if the catches are a bit smaller these days.
As I left for the day this was the litter that had been collected:
I would definitely recommend coming to join a river clean up or getting involved in volunteering locally to you. It was a really positive experience being around people who cared about our local environment and I’ll definitely be doing it again.
If you want to get involved visit the Wandle Trust site to learn more!
