The Canoe River Cleaner

The Canoe River Cleaner I'm simply a guy with a canoe keeping the river tidy for the wildlife and local residents 🛶🛶
(2)

Medical update (my crappy ankle)For those who don't know, I snapped my achilles in Novemeber. It's been a very long jour...
16/05/2026

Medical update (my crappy ankle)

For those who don't know, I snapped my achilles in Novemeber. It's been a very long journey and although I whimper and moan, I've done my utmost to continue doing my work.

The injury can take around 18 months to get right again and it's only since last week that ive managed to walk without a limp.

The rehab is long and arduous, but it has been made far better to have the Rinske at the helm.

I meet lots of people who love their work and she is no exception. Getting people strong and back on track is what she loves and drives her.

Rinske is also a great person to talk to, so in the future I may have to feign an injury so I can visit her. Either that or join her swimming in the dock, and im NOT doing that 🤣

Anyway, the heal is doing ok. Its all about loading, stretching and building strength now and I have targeted exercises in which to do that.
I cant run, but Im back to walking a few miles which is awesome.

Thank you everyone for checking in.

If you need some rehab or perhaps some advice then Rinske Physio Practitioner is a safe bet.

Peter Levy, I publicly invite you into my canoe 🛶In this evening’s Look North story about our otters, you said:“An unlik...
15/05/2026

Peter Levy, I publicly invite you into my canoe 🛶

In this evening’s Look North story about our otters, you said:

“An unlikely place for an animal that loves clean water. For years, the River Freshney has been criticised for the amount of rubbish dumped in it but maybe things are changing.”

Overall, it was a positive piece, but there’s always that familiar slant towards the negative idea that our river is simply a dumping ground. And that’s just not true.

Is it perfect? No. But very few rivers in this country meet 'good' ecological standards (details for another post)

What often gets overlooked is that the Freshney is fed by a network of springs and blow wells, constantly replenishing it with clean artesian water. It isn’t heavily impacted by intensive agriculture, and compared to many waterways, it avoids large volumes of untreated wastewater (though even a small amount is too much).

On top of that, myself and the Freshney Comrades have worked hard to tackle the litter issue, and we’re making real progress.

And as for the otters, they’re not new. We’ve had them here for decades. Speaking to different generations of local people and hearing their experiences, there’s no reason to think they haven’t been part of this river for hundreds of years. I've seen them on here for at least 20.

So yes, things are changing. But they’ve been better than people think for a long time.

Come and see what its like for yourself Peter. I'll grab the coffee ☕️

BBC
BBC Humberside
BBC Look North

Wow. They debated bread for ducks during World War One 😲In 1917, the UK Parliament debated people feeding bread to ducks...
15/05/2026

Wow. They debated bread for ducks during World War One 😲

In 1917, the UK Parliament debated people feeding bread to ducks.
Not because it was bad for the ducks, but because people were bringing half loaves to the park (i still see this) while others were on bread rations.

“Such waste of food… is greatly to be deprecated.” said Captain Bathurst

A century later, we’re still saying don’t feed ducks bread, only now it’s not about wartime rationing, it’s about wildlife health, water pollution, and ecosystems that I see first hand while cleaning rivers and ponds.

Different reason. Same advice.

Skip the bread 🦆

Thanks to Simon from Haith's for sharing this very interesting info !

An afternoon with the Thrunscoe nitwits ☺️This school visit was an absolute pleasure from start to finish, helped by the...
15/05/2026

An afternoon with the Thrunscoe nitwits ☺️

This school visit was an absolute pleasure from start to finish, helped by the enthusiasm and courtesy of Mr Morris, who allowed me to take the floor and build on the good work he is starting to do with the group.

As always, the children knew a lot about oceans and marine mammals, (which is fundamental to understanding our planet), but less about our inland waterways, so i dished out a fair bit of info which they all listened to intently.

After the obligatory river quiz, chat about my work and that of the Freshney Comrades, we got suited and booted ready for a pick.

Oh yeah, not before I made the grown ups guess the smell 🤣

We tackled a grot spot and then went into Cleethorpes Cemetery and sensibly and sensitively gave it a light clear up. Honestly, the kids were brilliant 👏

My colleague Eve will be taking an assembly next month all about litter and recycling, so they will be fully geared up to become fabulous eco warriors.

