Estimated reading time:7 minutes, 39 seconds
Everyone has a story. On the canal near Old Street, City Road and Angel, Islington Faces is helping paddleboarders collect up rubbish from the water thanks to a grant from Cripplegate that’s getting people on to the water
What happens if you mix paddleboarding (the world’s fastest growing watersport) with litter picking? The answer is something very simple – a lovely time giving something back to the community and a big dollop of personal wellbeing from the curious act of removing litter from the Regent’s Canal, piece by piece.
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Paddleboarders at Islington Boat Club know the therapeutic effect of paddling on Regent’s Canal. There’s something about the meditative ‘in’ and ‘out’ of your paddle as you float down the centre seeing all life pass you by. There are also narrowboats to admire, with fascinating names. You get to spot all sorts of wildlife on the water and soon pick out a cacophony of gentle sounds like the runners pounding the towpath and the white-helmeted coots protecting territory. You pick up smells too – wood smoke, delicious dinners cooking, and more recently hot oils (like cedar and pine) wafting from Andrew’s unique sauna boat, Saunos by Sturt’s Lock (access via the Packington Bridge).
But paddleboarding is expensive, so Islington Faces uses Islington Boat Club’s SUP at Islington’s boards to offer a free go at the world’s fastest growing watersport if you volunteer to litterpick. These litterpicks have been running at the weekends since August 2024. The plan is to run 10 this year. We’re about half-way through so you could still join if you want. And a big thank you to the 31 people who’ve already helped pick up 34 trugs of litter and recyclables for this project, and another 118 who helped between January and July through a project run with the same team but funded by Active Thames. You’re brilliant!
Andrina: “I enjoy the litter picking mainly because of the freedom of being on the water, paddleboarding, being close up to nature and cleaning up their environment along the way. It’s such a shame the birds build their nests in plastic.”
The next dates are:
- Sunday 2 November from 10.30am-12 noon. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
- Sunday 16 November from 10.30am-12 noon. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
- Saturday 29 November from 9am-10.30am. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
- Saturday 13 December from 9am-10.30am. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
Most of the people who come and help us do it because they want to make sure the swan couple, coots, moorhens, cormorant, geese of all sorts, ducks; insects and fish (yes there are fish living in the canal!) have a cleaner, safer canal to live in.
Mariia: “When I’m litter picking on the canal, it’s more than just tidying up. I feel a direct impact on the wildlife, protecting creatures from harm and improving water quality. It’s about preserving a beautiful and historic landscape for everyone, including me when I’m paddleboarding. Plus, there’s a real sense of well-being that comes from getting out, being active and making such a visible difference. Ultimately, it gives me a deeper appreciation for these waterways and a real sense of purpose in being a guardian of this vital environment.”
Almost all find that hunting down litter is very satisfying. You’re cleaning up the canal for the wildlife and having to focus on a task without any distractions from screens: that’s also surprisingly relaxing.
Lindsay: “I value litterpicking because it’s a really fun way of protecting the canal and the wildlife there from litter pollution and a really nice way to meet like-minded people.”
We do supply litterpicks and gloves so you don’t need to touch any nasties.
When the wind blows
Sadly we’ve never gone out and found there’s zero litter.
The unlucky canal quickly becomes a dumping ground for plastics, cans and takeaway cups when the wind blows, and once litter is in it, it either floats slowly towards the Thames or sinks to the bottom. Sometimes the litter blows in from overflowing litterbins at City Road Basin and Graham Street Park. There are no bins on the main towpath (they have all been removed by the Canal and River Trust) so if people abandon their nasties (eg, poo bags, vapes, fag ends, empty coffee cups, fast food boxes, sandwich wrappers) along the canal these quickly also end up in the water. But so too do rubbish mistakes like that little corner you tore off the Minstrels chocolates, innumerable empty crisp packets and, bizarrely, loads of used and unused food sachets (eg, sugar, tomato sauce).
Since August we’ve held six 90-minute litterpicks and found lots of lighters, crisp packets, balls, toys, and drink cans. But some of the stranger finds include baby dummies, sponges, a sleeping bag, a paddling pool, a baseball hat, single shoes/trainers and even a yellow plastic duck.
Sheila: “I enjoyed volunteering as a litter picker on the canal today. It was a real pleasure to be out in the fresh air, getting some exercise and doing something constructive and worthwhile to protect our ocal canal. Our little group had a lovely rapport, and so many people stopped to talk to us – it turned into a social occasion with a great community vibe. Getting to try out a paddleboard for the first time was an added bonus! I will definitely be back.”
When the community picks up litter from the canal many people in boats and on the towpath say thank you. That’s a lovely feeling for the litterpickers. But hopefully seeing us paddle and pick also inspires many more people to do the right thing and take our litter (and maybe even someone else’s) home.
As litterpickers we know that there’s no such thing as “away” but getting plastic, glass and aluminium cans out of the canal means the wildlife will be safer and the rubbish will not eventually end up in the River Thames and ultimately the sea.
Join us from the towpath
If you’d like to have a go litterpicking, and don’t fancy trying a paddleboard you can still sign up and help us from the towpath. No one has to use a paddleboard to litterpick! We are also big fans of local towpath litterpicking groups including @skippingdownthecanal @cleaner_canals the whatsapp group which meet near the Towpath Café and Lower Regents Coalition. We’re also fans of urbanwise.london who paddle and pick on the Grand Union Canal
Paddleboard business Paddleboarding London often runs corporate litterpicks from paddleboards taking rubbish out of Regent’s Canal and The Grand Union Canal.
Give it a go
If you’ve always wanted to have a go paddleboarding, then this is a way to learn for free. It’s much easier to litterpick from your knees so there’s no worry about falling in, which in the autumn isn’t a very warm experience! But just in case you do, bring a spare set of clothes with you. And also be sure to wear an old pair of trainers. Because the canal is not that deep and there’s a low risk you might fall into the water it is not sensible to have bare feet – it also feels a bit chilly in November and December.
The canal needs you! The next dates are:
- Sunday 2 November from 10.30am-12 noon. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
- Sunday 16 November from 10.30am-12 noon. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
- Saturday 29 November from 9am-10.30am. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
- Saturday 13 December from 9am-10.30am. Book here https://bookwhen.com/sup
A BIG, big THANK YOU to Cripplegate for this Make It Happen award.
Over to you
If you’d like to nominate someone to be interviewed who grew up, lives or works in Islington, or suggest yourself, please let me know, via nicolabaird dot green at gmail dot com. If you enjoyed this post you might like to look at the A-Z index, or search by interviewee’s roles or Meet Islingtonians to find friends, neighbours and inspiration. Thanks for stopping by. Nicola
