WI groups join together for clean river campaign
Scarborough area WI groups gathered at North Yorkshire Water Park to hear about the work being done to improve the area’s waterways.
More than 50 women from Filey, Scarborough Seagals, Scalby & Newby, Cloughton & Burniston, East & West Ayton,SeamerandSnaintonWIs joined together to hear about current initiatives to improve riverandseaconditionsinand around the town.
A panel of speakers spoke at the event including MP for Scarborough and Whitby Sir Robert Goodwill, Chris Watt from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Alex Cripps from the Rivers TeamatNorthYorkshireMoors NationalPark,JamesCopeland (senior environment and land use advisor from the National Farmers Union), Alex Reardon (headofthenewdepartmentof River Health for Yorkshire Water) and Steve Crawford from Surfers against Sewage.
Lynn Heaton, from Snainton WI, said: “They each spoke about the challenges and attempts to achieve clean rivers and seas.
“The overall impression was that some progress is being made, particularly from North York Moors National Park and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust who are currently out there working and achieving things.
“We learnt about the use of peat moss of the North York Moors National Park to improve the water table and Steve Crawford from Surfers Against Sewage provided a really good visual impact with a coat covered in all of the
things found in the sea which shouldn’t be there, including plastic bottles, sanitary towels and fishing lines.”
The WI, the largest women’s organisation in the UK, launcheditsCleanRiverscampaign in May, 2023 with the
aim of encouraging authorities to clean up rivers by promoting bathing water status.
As part of their commitment, they have joined River Action UK and signed its Charter for Rivers, calling on the government to commit to ambitious
yet achievable actions for healthy rivers by 2030.
From riverside picnics to craftivism, WI members have made a splash in their local communities to sound the alarm about the ecological state of the UK’s rivers.
Mrs Heaton said: “The idea is that we want to take the pressureupalevelattheforthcoming election. Our head office in Thirsk has produced a letter for each WI to sign and send to the proposed candidates ahead of the election.”