Natural England

Traffic cones, fridges and vast quantities of plastic were just some of the items of rubbish found by a band of volunteers during a spring clean of The Wash National Nature Reserve (NNR) on Sunday.

Natural England, which manages the reserve, teamed up with the Fenland Wildfowling Association (FWA) to clean up litter from the strandline of the Wash at Terrington.

Simon Cooter, senior reserve manager for the NNR, said:
“Large amounts of rubbish, particularly plastic bags, bottles and barrels, finds its way into the Wash, either from rivers or off ships, and ends up littering the high water mark of the reserve. Not only is this plastic a blot on the landscape but it also threatens the wildlife that thrives here.

“The Wash National Nature Reserve, well known for its mudflats that support huge numbers of wintering birds, is also extremely important for its saltmarshes and marine life. The view of the large flat expanses of wild green saltmarsh, deemed to be the last wilderness in southern England, are interrupted by the red, white and blue blots of plastic debris.

“It is very sad to see and certainly makes you challenge your own thinking about the plastic you use in your own life. I know that clearing away so many plastic milk cartons has made a lot of the group think about buying their milk in bottles from now on.”

The group spent around three hours clearing debris and managed to fill a truck and trailer which was later taken away by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.

Simon said:
“It was a glorious day - the first really good day of spring. The skylarks were singing overhead and occasionally a redshank would fly up shouting its warning at the line of volunteers bagging up the rubbish. The truck and trailer filled up very quickly. Once we had piled up the collected bags and debris it was a great feeling to be able to walk back along a clean green marsh.”

Stephen Sellers, secretary of the FWA said:
“It was great to see such a good turn out of members of the club and that we could make such an impact on the marsh in a short period of time. We had a super morning, made even better by being blessed by good weather.”

Notes for Editors

1. Natural England manages seven of the 14 National Nature Reserves in the East Midlands, including The Wash, the largest NNR in England.

2. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. We increase opportunities to make the natural environment an enriching part of people's everyday lives, and improve its long term security by contributing to the sustainable management of our natural resources.

www.naturalengland.org.uk

Issued on behalf of Natural England by COI News and PR East Midlands. For more information contact Gabrielle Hateley on 0115 971 2797