Volunteers Clean up in Tilbury
The Thames Estuary Path stretches for 29 miles from Tilbury Town to Leigh-on-Sea.
A local resident Clive Webster who volunteers with the River Thames Society contacted Thames21 to ask for assistance in involving more local people in a cleanup of the area.
An event was planned to concentrate efforts on a stretch from the Tilbury Fort to the area in front of Tilbury Power Station. This section of the Thames Estuary Path runs along a narrow stretch of shoreline between the Tilbury Power Station and the Thames and can become flooded at high tides so bringing with it and depositing layers of litter from flotsam and jetsam.
Prior to the event, time was spent raising awareness locally about the event; inviting Tilbury Riverside Project, Tilbury Community Forum, local councillors, Southend Green Party, Southend Beach Care and RiverCare. So on the day 21 volunteers ventured forth from the Worlds End pub and after 2 hours amassed a pile of 91 bags of rubbish and litter. All of this was kindly picked up and taken away by Thurrock Council.
There will be a follow up event in the spring as this section of the Thames Estuary Path is definitely one worth looking after. Linking sites of local heritage such as the forts and castles with nature reserves and the Thames where it is so wide that it is tricky to see the other side of the river.
An app is available for this section, available from: thamesestuarypath.co.uk