This month – River Guardians and Watchers
THOSE of you who spend time by the Severn may well have had the experience of noticing something nasty – a bad smell, some dubious-looking scum, perhaps even dead fish.
CARP is setting up a system of volunteers to watch out for such events, so they can be reported to the Environment Agency (EA).
River Guardians will adopt a section of the river which they patrol regularly.
We have developed an app which allows them to record any possible pollution events they spot.
Serious episodes will be reported directly to the EA, but all reports will be kept in a database, so we can check for repeated low-level polluting discharges.
Two of our first River Guardians – Celia Jackson and Caroline Guy – told us why they are stepping forward:
“Having enjoyed the River Severn for so many years, we decided to help out to keep this beautiful river at its finest and do something practical to help.
“Bewdley is such a lovely little town and we are blessed to be able to call it home so decided to take action to help nurture its greatest asset.
“Long time friends, we decided to volunteer but it’s no hardship walking the beautiful banks as often as we can and looking out for anything of concern.”
In addition, anyone who spends time by the river is encouraged to sign up to be a River Watcher – you will then be given a CARP contact number and a checklist, so you know what information will be needed to report any pollution you see to the EA.
If you are interested in becoming a CARP River Guardian or a River Watcher, then please email us at [email protected] to register your interest.
We are a group of volunteers and our work costs money.
If you feel passionate about the River Severn and want to support CARP financially (to help us with water testing kits, top up chemicals for these, our campaigns and awareness raising events), please contact us for information about how to donate.
