Joining #PlasticPatrol on SUP and Canoe
Posted by Gav Grayston.First Published Jul 2018; updated Jun 2023.
Plastic is causing a lot of problems on our waterways and elsewhere. We join #PlasticPatrol on SUP and canoe and help clean-up Ellesmere Port.
We've all heard by now just how much damage plastic is doing, and will continue to do for millions of years.
After becoming the first female to paddle across the English Channel on a Stand-up Paddleboard, or SUP for short, Lizzie 'Outside' Carr decided to do something about it.
So she created #PlasticPatrol.
Supported by the Canal and River Trust, Lizzie is running a number of free SUP sessions around the country so that you can get a taster of using the waterways on a SUP and also help clean-up the plastic problem.
Joining #PlasticPatrol at Ellesmere Port
We joined up with #PlasticPatrol at Ellesmere Port at the National Waterways Museum.
Unfortunately, under 18s couldn't use the SUPs at this event, but that wasn't a problem as we took our Sevylor Waterton Inflatable Canoe.
The paddleboards were also inflatable. These were from a company called Fanatic, and we were really impressed by these boards. I notice they also do inflatable SUPs for kids.
They were a lot quicker to set-up and put away than our canoe for instance.
It wasn't long before we started to find rubbish.
Tom is a keen litter picker and was soon collecting lots, filling up our canoe.
After a couple of hours, we had collected a lot of plastic. It was time to get rid of this rubbish in the proper way.
Two 1-tonne bags were full of rubbish by the team the #PlasticPatrol team had finished.
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Get Your Family Involved
Whether you do it as part of an organised event, or get yourself a litter picker and do it yourself, this is an activity you can get the kids involved with.
Click here to see more of Lizzie's #PLASTICPATROL Clean-up Events.