Call out to communities to take pride in the Clyde

Running from September 14 - 20, activities will be taking place every day for people to take part in and help reduce the amount of litter that reaches the sea from the Clyde and waterways which flow into it.

The Week of Action is part of the ongoing Upstream Battle campaign, run by Keep Scotland Beautiful in partnership with RECOUP. The campaign is raising awareness of how litter from land can make its way to the sea and is inspiring communities to take action to reduce the problem.

There will be opportunities to get involved during the Week of Action with activities taking place along the entire length of the River Clyde and its tributaries, such as the rivers Kelvin, Leven, Avon, the White and Black Cart, as well as the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Community groups, schools, businesses and individuals are being encouraged to arrange their own activity and find out what is happening in their area and how they can take part.

The campaign is backed by a range of high-profile ambassadors, organisations and funders, including BBC Blue Planet cameraman Doug Allan who helped formally launch the campaign last year, said: “It’s never been more important to look after our planet. What we do on land directly affects the health of our rivers and our seas and everything that lives in them. It’s time to get serious about the source of marine litter, and I’m delighted to be supporting Upstream Battle.”

Upstream Battle is the first “source to sea” campaign of its kind in Scotland. During the week of action people can:

Join in one of the planned events

Organise their own event

Do a #2MinuteCleanUp

Help spread the word on social media

Complete a litter survey of their local waterway

Paul Wallace of Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “Keep Scotland Beautiful is calling for anyone living along the Clyde, or with an interest in the river, to take part in the Upstream Battle Week of Action. We hope that volunteers will come out in droves and take part in one of the organised events, or arrange their own.

“A drinks bottle or crisp packet carelessly discarded on our streets has a fair chance of ending up in our rivers and polluting the ocean. Upstream Battle is encouraging people to stop dropping litter, look after our river and ultimately protect our seas.”

Everyone is encouraged to take part in the Upstream Battle Week of Action.

Further information on activities taking place, or how to organise your own, can be found at: www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/upstreambattle/week-of-action/.