“Keep our River Clean” Sunday 26th August 2018

Just over 3 months ago a keen group of local paddlers and walkers rallied together to collect rubbish along the eastern and upper reaches of the Swan River and river banks from Bayswater to Caversham. It was such a great day, we‘ve decided to run the event on a quarterly basis.

We’ll be having a BYO BBQ afterwards at Garvey Park and Halina from Western Australian Seabird Rescue will be joining us to talk about the great work they do and explain how we can assist if we come across any birdlife in trouble so please try to come along!

The other great news is the new app from Tangaroa Blue that will allow us to log rubbish collected and send the information to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative data base which is vitally important so they can analyse the scale of pollution affecting the rivers and oceans.

River Guardians have donated gloves, bags and tongs which can be collected from the SUP Tonic trailer at any sup session prior to the event or at Garvey Park on the day.

Hopefully we will have Nauti Picnics with us again cruising up and down the river to help anyone in need of assistance which was an invaluable contribution during our last clean up day.

Several launch locations have been set out as outlined below and covers the Eastern corridor. You can do as short or as long as you like however we have limited the time to finish within 2 hours. The locations below are just suggestions so if you’d like to start somewhere else please do. Don’t forget, walkers are welcome and very much needed where paddlers can’t access.

As with all events we want to have as much fun as possible! So post up your antics from the day (keep it clean, pardon the pun) and see you all soon!

Details

Date: 26th August 2018

9.00 am:  Start from your chosen launch location or from Garvey Park if you need to hire a board.

11.00 am:  Make you way back to Garvey Park. Sort and log remaining rubbish with Tangaroa Blue AMDI app

12.00 pm: Western Australian Seabird Rescue talk and Q and A

12.30 pm: BYO BBQ and social time at Garvey Park, Ascot (end of Fauntleroy Ave)

Safety

• Wear something high Vis please
• Wear booties for your feet if tramping through vegetation/ river banks etc
• Buddy up if you are a beginner paddler
• Use gloves when picking up rubbish.
• Be mindful of sharp objects
• Paddle on the Starboard side (land to your right)
• Remain on your knees in the shallows. Don’t over reach and compromise your balance
• Be aware of other watercraft
• Wear sun protection
• Hydrate
• Take phone in water proof bag in the event of an emergency
• The event will be cancelled if not safe due to extreme weather conditions.
• This is a social community event. Your safety is your responsibility so please be mindful

Here’s what we’d LOVE you to do on the day!

• Choose the location you’d like to start from. Hook up with a buddy or go solo as we are most likely to pass each other along the way
• At 9.00 am on the dot check in to the events page and post “keep our river clean” so people can track our progress via facebook and see who is taking part.
• Post a photo of the rubbish you have collected onto the events page as you go along or after the event.
• Log collection of rubbish via Tangaroa Blue app as you go if possible or at the end of the event, at Garvey Park.
• Dispose of your rubbish in the council bins provided at your launch location or bring to Garvey Park.
• Meet us at Garvey Park afterwards at 12.00 pm for a talk about the Western Australian Seabird Rescue organisation.

Tips

• Wear a belt or bum bag to loop your rubbish bag so you can be hands free or invent your own idea and share with us!
• Take your time, some areas may have more rubbish than others so don’t feel you have to rush to cover distance.
• Check the edges of the river bank and beaches which means you may have to step onto land or paddle close to the shore. Rubbish will accumulate here.
• Look for the small things like cigarette butts, fish hooks, bottle tops etc. If you find a penny pick it up….
• If you come across fishing line that is too tangled to release, take a photo and note the location so we can report it to the River Guardians.

Suggested Launch Locations

The launch locations are suggestions only so feel free to start somewhere else if you prefer. This stretch covers 20 kms from Belmont to Middle Swan. There is no pressure on anyone to cover a long distance, 4km round trip is a comfortable distance from any launch spot or time it within 1 – 2 hours. Take note of the comments about some of the locations just in case this affects you.

• Adachi Park, Belmont – Can paddle into the Ascot Wildlife Sanctuary from here. No boats allowed in the Sanctuary. Can be shallow. A short bridge requires crouching to get under.
• Banks Reserve, Mount Lawley – Can be windy. Open section of water
• Maylands Yacht Club (end of Fourth Ave)
• Johnson Road, Maylands  – Tranby Tea House located here
• Riverside Gardens, Bayswater (Garratt Road Bridge) – Can be windy. You can paddle into the Ascot Wildlife Sanctuary from here. No boats allowed in the Sanctuary. Can be shallow. A short bridge requires crouching to get under
• Claughton Reserve, Bayswater
• Garvey Park, Ascot – Kiosk. Basic coffee and snacks.
• Point Reserve, Bassendean
• Fish Market Reserve, Guildford
• Barkers Bridge, Guildford – Some work being done to the bridge but can still launch.
• Middle Swan Reserve, Caversham – New launch jetty installed. Tricky to launch from here due to steep embankment. Very muddy. For experienced paddlers