Volunteer projects tackling litter and invasive non-native species (INNS) on the tidal Thames are getting a helping hand from our new Environment Fund.

• Dartford & Crayford Creek Restoration Trust

Over the past ten years, the trust has transformed Dartford Creek from an abandoned, industrial waterway, into an important green corridor, bringing new life to derelict wharves.

Our grant will help get more volunteers out onto the water, to deal with the legacy of decades of rubbish accumulated in reed beds.

• AHOY Litter pickers

The work of Deptford’s AHOY Centre to engage local young people on how they can reduce Thames litter will be boosted by the purchase of new equipment, made possible by our Environment Fund grant.

Litter Pickers aims to highlight the small but impactful individual choices members can make to stem plastic pollution in the river on their doorstep.

• “Paddle & Pick”

Our funding will enable the Whale Company and Active360 to reconnect more children with the Thames, London’s biggest open space, through litter-busting, stand-up paddle-boarding (SUP) sessions, combined with a takeaway Thames Natural History guide.

Through SUP, this unique project amalgamates wildlife, plastic, and immersion in nature

• Sheppey Coastbusters

The Isle of Sheppey’s growing population of invasive Pacific oysters (Magallana gigas) – and the dangers posed by their impacts to local ecosystems and razor-sharp shells – are the target of this Medway Swale Estuary Partnership project.

Our award will aid the partnership’s work to stem their spread, by implementing control measures, approved by Natural England.

• ZSL #OneLess

Our funding will allow a collaboration by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) with citizen scientists to investigate the life cycle of plastic litter in London while recruiting a greater diversity of volunteers in local communities.

Their work will replicate methodology successfully implemented in the Ganges and Mississippi river systems, in the iconic River Thames.

Head of Environment, Tanya Ferry, said: “We are really excited to support a number of organizations to tackle the challenges facing the Natural Thames now and for the future, through projects covering education, research, and action.”