The great Broads clean-up
History to the clean-up
My name is William Darling, I am a 13 year old student at Broadland High School in Hoveton, Norfolk .
I have the incredible, life changing opportunity volunteering to be part of the Camps International team expedition to Tanzania in the summer of 2019.
One of the jobs I will be involved in will be creating a real impact on marine conservation by cleaning the beaches of all unwanted plastic that has found its way into the sea and then onto the beaches. You can find further details either at my “go fund me” page.. https://www.gofundme.com/williamdarling-tanzania2019 or at https://campsinternational.com
This made me think about all the plastic, glass and other items of rubbish that I encounter often whilst out on the Norfolk Broads, on my kayak, family boat or fishing from the river bank. I am fully aware that the waste I see is mainly non- biodegradable and will therefore remain in the Broads waterways forever, unless someone removes it.
Example:- I went out onto Wroxham Broad recently and discovered within approximately 200 yards of the banks – 6 plastic bottles, 4 buckets, 1 fender, 1 tin can, 1 item of fishing tackle, 1 boat hook, 1 car tyre and 9 other various plastic items.
I then decided to carry out a check of the main river between the two entrances to Wroxham Broad and there I discovered a further 22 plastic bottles, 3 glass bottles, 1 paint can, 1 tin can, 2 supermarket carrier bags full of waste, 1 item of fishing tackle, a McDonalds balloon and a further 11 items of plastic waste.
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A total of 65 items found in just 2 hours and within less than 1 mile
Sunken tyre - Wroxham Broad
Bucket - Wroxham Broad
Fender - Wroxham Broad
Filled carrier bags - main river
Paint can - main river
Plastic bottles - main river
Plastic bottle -
Wroxham Broad
Plastic bottle - main river
The impact of this problem is that it can affect the beautiful natural wildlife and their habitants along with visitors’ perception and enjoyment of the locals. Therefore, I thought that it would be a good idea (based on how bad our own AONB has become) to act sooner rather than later to reverse this worrying trend.
The reason for my letter, is to contact you to seek sponsorship to cover the cost of my trip to Tanzania. In return, my commitment to my sponsors will not only be to spend 4 weeks working in Tanzania but also to spend this summer completing a minimum of 100 miles kayaking the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads waterways in order to remove as much waste as I can see and collect. This task needs to be done by kayak as the majority of the waste will be impossible to access via a boat as it is trapped in areas of reeds, under over-hanging trees, dense bushes or in very shallow water. I will be supported in this task by my family, one of which will kayak with me, whilst the others will drive a boat where we can store the waste.
Should the “Great Broads Clean-up” be a success in enabling me to reach my sponsorship goal of £3950 I will repeat the clean up again in 2019. In addition to this, I’m willing to support other pupils who may in the future wish to take on the “Great Broads Clean-up” enabling them to attend future Camps International trips.
Further to this, I will keep a list of the quantity of waste found in each section of the river and this information will be available to the Broads Authority if they should wish to monitor the problem.
Progress
Updates of all trips will be shown on my blog
And my father’s Facebook page…. https://www.facebook.com/peter.darling.1029
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Sponsorship progress at…. https://www.gofundme.com/williamdarling-tanzania2019
How to sponsor.
Payments can be made via:-
My ‘gofundme’ page ….. https://www.gofundme.com/williamdarling-tanzania2019
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Cheques made payable to :- “William Darling”, post to home address
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For any additional information please contact my father, Peter, on 07894 475535
Challenge.
Clear all rubbish reachable by kayak in and along the river banks of…
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All Northern rivers and Broads above Acle Bridge.
All Southern rivers and Broads above Reedham and below Somerleyton
Please help me to make a difference to the world’s environment, people’s daily lives and the future of our wildlife. I will only be able to achieve this through your kind support. Any donations, however small, will be welcomed and very much appreciated. Thank you.