Yes, it’s that time of year again when we take advantage of the lowest tides of the year to give the Thames a truly Deep Clean!
As always, no prior experience necessary and all equipment provided!

This year there will be four family-friendly events, two in East London at the Isle of Dogs and two in West London, at Battersea Bridge and Hammersmith.

See full event details here or contact Alice Hall for more information.

The MA Communication Design students from Central Saint Martins, Ferdinand Povel and Essie Salonen, were driven by a concern for plastic pollution and the negative effect it has on the local environment. From here, plans developed to help inspire and educate Londoner’s to keep their waterways clean, culminating in a giant ‘Rubbish Duck’ sculpture, made from around 1500 to 2000 plastic bottles, which they hope to moor at a central waterway location.

You can help Essie and Ferdinand get started on their duck by joining us at on the Regents Canal for a Big Waterways Clean Up 2012 event next Thursday!
Collected bottles will contribute to the final design.

Watch their short video about their inspiration for the project here, or for more information contact:
Essie on: essi.t.salonen@gmail.com or Ferdinand on: fpovel@yahoo.de

The Rubbish Duck Project from Rubbish Duck on Vimeo.

See our full submission to phase two of the consultation process here: Response to consultation Feb2012

The second phase of the Thames Tunnel consultation process closed on Friday, February 10th.

For more information on the Thames Tunnel Now coalition or to join our call see http://www.thamestunnelnow.org/ 

The Environment Agency, Thames21, the Angling Development Board have come together in a unique partnership to fund this post, which aims to make  fishing appealing and accessible to all,  through highlighting  the social, economic and environmental benefits of one of the country’s most popular sports.

Working closely with the local community, the officer will seek to involve people of all ages and abilities, including the disadvantaged, young people, women, and people from all backgrounds in angling.

To apply or for more information on the post click here.
For full press release click here.

The 44-year-old told a House of Commons reception, hosted by environmentalist and conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, that London’s antiquated sewer network is a “disgusting embarrassment” that urgently needs tackling.

The Westminster event followed a close-up inspection of one of the overflow vents. Roz rowed under Putney Bridge to see for herself the human effluent, sanitary items and other detritus that run from the combined sewer overflow (CSO) beneath the busy Thames crossing, just yards away from riverside restaurants and prestigious rowing clubs.

Putney Bridge CSO discharges 34 times a year on average, accounting for 68,200 of the 39m tonnes of sewage that annually enters the river from the 36* most-polluting CSOs built into London’s overstretched Victorian sewer network.

Roz, the first woman to row across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, braved London’s filthy waters in her role as ambassador for Thames Tunnel Now (TTN) – a coalition of 18 environmental groups who support the proposed Thames Tunnel, which will stop sewage entering the river.

After her trip to see the Putney sewer overflow, Roz addressed a TTN reception at the House of Commons attended by nearly 200 supporters of the project. Roz said: “It’s a disgusting embarrassment that we are dumping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sewage into the river every week. It is also a serious health hazard and I hate to think what visitors to the Olympics will think. I’ve rowed through some pretty grim stuff on my travels but the Thames is heart-breakingly returning to the open sewer it used to be 200 years ago. The Thames Tunnel cannot come soon enough.”

Read full press release

For more information on the Thames Tunnel Now Coalition see:
www.thamestunnelnow.org

Environmental Challenge awards in Bexley this week. The Riverkeeping project, coordinated by Joanne Bradley won gold in the Green Project category, recognising the hard work she and her many committed volunteers carried out throughout the year to improve the river for people and wildlife.

There were many volunteers that helped make this project a success in its first year. Thank you to all of you, and especially to Sarah and Jerome Whitelaw, Duncan Devine, Stuart McMullen, Sue Stephenson, John Arnold, Chris King and Chris Rose who took the time to help represent Thames21 at the award ceremony.

Thames21′s River Cray Riverkeeper Michael Heath was also recognised for his hard work with Friends of Foots Cray Meadows. The environmental group won the top award on the night – being named the winner of the Bexley Environmental Challenge Awards 2011.

The awards were sponsored by Cory Riverside.

For more information on our River Shuttle project see here.
Or to get involved, contact Joannne Bradley.

The snapshot water quality testing was commissioned by Thames21 and saw staff working alongside students from Queen Mary’s University London.

The tests were carried out at the end of November to get an overall, rapid picture of the problem, across the worst affected parts of the Lea Valley. The River Lea and the streams that flow into it form London’s second largest river system, but are being devastated by pollution.

The Pymmes and Salmons Brook in LB Enfield don’t have enough oxygen in the water to support healthy fish life.

Read the full press release.

Download the  the full report here: East.London.water.quality.report.Dec11.

Students from reception classes and after school clubs joined the charity in native tree planting along the canal to help stop litter being blown into the water and to provide habitat for wildlife.

The hawthorn, hazel, birch, rowan, cherry and dogwood saplings were donated by the Woodland Trust and RE:LEAF.

This work is part of an on-going Thames21 project to encourage people to look after their local waterways, funded by Brent Council.

“We want to engage students directly in making environmental improvements to their local area so they can learn about the environment in a hands-on way. “The children will then be able to witness the trees grow, and make a lasting difference to the canal and surrounding green space well into the future,” Thames21 Brent Coordinator Vicky D’Souza said.

For more information on this project click here or contact Vicky D’Souza vicky.dsouza@thames21.org.uk/ 07827 852 599

The winning image showed both sides of the canal – open country to the left and an industrial site to the right – with the West London Floating Classroom itself taking centre stage. Ms Dowsett won a £50 Amazon voucher for her effort. Second place was to Megan Brent and third to Tony O’Dell.

The images were shown aboard the West London Floating Classroom during a family activity day to launch the project on Hayes Canal. Over 50 local residents got involved on the day, taking part in kayak trips thanks to Hayes and Harlington District Scouts and enjoying educational trips of the canal aboard the floating classroom.

Get in touch with Billy Coburn for more information about this project.

Please help save the rivers of the Lower Lea Valley and pledge your Love to the Lea; sort out household misconnections and spot and report river pollution.

For more information on our Love the Lea campaign click here, or contact pledgelovethelea@thames21.org.uk.

Get involved on Facebook and urge others to show their Love to the Lea.