I’m going on an adventure for a good cause

The Campervan Man

 After 17 weeks of boredom, lockdown and boredom the time for an adventure has finally arrived. On Monday I will be setting out in my unreliable van with my mice- chewed paddleboard to conquer the River Wye. Once I have paddled down that stretch of water it will be on to the lengthy River Severn and then it will time to tackle the Thames. Over 12 long days of paddling I will cover over 350 miles of river which now I think about it seems like a hell of a lot. It started out as a fun idea to celebrate freedom with just a relaxed paddle down the Wye but it has now developed into a challenge to complete the whole length followed by the same down the two longest rivers in the U.K.The reason that I am pushing myself to try and finish all three rivers is to raise awareness, and maybe even some money, for the future threats of our countries rivers. An article a few weeks ago highlighted the damaging effects of human sewage after water companies in England discharged raw sewage into rivers more than 200,000 times in 2019. The analysis revealed that untreated human waste was released into streams and rivers for more than 1.5m hours last year. Another piece of news showed the River Wye as a green soup as a result of agricultural pollution from the farms on the upper stretches. Another piece of research found that the River Mersey was proportionally more polluted than the great pacific garbage patch and that the river Tame had 517,000 particles of microplastics per square metre of river bed- levels not recorded anywhere else in the world. Only 4% of British rivers meet good environmental standards and the UK is placed 25th out of 30 EU countries tested for coastal water quality.Each day I will post an update on my progress as well as other facts and figures as well as other problems such as abstraction, flooding and future droughts and water shortages.I will be raising money for Surfers Against Sewage who are a marine conservation & campaigning charity inspiring, uniting & empowering communities to protect oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife. As the UK leaves the European Union, Surfers Against Sewage will campaign to ensure that water quality legislation is strengthened to maintain and improve standards wherever possible, and to ensure sewage pollution is tackled. You can support them do this by donating through their website or my justgiving page or by signing the petition on their website. You can also by one of their cool t-shirts.

Just giving-

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/matt-head1

Surfers Against Sewage petition/ shop/ donate

https://www.sas.org.uk/endsewagepollution/