A hardy group of 24 Shiplake pupils, parents and staff met this morning to help Henley Royal Regatta and local 'Warrior on Waste' Lynne Lambourne, with a post-HRR river clean-up operation. The pupils, ranging from Years 7 to 12, were issued paddleboards from local SUP company Go with the Flo and Lynne provided the litter pickers and boxes to collect the rubbish. In singles, pairs and even a group of three on one board, they traversed along the riverbank collecting rubbish - some of which had clearly been in the water for a long time and some a direct result of the previous six days of regatta.
On returning to the competitor boat tents after an hour's clean-up along the regatta course, they were met by the Chairman of Henley Royal Regatta, and five-time Olympic winner, Sir Steve Redgrave, who gave his thanks to the helpers. They then all enjoyed a hot drink and breakfast pastry and were even allowed to keep their HRR mugs as a thank you for giving up their time. During this time the rubbish collected, which included plastic bottles, glass, cans and other items such as a walkie-talkie, am umbrella, and even a tent, was all sorted into piles so that as much as possible could be recycled or disposed of properly.
Local environment campaigner, Lynne Lambourne, talking to HRR, said: "I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the river was considering it had hosted such a significant event over the weekend. As always the main polluter was the single-use plastic water bottles and we found lots of those, but we also found quite a few glass bottles and paper coffee cups. Our largest find was an old tent which we managed to haul out of the water. There were very few takeaway food boxes which means the bins provided and waste removal services must be working.
"Monitoring the state of the river after large events is important as we can learn what type of waste is polluting the river and identify companies that may need to improve their sustainability and the waste disposal systems that they offer. It is everybody's responsibility to take care of our section of the river. It was such a fun morning and I was thrilled that Henley Royal Regatta seem to be doing such a good job hosting an event that takes sustainability to its heart. Thank you to everyone who joined us for a morning of making a difference."
Sir Steve Redgrave adds: "The clean-up has been carried out in true Henley Royal Regatta spirit, and I can’t thank enough the contribution and camaraderie shown by the volunteers here today. The river is central to Henley in many ways, and while we don’t own the Regatta or the river, we strive to look after it as best we can.”
Director of External Relations, Mrs Katherine Green, who helped rally the volunteers at short notice says: “We are so pleased to have been able to help Henley Royal Regatta and the local community by providing volunteers to help with this morning’s river clean up. It was great to see smiles on faces and teamwork taking place for navigating close to the riverbank to collect the rubbish. It's also wonderful for those involved to be able to say they have paddle-boarded the regatta course! A number of the pupils have asked if we can make this an annual event and we as a College community will definitely be looking to arrange or help with more river clean-ups in the future.”
Also present were members of the press, including BBC South Today (Oxford), who interviewed Esme (Year 12), Felix (Year 9) and Alex (Year 7), asking them questions like why they wanted to get involved with the clean-up - you can watch the full clip below!
