Katie White, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Leeds North West, joined 15 members of Leeds Canoe Club from Otley and Kirkstall last Saturday on the River Wharfe, as part of the 2024 Big Paddle Clean Up fortnight to remove rubbish from UK rivers.
In about an hour, the Clean Up canoeists had pulled out of the river a curtain, a car battery, a licence plate and a large amount of plastic waste.
“It was a privilege to take part in this Big Paddle Clean Up event, brilliantly organised by Paddle UK’s Chantelle Grundy” said Katie. “The Wharfe is not exceptional – the campaign aims to raise public awareness about the state of our rivers everywhere, and to help clear local waterways of junk and plastic pollution. But if you’re not a canoeist or a paddleboarder, there are lots of other ways to get involved in improving our river quality.”
Other river clean up projects that welcome volunteers include: planting trees for flood management, creating wildlife habitats, removing plastic pollution, taking part in water quality testing, or joining an organised river watch to monitor wildlife, or sewage spills.
“I want to be sure we hand on our environment to our children and grandchildren in a better state than we found it,” said Katie. “I’ve campaigned on environmental issues for over 20 years and I’d love to hear from local groups with ideas or plans for new activities to improve our waterways.”
More information at paddleuk.org.uk, clearaccessclearwaters.org.uk, theriverstrust.org, katiewhitelnw@gmail.com