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 🛶🛶
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10/09/2025

A Cheeky Nana Nap 🥱

Picking up after people can be tiring work, as we can see here with this lovely mob after 90 minutes on the tools.
Proof indeed, that it's not simply a walk in the park (well, to some it is, albeit with a litterpicker in their hand)

Joking aside, this tomfoolery for the camera at the end of my first community litterpicking event for Centre4 spoke volumes.
It shows how a bit of comedy can be the perfect tonic, but also, how a group activity can bring people together. Some of us had never met before.

So, if you fancy some time out to have some gentle exercise, meet new people, and give back to the community, then come along and join us on September 23rd at 10am.

Heck, I'll even shout you a coffee ☕️

I may have ordered a little too much… 🤣You’ve probably heard me prattling on about how our ducks and swans deserve bette...
09/09/2025

I may have ordered a little too much… 🤣

You’ve probably heard me prattling on about how our ducks and swans deserve better than plain white bread. Because of that, I get through quite a few bags of proper feed, whether I’m handing out samples or swapping people’s bread while explaining the benefits of good nutrition ✅️

But alas, I ran out. Luckily, the lovely folks at Haith’s got wind of this, and offered me a good deal on a bulk order (though to be fair, I haven’t opened the boxes yet 🤣)

On a serious note, we need to feed our birds both sensitively and sensibly. Let them forage for natural food when they can, but especially in ornamental park ponds, where natural food is pretty limited, it’s important to offer feed that’s nutritious and rich in protein and healthy fats, as that's often all they’ve got 🦆

If you spot one of my QR code plaques by the river, give it a scan for more feeding tips, and if you see me out on the boat, just shout, I’ll happily sort you out with a bag.

Thanks, Haith's

FALSE ALARM ❌️ Fortunately, for our river and it's wildlife (albeit on a small scale) this ended up being a case of mist...
08/09/2025

FALSE ALARM ❌️

Fortunately, for our river and it's wildlife (albeit on a small scale) this ended up being a case of mistaken identity and not a pollution incident 👍

It was reported to me late Sunday evening that someone had thrown a container of Adblue into the river and there was foam everywhere. Obviously this is of concern, and whilst the product is biodegradable, it's still a pollutant that can harm aquatic life.

When I arrived this morning it was clear how this looked sinister with a 10ltr container bobbing up and down next to the foam, but luckily what was going on was completely natural and a massive coincidence.

The BORING bit 👇👇

Basically, water was coming fast from an overflow and hitting a big clump of decaying vegetation that had made its way into the corner. As plants break down, they make surfactants that lower water’s surface tension, and if you add rushing water you get bubbles that can last a while. This is totally harmless and different from detergent pollution.
Oh, and the Adblue container had the lid on, which was fortunate.

We removed all the litter that had congregated in the corner and heaved a sigh of relief 😮‍💨

Canal & River Trust
Keep Britain Tidy
Paddle UK

Look what I've just found....in the river 😲 This gem was thrown on the floor by someone with an absent mind 36 years ag...
08/09/2025

Look what I've just found....in the river 😲

This gem was thrown on the floor by someone with an absent mind 36 years ago, and has managed to evade the clutches of every litterpicker since !!

When it finally made its way into our river, it laid dormant in the silt for decades, only to pop up today right into my eager mittens !!

To some of us, 1989 seems only yesterday, but to put it in perspective, here's a few happenings of the same year, to make us feel really old 🤣

📅 Ronald Reagan gave up office

📆 Nintendo launched the Gameboy

📆 The Simpsons aired its first episode

📆 Taylor Swift was born (like i care 🤣)

📆 The Berlin wall fell

So yes, it was a LONG time ago, and this Panda Orange Soda has avoided all of it (probably for the best 🤣)

You may be wondering why this is exciting for me, but if you imagine the amount of debris us serial litter pickers have collected in our time, it's quite exciting to find some nostalgia amongst the rubbish 🙂

Also, it's a really good talking point when I'm giving educational talks to children as they can clearly see that litter doesn't simply vanish into thin air ♻️

So yes, this has been cleaned sufficiently and will be making it's way to Zac from PickWalks, to add to his impressive and extensive vintage litter collection.

I know you think we're mad, but we're not....honest 🤣

PickWalks
Keep Britain Tidy
Helping Hand Environmental
North East Lincolnshire Council
CleanerWalks

Every Two Weeks 😀 💚Please join me for my first community litterpicking event TOMORROW at 10am from Centre4 on Wootton Ro...
08/09/2025

Every Two Weeks 😀 💚

Please join me for my first community litterpicking event TOMORROW at 10am from Centre4 on Wootton Road Nunsthorpe.

There's free tea, coffee, and biscuits, and also a cracking community cafe on site offering lunch for £2.50 !

Come and have a chinwag and give show how together we can make things brighter ✨️

These will be every two weeks, same time and place.

MEET IN THE MAIN ENTRANCE (parking on site or opposite Centre4)

Tues 9th Sep 10am
Tues 28th Sep 10am
Tues 7th Oct 10am

Centre4

Get a Boatload of This Loveliness 😲 💚So, this morning I stumbled across something that put a smile on my face.Four legen...
07/09/2025

Get a Boatload of This Loveliness 😲 💚

So, this morning I stumbled across something that put a smile on my face.

Four legends Laura, Eleanor, Holly & Lilly, have turned a tired patch of churchyard into a full-on wildlife paradise 🌾🐝🐦🐞

They did it over the summer as part of Operation Lifestyle, wanting to do something good for their community.
Not only have they succeeded in doing that, they’ve also given nature a massive lift by providing a diverse habitat, which should attract lots of different species 🐝

I took a sneak peek this morning and was immediately greeted with a Great Tit on the bird feeder they put out, so things are going well right off the bat!