Thank you to my Thursday afternoon bosses at NELC for allowing me this opportunity 🙏

Lets keep this going !

North East Lincolnshire Council
Thrunscoe Primary and Nursery Academy, Cleethorpes.

What a moment with our beautiful swans ! 🦢After a day of school visits and a woodland litterpick, I saw a break in the c...
14/05/2026

What a moment with our beautiful swans ! 🦢

After a day of school visits and a woodland litterpick, I saw a break in the clouds and parked me bum along New Cut Drain. And after a few minutes, these guys showed up.

This narrow watercourse forms part of our flood defence and runs along the back of the houses on the Wybers and Willows estates.

Before a blow well formed and began supplementing it with artesian spring water, it was, for the most part, stagnant.

In recent decades it has sprung into life and now you can see lots of species including water vole, kingfisher and of course, the 'Wybers Nine' swan family 🦢

I hope you like the video and photos

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
Freshney Comrades
North East Lincolnshire Council
Canal & River Trust

They say, never work with children 🤣(and they are wrong)Lisle Marsden Childcare invited me over as part of their project...
14/05/2026

They say, never work with children 🤣
(and they are wrong)

Lisle Marsden Childcare invited me over as part of their project which sees the children exploring different occupations, particularly those who are doing work within the local community.

Now, whilst it may seem an easy gig, keeping the attention of two and three year old kids isnt the easiest thing in the world, so i resorted to being as animated as possible. It mostly worked 🤣

To give credit where its due, these wonderful children did exceptionally well and i have a feeling that we will very soon have even more litter legends making our environment better.

Thank you for having me 👍

14/05/2026

INCREDIBLE otter footage 😮

On our river Freshney

Some absolute hero from Horizon took this footage from their bridge, and coupled with the sunshine and crystal clear water makes for footage straight from a wildlife documentary!!

These are older cubs (sub adult) and mum has allowed them to hunt for themselves as she becomes less attentive and refuses to share food which encourages independence.

What a truly lovely sight, and one of the main reasons we do what we do.

I hope you enjoy ☺️

Horizon Youth Zone
Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project
Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue
Get Wild
Freshney Comrades
North East Lincolnshire Council
UK Wild Otter Trust

14/05/2026

The quack quacks don't need bread 🍞 🐥

I we choose to replace the natural food of any animal, we SHOULD do this sensibly.

Please share 🙏

Haith's
Freshney Comrades
Get Wild

I should have known this 🤣I’m not looking for praise here, as this was very easy to remove from the water, but I wanted ...
14/05/2026

I should have known this 🤣

I’m not looking for praise here, as this was very easy to remove from the water, but I wanted to share it because it feels like a funny coincidence.

On Tuesday at my wellbeing session, one of the guys decided to do a few quiz questions with the group. One of them was:

“What animal is known as a ‘RIVER HORSE’?”

I got it wrong… it’s a hippopotamus.

Then, 24 hours later, this was reported in the river 🤣

Safe to say, I won’t be forgetting that bit of trivia anytime soon 🤔

P.S. Thanks to local resident Chrystal for reporting it

13/05/2026

"If you go down to the woods today" 🦊

So, last night i had the most relaxing stay at Stewton Stars Hideaway falling asleep and waking to birdsong and wildlife.

I took a couple of cameras with me to see what comes out to play when the curtains are drawn.

The result are beautiful woodland creatures that are literally a few feet away from the cottages.

GET IT BOOKED !!

River blockage 😳😳Clearing something like this brings a huge sense of achievement and a proper dopamine hit when the flow...
13/05/2026

River blockage 😳😳

Clearing something like this brings a huge sense of achievement and a proper dopamine hit when the flow returns, but it’s not the easiest job on the planet and I get covered in river sludge!

The branches and logs were removed and checked (as thoroughly as possible) for aquatic species, and the litter was intercepted before it could go any further downstream.

While it might seem counterproductive, some branches and vegetation were intentionally left in place. This woody material helps create habitat complexity and offers refuge from flow, supporting invertebrate communities, and providing feeding opportunities for fish and other wildlife a bit like the fallen tree does.

Big thanks to local angler Darren for flagging the issue 👍

I'm off to have a bath in Dettol 😂

Canal & River Trust
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
Freshney Comrades

Address

Great Grimsby

Telephone

+447530096964

Website

https://ko-fi.com/thecanoerivercleaner

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Canoe River Cleaner posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share