Rotary clubs join forces to clean up Thames

THE town’s four Rotary Clubs will be teaming up on Saturday for a spring clean along the River Thames.
 
Members of the Rotary Clubs of Maidenhead, Maidenhead Thames, Maidenhead Bridge and Maidenhead Rotaract will be collecting litter from both banks of the river between Boulters Lock and the M4 at Bray.
 
They will be supported by Maidenhead sea cadets who will be manning boats to allow Rotarians to also clear litter from the river itself.
 
Meanwhile, a separate team from Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club will be manning a stall in the town centre to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote greener alternatives to help people reduce their carbon footprint.
 
The project is part of a Thames Valley-wide Rotary initiative which will see clubs which cover stretches of the river from Oxford to Windsor turning out to clean up their sections of the Thames.
 
As well as reducing litter and its impact on the environment, the day also aims to promote a major Rotary programme called End Plastic Soup which has the objective of stopping single-use plastics being dumped into waterways and oceans worldwide by 2050.
 
Sushi Gow from Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for all of the town’s Rotary Clubs to join forces for the good of our community. By working together we can make a real difference and also raise awareness of important environmental issues.
 
“Last year Rotary added protecting the environment as a new core area of focus so this will be only the first of many initiatives locally, nationally and internationally as we turn the same energy and determination that has led to the near eradication of polio to reducing the impact of climate change.”
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Rotary is the world’s largest volunteer humanitarian organisation with 1.4 million members in 46,000 clubs across the globe. Together they work to make the world a better place is areas such as promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water and sanitation, protecting mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies and protecting the environment.

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