It wasn’t just a quick tidy up either. Apparently, these girls dragged out over 30 bags of dead and decaying vegetation before they could even start. Serious graft !

Fast forward a few months and by next summer this little corner will be wildlife rich and a nice place to sit and observe.

As a nod of appreciation (cos we should celebrate ace people), me and Zac have sorted them a round of Jurassic Crazy Golf courtesy of Grimsby Golf Centre & FootGolf

👉 PLEASE SHARE as we need to track down their parents to get it all arranged

*pictures of the girls courtesy of Grimsby Live

PickWalks
CleanerWalks
Get Wild

Double trouble !A very rare beast indeed. The foil/latex balloon combo. Seldom seen, yet often feard 😳Found in a copse ...
07/09/2025

Double trouble !

A very rare beast indeed. The foil/latex balloon combo. Seldom seen, yet often feard 😳
Found in a copse of trees by the river this afternoon.

Ok, so im putting a humorous spin on it, but these ghastly things pose a real danger to wildlife and livestock. They genuinely can (and do) block digestive and respiratory tracts often ending in death. There's also the equally real danger of entanglement, from the ribbons and similar entrails.

Myself and Zac will soon be ramping up our efforts in a bid to lesson the use of helium balloons as a tool for remembrance and celebration, like the fun sponges we are 🤣

Seriously though, we know the use of these will never end completely, but the more we prattle on about it, the more chance people will seek alternatives 👍

FUN FACT: Although discouraged, you can actually release up to 4999 helium balloons on private land without recourse.

Please watch this space and follow our joint litter page CleanerWalks for more details 🎈

***the second pic is our balloon map featuring some of our finds, and as you can see, they are quite prolific***

Balloons Blow
PickWalks
Keep Britain Tidy

Covenham Car Park Cleanup 🙂The reservoir is one of my favourite places to grab a sunrise or a bit of headspace. Sadly, l...
07/09/2025

Covenham Car Park Cleanup 🙂

The reservoir is one of my favourite places to grab a sunrise or a bit of headspace. Sadly, like a lot of our blue and green spaces, it's beauty is not appreciated by some 😔

To say this was a chore however, would be a bit of a stretch because the sunrise was incredible, as was being greeted by two roe deer in the woodland next to the car park 🦌 💚

We move forward.....cleaner.

All litter and debris reported to East Lindsey District Council ✅️

Mrs Canoe Is On The Mend 💚For those who dont know, my extremely wonderful wife Lindsey was recently diagnosed with cance...
06/09/2025

Mrs Canoe Is On The Mend 💚

For those who dont know, my extremely wonderful wife Lindsey was recently diagnosed with cancer. This news landed hard, as you'd expect, and the range of emotions we all took on were hard to quantify and process.

That said, (and for this we are incredibly fortunate) it all happened so fast, from the first conversation with our local GP to Lindsey being sat in a hospital bed waiting to go into surgery.

The NHS is not without it's failings, but i have to say, once you're on the pathway, things move swiftly and surely, or at least, that was our experience. We were also impressed at how matter of fact and positive everyone was about the prognosis. It's bloomin scary, but we felt comforted.

Fast forward to today and things are looking bright. The surgery went as planned, the lymph nodes showed no signs of cells, and a follow up test showed Lindsey as being free of cancer.
We are undoubtedly extremely relieved.

As you may remember, we wanted to pass on our gratitude to the incredible staff on Ward B7 and kindly asked for a few groats to be thrown their way. I can now announce that with your help weve managed to raise a rather lovely £1266.46.

This has gone to the The Health Tree Foundation (thank you Michelle) and will be ringfenced specifically for B7 who are busy putting together a list of supplies which will serve to help others.

Thank you for all your lovely messages to check in and on a personal level, I would like to thank those friends who checked in with me specifically. It's not been easy knowing that you're powerless to help the ones you love.

We move forward with gratitude and happiness 🙏

On Dry Land For The Day 🙂Today I've set out me stall at the rather wonderful 'Walking With Alpacas' summer bash. A two d...
06/09/2025

On Dry Land For The Day 🙂

Today I've set out me stall at the rather wonderful 'Walking With Alpacas' summer bash. A two day event set in a field in Faldingworth, with a tonne of interesting things going on (I've already had a male witch in the boat 🤣 🧙‍♀️)

My purpose here is simply to enjoy the day, connect with some wonderful people and prattle on about my work and that of Zac and the Freshney Comrades

If you fancy having a snoop about, please see the poster for details 🙏

Walking with Alpacas Lincolnshire Rescue
Freshney Comrades
PickWalks

Education, Positivity, Repurposing ♻️ 💚Every other month I get a hand from the rather awesome RNLI Nigel during my clea...
05/09/2025

Education, Positivity, Repurposing ♻️ 💚

Every other month I get a hand from the rather awesome RNLI Nigel during my cleans (and let’s be honest—he’s not a bad chap to have around if you ever find yourself on the water 🤣).

But here’s the really ace part. Alongside his many skills, Nigel is also a responsible and passionate angler. When we’re out on the boat, he helps collect discarded fishing line, lures, and other bits of tackle that would otherwise just pollute the water or become a danger to wildlife.

Instead of throwing them away, he cleans them up and puts them to brilliant use, teaching kids how to fish responsibly while also showing them why protecting the environment matters ✅️

Here he is with young Isaac at a pond, making the most of some of the items we’ve recovered. Good luck Isaac 👍

It’s a great reminder that even the debris we pull from the water can find a second life and do some good.

👏 Nice one, Nigel. Proud to sail with you!

RNLI Cleethorpes

Address

Great Grimsby

Telephone

+447530096964

Website

https://ko-fi.com/thecanoerivercleaner

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