York Scouts in Big Paddle Clean Up

All Scouts promise to help other people so both young Scouts and adult volunteers make a difference in local communities all year long.

On 11th June 1st Clifton (York) Sea Scouts joined forces with York Canoe Club to take part in the “Big Paddle Clean Up”, part of the Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign from British Canoeing. Traffic cones, bikes and other litter was cleared out and recycled from the river, all whilst having an adventure on the water. It was an extremely successful day with 39 people on the water plus support on the bank, of whom 26 were from Scouting and 13 from York Canoe Club.

Saira Is-Haq, a volunteer leader at 1st Clifton (York) Sea Scouts, has been a passionate kayaker for a long time, loving her time out on the water. She has also helped to pass her love for the water onto others, becoming a British Canoeing #ShePaddles Ambassador in 2022.

Saira explained: “We were asked to join in the #clearwaterclearaccess campaign with British Canoeing. Being passionate about kayaking and the rivers, we were keen to participate with the main focus being to clean the river and teach our young Scouts the importance of looking after our rivers and reducing pollution, so we can continue to love kayaking and water sports. A collaboration between 1st Clifton (York) Sea Scouts and the York Canoe Club made the day a huge success, with bikes, hoovers, traffics cones and more recovered and recycled.

Tilly and Barney Tickle, one of our youngest participants, were astonished at having a bike in the canoe which had been taken out of the river.

We also found a perfectly new pair of shoes, which showed that some of these items were in a good state and just wasted.”

Volunteer Leader Barry added “It was great to get the Scouts involved in a project to help the environment. As a Paddlesport community we were able to help clean up York’s reputation by picking up litter that many visitors to York see but few people can access to remove.”

Young Leader Callum agreed that it was “A really fun experience, made even better knowing we were helping our community"

The Scouts who took part were equally enthusiastic about their hard working but enjoyable day.

William said “I really enjoyed it. It was good to help the planet and practice canoeing. I was shocked how much rubbish was in the river. People need to stop throwing their rubbish in the river to help protect the environment.”

Daniel said 'It was fascinating and terrifying to see how much rubbish was dumped in the river. "

Edison agreed. "It was great! Being out on the water again with my mates, going wherever we could find rubbish. It was amazing the kind of things we pulled out!"

Parent Helper Iwona said “York has an amazing group of young people who come together to make a difference to environment and our community.”

Peter Ingham, Volunteer Leader at 1st Clifton (York) Sea Scouts, commented:

“It was great to give something back into the community with the Scouts and a great opportunity for the Scouts to join forces with York Canoe Club. All who took part have commented on how much they enjoyed the experience. The number of people who attended exceeded my expectations when we initially planned the event.”

Like all Scout Groups, 1st Clifton (York) Sea Scouts Group has seen an increase in demand from young people since the pandemic, so we are also appealing for new helpers to help us create more wonderful memories for our young people now. If you can help, either regularly or just occasionally, please visit our website to find out more. https://eborscouts.org.uk/become-a-volunteer/.

The more adult volunteers we get, the more young people we can welcome into Scouting. We look forward to hearing from you.