Six Goodgymers met under the arches of Kew Bridge this morning to help Active360 to give the shoreline and pavements a makeover.

For a period during lockdown when people were staying at home the river was clear of waste. Which just goes to show how much of the river pollution is caused by day to day littering.

Our task today was to weed and tidy the pavements that run alongside the arches and under the bridge, before moving onto the jetty to collect any rubbish we could find in the plants and weeds.

This was by far the most amount of litter we’ve seen in the 3+ years we’ve been helping out here. We litter-ally rattled through- some of us were more rattled than others when Luis spotted a rat venturing out from the weeds. Kew hasty getaway but not before we’d filled 3 buckets and 2 bags with cans, boxes, jackets, bottles, bottle lids, plastic bags, containers, food packets, wrappers and the dreaded ear buds to name just a few.

Remy’s puppy Watson came along for the task and made friends with passers by. As we worked people stopped to thank us for our efforts and couldn’t resist a quick fuss with our four legged friend, he certainly is the pick of the litter.

After just over an hour of power picking we were pleased with our morning’s efforts and rewarded with chocolate biscuits and tea.

We’ll be back on Friday evening to join Active360 with their Paddle and Pick fundraiser along the Thames. It’s looking set to be a great evening, fingers crossed for the weather and if you’d like to come along you’ll find all the details here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/paddle-and-pick-fundraiser-for-london-s-harbour-master