Seventeen bags of rubbish — including an old office chair and part of a fence panel — were collected after a group of residents officially launched their new group.
Operating as part of the RiverCare BeachCare programme, run by the charity Keep Britain Tidy and sponsored by Anglian Water, Long Bennington RiverCare officially launched on Saturday, March 28, with over a dozen people attending to find out what the group has to offer.
During the launch event, held near the Witham Meadow Nature Reserve, the group’s 16 new volunteers collected 17 bags of litter in two hours, covering around 250m of riverbank.
The launch of Long Bennington Rivercare. Photo: David Dawson/Iliffe Media
Debbie Ashby and Bill Gibson of Long Bennington Rivercare. Photo: David Dawson/Iliffe Media
Just some of the more unusual rubbish collected included a car tyre, a window pane, roof felting, part of a fence panel, an office chair, and a scooter.
The group’s aim is to clear litter, manage vegetation, remove invasive species and monitor water quality along their 3km stretch of the River Witham.
Founder of the group, Vikki Threlfall, said: “The launch went really well, we had 16 people come along and it really captured people’s attention.
Nicola Hutchinson, Ian Simmons, and Stewart Adams of Long Bennington Rivercare. Photo: David Dawson/Iliffe Media
Vikki Threlfall, Alison Longden, John Tadman, and Lorraine Gibson at the launch of Long Bennington Rivercare. Photo: David Dawson/Iliffe Media
“They were able to see how they can engaged and get involved and take ownership of their river.”
Long Bennington RiverCare will meet on the last Saturday of the month at 2pm at the nature research.
Any more people who would be interested in getting involved with Long Bennington RiverCare to help raise funds can contact the group via social media by searching for RiverCare Long Bennington or email rivercarelongbennington@gmail.com.
Going forward, the group is also planning to extend their work along the river to tackling invasive species such as Himalayan balsam.