MORE than 250 processed through Bewdley on Sunday as part of the Campaign Against River Pollution (CARP).
The group walked in silence and behind a coffin to ‘mourn the death of the river’ which they say had been killed by a toxic mixture of sewage and agricultural pollution.
Among them were the Red Rebels – an international performance activist troupe dedicated to illuminating the global environmental crisis.
The Remember Our River event, part of Wyre Forest SustFest, also saw many more people join the procession as it reached Jubilee Gardens, sharing a positive message of hope that ‘by working together, the situation could be made better’.
A service was conducted by local rector, Mel Beynon, accompanied by Wyre Forest Climate Choir.
Celebrity support
Local celebrity and supporter of CARP, Robert Plant, who lives close to the river, also turned out.
He said: ‘If you sit on the river bank, I challenge you to see a fish jumping, feeding.
“We can’t stand by and watch this happen. It can’t be ignored.
“It’s time that we all pull together.”
CARP said it was exactly the message it wanted to convey.
Dee Edwards, Chair of CARP, added: “We have to build on today.
“We need more volunteers to become River Stewards – to look after a stretch of the river and report pollution to us, people to actively get involved in campaigning and writing to our MP, Severn Trent and the Environment Agency to demand change.
“This is the river that has existed well before Bewdley town grew to the town it is today.
“It brings in tourists, walkers, anglers, nature lovers.
“We want to protect and rejuvenate it.”
Can you help?
CARP is a group of volunteers and to carry on this important work it also need donations to help with more chemical testing kits and campaign events like the ‘Remember Our River’ one.
Anyone interested in joining CARP should email: [email protected] or search for: ‘CARP Group – Communities Against River Pollution’ on Facebook.
The next big public CARP event will be on September 28 to celebrate World Rivers Day.
Dee added: “CARP organisers are also celebrating this week’s high court ruling preventing Shropshire Council’s planning permission for a 230,000-bird intensive poultry unit near two protected wetland sites and a mile from the banks of the Severn.
“This will help to protect our river from becoming another River Wye.”
Representatives from River Action – which brought the case – were among those supporting CARP on Sunday.
