The River Thames is an iconic London landmark but, unsurprisingly given it runs through the capital, it suffers from litter and pollution.
Therefore, the river relies on litter picking campaigns in order to maintain its good water quality and thriving ecosystem, as reported by the Zoological Society of London in January of this year.
Fulham Reach Boat Club (FRBC) lead many initiatives to keep the river clean and healthy, alongside their brilliant charitable schemes.
They have four main impact areas: increasing young people’s access to rowing, reducing reoffending rates via Boats not Bars, ensuring rowing is accessible to those with disabilities, and environmental stewardship and sustainability.
Adam Freeman-Pask, CEO of FRBC and former Olympic Rower himself, is hugely invested in combating litter pollution and has now begun testing the water every week.
He sees it as highly important to hold national water bodies to account on the cleanliness of the Thames and publishes their findings for all to see.
FRBC states: “We run weekly water quality testing for E.Coli and across a range of physiochemical measures, including Nitrate and Phosphate, which are good indicators of organic pollution.
“Organic pollution can enter our rivers through waste water discharge by water companies as well as from agricultural runoff.
“We aim to build community awareness of this issue to make local and national stakeholders take this issue seriously.”
Part of their environmental action is to lead monthly river clean-ups, relying on volunteers and local businesses to support them in their strive for water quality.
On 22nd April, 310kg of litter was picked from the riverside in Hammersmith, accompanied by local wildlife – including the rarely-spotted seal!
Watch the video below to see what it looks like to spend an afternoon on the Thames riverbed.
Featured Image credit: Sarah Mayne
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