Volunteers are needed to take part in an ambitious project to litter pick more than 13 miles of the Stroudwater Canal and the Thames and Severn Canal, from where the waterway enters to where it exits Stroud District.
Volunteers can travel by kayak, paddleboard, canoe, bicycle or on foot, and will be pulling litter out of the water – using long-reach nets and waders where needed – and clearing it from the tow paths.
The event on Sunday September 14 will start at The Ship Inn at Framilode at 6am, pass through Ebley in Stroud at about noon, get to Stroud Brewery at about 3pm and finish at The Daneway pub in Sapperton at an estimated 6pm.
There will be five key sections on the route; volunteers can join at the start of any section and stay for as long as they like. Litter bags and sticks will be available.
- Framilode to Saul Junction.
- Saul Junction to The Missing Mile.
- The Missing Mile to Cotswold Canals Trust Western Depot, where vessels will switch to the River Frome until the canal rejoins at Eastington.
- CCT Western Depot to Stroud Brewery.
- Stroud Brewery to Sapperton Tunnel.
The event is being organised by Stroud District Council’s Litter and Clean Environment Champion, Cllr Gill Thomas, who says the canals are subject to anti-social behaviour, including litter, fly tips and dog fouling, which harms wildlife and spoils the natural beauty of the waterways for visitors.
Cllr Thomas, Green councillor for Minchinhampton, has organised numerous litter-picking events around Stroud District. She said: “I’ve been fortunate to meet and work alongside many of the dedicated volunteers and lengths people of the Cotswold Canals Trust, whose tireless efforts ensures our waterways remain clean, safe, and welcoming for everyone. This event is a wonderful chance for all who value our local canals to come together, celebrate their hard work, and play a part in keeping these beautiful spaces litter-free and well cared for.”
The bags of litter will be collected by Ubico, the council’s waste collection contractor.
It’s free to take part in the event but donations are welcome to Cllr Thomas’s ‘Litter Pickers for Little Pickers’ fundraising campaign, which aims to raise £10,000 to buy litter pickers, books and reading sessions for 45 local primary schools around the district, encouraging more than 7,000 children to keep their local areas tidy. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/litterpickersforlittlepickers
Anyone who’d like to take part should email Cllr Thomas at cllr.gill.thomas@stroud.gov.uk to get more detailed information about times and joining locations.