Cleaning the Tweed Estuary

A mild and sunny late September afternoon in Tweedmouth saw a fleet of canoes launched on the river as part of our Tweed Estuary River Clean. Paddling upstream towards the A1 Berwick bypass bridge, the canoeists focused on retrieving litter from areas of riparian habitat inaccessible from land.

Another group of volunteers on foot focused on the beach at the mouth of the Tweed stretching up to Spittal Point, and the marshy wetland area to the north of the Royal Border railway bridge.

A hearty and delicious lunch, including veggie quiches, sandwiches and chocolate tiffin, supplied by MK Catering set us up for the hard work of litter picking and lugging heavy marine and building waste from the river.

The Tweed Estuary River Clean was a collaboration between Connecting Threads and Ollie Jay of Active4Seasons, a Berwick-based adventure instructor and guide. We wanted to bring people to the Tweed in that intimate way you can only achieve on a canoe, right at the surface level of the water, propelled along with only the stroke of a paddle, the flow of the river and the tide.

Volunteers attending the River Clean had travelled from near and far. They included an artist and PhD researcher from Forfar with a passion for how artists and scientists can collaborate in the face of the climate crisis (among other things) and two volunteers from Greener Berwick’s Tweed Estuary Pollution Action Group - activists campaigning against river pollution right on their doorstep for many years. Everyone who attended shared their own personal motivations for wanting to take part, and their cares, frustrations, anxieties and hopes for the river and its inhabitants.

We were joined by scientist Keira Tucker from ASCUS Art & Science, who helped us learn how to test the water quality, including testing for pollutants and microplastics. Keira helped to explain some of the challenges of testing, including the tidal and brackish nature of the Tweed along the estuary. A keen surfer herself, Keira has a passion for this science that goes well beyond the lab. Volunteers took samples of river water from various places along the Tweed to test and compare to help gain an understanding of river health.

As well as 20 bags full of rubbish (including several pairs of “undercrackers” from Spittal beach and a fair few traffic cones), we were left with the fantastic feeling of having been able to do something for our river, to help, in the small ways that we can, try to tackle some of the challenges created by destructive human systems.

Thanks to our Connecting Threads helpers Michal and Steve and to all the volunteers who attended.

Regular litter picks happen every weekend in Berwick, organised by the Friends of Little Pier Beach group. You can find details of their times and locations on Facebook. We highly recommend getting involved!