A river in need of your help: the River Wandle, a rare chalk stream in south London, has suffered from Victorian era pollution to 21st Century diesel spills
Environmental charity wants the public to join in with an important citizen science survey this month
While multi-national water monopolies and the government continue to fail the environment and the people by allowing millions of gallons of sewage and effluent to choke our rivers, the Rivers Trust is giving the public a chance to push back and help restore our waterways with its Big River Watch from September 19 to 25.
Whether you go for a jog alongside the river in Wandle Park, walk the dog at Carshalton Ponds or enjoy a spot of bird-spotting at Watermeads Nature Reserve in Mitcham, this is an opportunity for you to feed vital data into a survey conducted twice a year by the Rivers Trust.
The Trust says: “Rivers are suffering from a deluge of pollution, and all across the country our vital freshwater ecosystems are failing their health tests.
The Wandle Trail: well worth a Big River Watch walk
“To change this, we need to know where our rivers are having problems and which problems are the most prevalent. The free and open Big River Watch survey is your chance to make a difference.
“Data gathered during Big River Watch can support policy change, helping turn the tide on plastics or stem the flow of untreated sewage.
“It also helps identify the best places for river clean-ups and litter picks, or places which would benefit the most from the creation of things like wetlands.”
Anyone can take part in the week-long citizen science surveys that help to build an important picture of river health.
According to the Rivers Trust, just 15% of river stretches in England are in good overall health. The River Wandle, which rises in South Croydon and flows up past the Purley Way and on through Beddington and Merton towards the Thames at Wandsworth, has been sorely abused through history, and more recently, with industrial diesel being dumped in the river earlier this year, causing untold damage to wildlife.
To restore rivers like the Wandle, the Trust says, “We need more information about how they’re doing.”
The Trust says that dueing Big River Watch: “You can help us identify and locate the problems. With the Big River Watch app, you can help us identify the issues, which help us influence policymakers and hold polluters to account.”
Yes. There’s an app. There’s always an app.
So before you can do anything useful to help with the Big River Watch, you need to have a mobile phone (or someone else’s mobile phone) and download the app. It’s free.
Every submission matters: the public are encouraged to check on the Rivers Trust dashboard, and to try to fill any gaps of unmonitored stretches of waterway
Once you have that essential piece of kit, the Trust asks that you spend 15 minutes watching the river, and answer the questions in their survey. “You can complete the Big River Watch at your favourite local spot, or get to know somewhere new,” they say.
The survey will ask you about what you see, from wildlife and plants to any signs of pollution. They even provide pollution and wildlife guides that will help you make an identification.
Once that’s all done, press submit, and upload your Big River Watch survey. The Rivers Trust specialists will then analyse the results.
And you can even check on the results as they are logged, with a dashboard that logs all the surveys and keeps track of what other citizen scientists have submitted.
Read more: Groups join MP’s call for big fines for River Wandle polluters
Read more: Reed’s government shelves plans to help protect River Wandle
Read more: Vic Keegan on the wonders of the River Wandle
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, as featured on Google News Showcase, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
