Why am I supporting The Rivers Trust
I want to support the Rivers Trust because as a rower, I am very closely connected to the river Aire and spend a
lot of time rowing on it.
Rowing for me is very therapeutic and is something I have come to enjoy doing.
However, this experience is ruined when Yorkshire Water spill sewage directly into the Aire and it is not
uncommon for plastic bottles to be floating down it as well. It is gotten so bad that we as a club cannot do
capsize drills in our river anymore due to the pollution levels. Furthermore, it is not just water companies
polluting our river, farmers are also having an impact. They cause excess nutrients to be added to the river
and combine this with the hotter summers, you get algae blooms. Not only does this affect the ecosystem of the river,
but it can also make it impossible to row on. This cancelled the 2023 Boston rowing marathon (49.2km), an event I was
looking forward to doing. These events are vital in supporting the local clubs and communities where these races are
held and help the clubs get more young people into rowing. However, the biggest cause of race cancellations is due to
dangerously high river levels brought upon by excess flooding and rain. This is a consequence of climate change bringing
about wetter winters and results in the number of water session becoming even fewer each year.
Especially for those of us that can only get down during the weekends in winter and especially for novice rowers
who will not be able to go out in the more challenging conditions and may turned away from rowing.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-66363111