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It ’ s a big year for the
Clear Access , Clear Waters campaign …
Last year we achieved so much together , but we know there ’ s plenty of work to do in 2023 .
British Canoeing will be pushing , more than ever , for fair , shared , sustainable access to healthy waters .
Our waterways are under great pressure from sewage pollution , chemicals , urbanisation , intensive agriculture , invasive species and sadly , at times , indifference .
This could be changed by giving people more opportunities to access , enjoy and understand precious blue spaces .
Millions of people are paddling every year . It is one of the fastest growing sports and recreational activities .
With more people there has to be better access to the majority of waterways , otherwise , there ’ ll be too much pressure on spots that have no restrictions .
We want the government to establish a clear right in law for everyone to enjoy and protect our inland waters .
With this freedom would come lots of responsibility , to our environment , to each other and to the local communities who live alongside water .
Therefore we will also call for the government to do more to educate and inform all users about responsible behaviour on and off the water .
The Big Paddle Cleanup
The Big Paddle Cleanup is returning for two weeks of action to continue the mission to improve our precious blue places .
In 2022 , an amazing 1,200 paddlers took part in a bid to clear their local waterways of junk and plastic pollution , while raising more public awareness of the issue .
The response was incredible . About 700 huge sacks were filled containing 2,123 single-use plastic bottles , 1,476 cans , 831 glass bottles and 3,296 food wrappers .
This phenomenal achievement did not go unnoticed . British Canoeing and its community of paddlers were recognised at the inaugural
BBC Sport Green Awards for our efforts .
We were one of the runners-up for the teamwork award , which was for sporting organisations ( professional , community-level or grassroots ) that actively educated or engaged participants , fans , citizens or society at large on climate action .
We want the Big Paddle Cleanup 2023 to be even bigger . These are the dates you need to save :
2023
Big Paddle Cleanup 2023
27 May – 11 June 2023 www . britishcanoeing . org . uk
It would be great if you could tell your MP how you feel about your local rivers and why you would like greater access to other waterways .