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The event was organised by CSV and The Greenways
Countryside Project as part of the Access to Nature project and, as
always, enjoyed massive support from local people.
As in previous years, scuba divers worked hard to pull out years
worth of rubbish from the bottom of the River Gipping at Yarmouth Road,
including the usual suspects of shopping trolleys, pushbikes, traffic
cones, and many more random items including a deck chair, a telephone
and a car battery. Trolleywise, as usual, lent a hand and took
away the shopping trolleys for free.
Meanwhile canoeists and land-based volunteers were collecting
rubbish from the surface, banks and surrounding areas of the River
Gipping and Alderman Canal, gathering up over 100 bin liners full, which
were taken away and sorted by Sackers Recycling.
Becky Marley, Access to Nature Project Coordinator, said “As
usual this is a very satisfying job to do, but at the same time
disappointing that there still rubbish to collect. Part of the aim
of Access to Nature Ipswich is that by involving people in the care of
their local natural environment, and helping them to appreciate its
value and benefits, we can work toward a change in the mentality that
says it’s okay to litter.”
To add a more positive note to the day, volunteers were able to
help with conservation activities including cutting and raking
wildflower meadows, and helping to clear duckweed from the canal
surface. After the work was over, a successful day was celebrated
with a free bbq and time to relax and socialise. Volunteer
feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with comments such as “There’s
a lot of good people out there who want to do something to improve their
environments” and “good fun, nice people!”
James Baker, Project Manager of the Greenways Countryside Project
commented “There were lots of new volunteers this year, which is
fantastic. It was great to have so many enthusiastic and motivated
volunteers and to be able to do some positive conservation work with
them as well as the cleaning up of litter. We have seen a definite
difference in the litter here from previous years, which is largely due
to having had a River Ranger in post since the last Cleanup.”
The work of keeping Ipswich clean goes on, but on Sunday the
people of Ipswich all pulled together to take another huge step in the
direction of creating a more beautiful town. |
