Call to kayakers to help clean river

A KAYAK clean up is taking place on the River Lee this weekend as part of Clean Coast Week and the Cork Harbour Festival.

All competent kayakers and Stand Up Paddleboarders (SUP) are invited to take part in the event that is hoping to rid the river of a great deal of garbage this Saturday from 11am to 1pm.

Cork’s Clean Coast officer Susan Vickers said the event, run for the first time last year, is a huge help in keeping the river clean.

“The kayakers and paddleboarders are able to reach areas you can’t get from land. They have better access to the river bank and to things stuck in the banks that you can’t get at from land.”

Susan said the river team retrieves all kinds of things from the water, including bits of bikes and a lot of plastic.

A total of 26 beach cleans are taking place across the Cork city and county this week as part of Clean Coast week.

Across the country, Ms Vickers said that almost 200 clean up were organised across the week.

Along with the cleanups, a number of fun events, based around the water have been organised to get more people engaged with the coast. 

“We are more likely to look after what we use and what we engage with,” Susan explained. “So we are trying to get more people out and about and enjoying the coastline. Every piece of litter removed from the coast is a piece of litter that won’t pollute our oceans or harm wildlife,” she added.

If you have a kayak or a SUP, you are invited to join in the river clean this Saturday, June 8, from 11am to 1pm at the Lee Fields.

For more information on Clean Coasts and Clean Coasts week, log onto www.cleancoasts.org.