Boris gets stuck in with Thames21

image: James O Jenkins.

4 June 2009

Mayor rolls up sleeves to ‘clean and green’ London and urges others to do the same.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, rolled up his sleeves today to help clear up a London river as part of a new drive to celebrate and encourage volunteering in the capital.

At the river Pool in Lewisham, the Mayor helped to remove litter and Himalayan Balsam - an invasive plant species that prevents native vegetation and wildlife from thriving - from the riverbanks. The Mayor was joined by local people from the Quaggy Waterways Action group at the event which was run by Thames21.

After the river clean up, the Mayor hosted an event at City Hall to celebrate London’s volunteers. He presented Jean Levy, Chair of Community Links Bromley, with an outstanding contribution award for her work to support volunteers in her local community and met other top volunteers.

image: Mike Keogh.

The Mayor launched a website containing a one-stop-shop of opportunities for Londoners to give their help, covering a wide range of interests including: gardening; health; animal charities; sports clubs; arts groups; youth groups or for the emergency services ( http://www.london.gov.uk/volunteer/ ). There are over 8,500 volunteers organisations registered with London's network of volunteer centres, providing a massive choice for Londoners - they estimate an additional 16,000 people sign up each year.

The Mayor said: ‘Volunteering is good for individuals and great for London in tough economic times. By giving your time, whether a one-off few hours or a regular commitment, we can both help to make the capital a more civilised, pleasant place and reap the rewards of putting something back into the communities in which we live. Volunteering is also a fantastic way to develop new skills and boost employment prospects so by helping others, people are also helping themselves.

‘I want to give a great big pat on the back to the unsung army of people who are already volunteering in London, and urge more people to have a go.'

Joining the Mayor at the river Pool Debbie Leach, Chief Executive of Thames21, the conversation charity that organised the event, said: ‘We have been delighted to work together with the Mayor today to clear up this wonderful river and to encourage more volunteering in London. We rely on 4,000 volunteers each year to make a difference to London’s waterways, making them places for all to enjoy and appreciate. Not only can volunteering help make our environment more pleasant, but volunteers also benefit from being active outdoors and meeting like-minded people.’

Kerry Tweed, of Greater London Volunteering, the organisation that managed the celebration event at City Hall, said: ‘We really welcome the Mayor of London's support for volunteering across the capital. There are a huge range of opportunities for Londoners to get involved offering something to suit everyone, young or old. Some of the examples of the sterling work that our volunteers do, celebrated today at City Hall, will inspire many more people to come forward and we urge charities and community groups across London to register their opportunities with their local volunteer centre.'

Staff from City Hall are leading by example and taking part in a series of volunteering events across Volunteers’ Week.

Notes to editors:
1.      Thames21 is an environmental charity and London’s leading waterways charity working with communities to bring London's waterways to life. Around 4,000 volunteers every year from all sections of the community, spend their free time with Thames21 in cleaning-up waterside grot-spots, removing graffiti from waterside areas and helping create new habitats for wildlife. Altogether, around 1,000 tonnes of litter each year is removed from London’s 400 mile network of canals and rivers. For more information about Thames21, visit: www.thames21.org.uk

2.      The Mayor volunteered as part of the ‘3 Rivers Clean-up’ which is a unique collaboration between a number of organisations to deliver a programme of volunteering opportunities throughout the Ravensbourne river system which flows though the boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich and Bromley.

3.      Himalayan Balsam is an invasive plant species that was introduced into Britain in 1839 as an ornamental garden plant. It spread quickly to riverbanks – where it thrives on the damp ground. As Himalayan Balsam is not a native plant it changes the natural characteristics of the riverside vegetation, which has further impacts on the wildlife in the area. The dense stands of the plant suffocate other plants and when it dies away in winter, riverbanks are left bare and more liable to erosion. By focusing on removing this invasive species, Thames21 will restore the rivers in the Ravensbourne system to a more natural state.

4.   Greater London Volunteering is the regional umbrella organisation for volunteering in London. Members include Volunteer Centres and Volunteer Development Agencies covering every borough of Greater London, offering strategic and capacity-building support and brokerage services to over 50,000 volunteers and around 8,000 organisations (2006). They have agencies in the form of local Volunteer Centres in every borough (except City) providing 650 staff and volunteers to help place people in volunteering roles. For more information, visit: www.glv.org.uk