[L]ast Sunday marked the seventh West Cumbria Rivers Trust annual litter pick along the River Derwent between Portinscale and downstream to High Stocks Bridge.
The sun shone, hints of spring were in the air and a group of individuals, including members of Keswick Anglers and the Women’s Institute as well as local residents and West Cumbria Rivers Trust volunteers made a real difference to this part of the river.
Twenty-three bags of litter were gathered up by these 16 public-spirited volunteers which was kindly collected and disposed of by Allerdale Borough Council. It’s great news to be able to report that the over the last two years the level of litter is decreasing, after the washout from Storm Desmond has been removed. Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go to keep the river pristine.
This year the litter pick was tied in with the Great British Spring Clean and was all the more poignant with the increasing evidence from scientists of the harm caused to our rivers, lakes and oceans by plastics. We collected hundreds of plastic bottles that had been discarded and made their way into our watercourses.
If you are interested in volunteering, West Cumbria Rivers Trust are always on the look-out for enthusiastic people to help with the work of the Trust to improve watercourses in our area. Volunteering can either be on either a regular basis, or a one-off occasion. To register your interest and sign up for our volunteer mailings please contact our volunteer co-ordinator, Philippa Chadwick at philippa@westcumbriariverstrust.org or 017687 75429.
