After 9 Hours, 3 days and 37 bags of Rubbish the River has been transformed and It has been a very rewarding project. The project started at the beginning of the year and I did not know that this would be the final outcome. When I took on the assignment I was doing it simply for pure enjoyment. I have grown up alongside the River, spending many hours playing in the water with my dogs and relaxing alongside the River bank with friends, I even did a spot of fishing every now and then. I also have a great fondest for the wildlife you can find in and around the River, such as my favourite bird the Kingfisher and the elusive otter. For this project I wanted to capture the essence of the river. Focusing on the River its self, the animals that rely on it and the positive and negative effects of human interaction. The positive effects being anglers, who care for the River in means to fish of it and the negative sense such as mindless pollution.
However, the negative effects really took me by surprise because I knew I would find the odd can or two and maybe a car tire. But when I came across a small stream that was overgrown ,unloved and used as a dumping ground, I was really taken back. It was even more shocking that fact it was just across the road from where I live in South Wales. Straight away I began to document it for the project. So I can show people what fly tipping does to the landscape but that wasn't enough for me. So I decided to make a short film, asking for peoples help to do something about it. I thought this small River can't simply be the only one across the country, I needed to get the message out there. Get people inspired and also to ask for some help to tackle this polluted stream with me. To get the video out their, I created the campaign know as
#The Big River Clean Up (Find video below & in the video section of the site)
Using social media such as Facebook and Twitter as way to share it, I got in touch with a small group of volunteers called 'Ogmore Valley Priide', who had seen the video and were willing to help. This group was set up to protect the heritage and enhance the local environment of Ogmore Valley for the benefit of all who live, work or visit there. I hadn't even known that my own community had such a dedicated group of people. It didn't take long and until an event was set up for people to come and give us a hand to clean it up. Sadly the day it was arranged on fathers day so many people were busy but a small group of four, my self included took on the challenge. As I mentioned previously it took 3 days, the first day we worked as a team collecting 20 bags of rubbish. The other two days I worked solo and collected another 17 bags of rubbish. It was tiring, hard work but it was incredible to watch nature return to its original state. Throughout the those three days I filmed a time-lapse whenever I was able to show the transformation. I am currently editing the video and will post it shortly to the video section of the site.
The contents we found while cleaning the River was quite interesting and strange:
- Nutella packets -Buckets x3
-Crisp packets -Radios x2
-Traffic cones -A pair of boots
-Cans -Slippers
-Glass bottles - A toy helicopter
-Pregnancy tests x2 -Spirit Level
-Car Exhausts x4 -Carpets
-Chairs - A Furby
-Car tires -Kettle
-Bicycle tires -Machete
-Scooter -Shopping Bags
-Guitar -Cutlery
-Footballs -For Sale signs
-Rugby Balls
-Action Man
-Barbie
So if there is any polluted Rivers in your area please do not hesitate to do something about it. We sadly still live in a time where we believe the council will come and fix it or clean it. Sadly that is far from the truth, if you want something done or an unhappy about it. Let your voice be heard because someone will be listening. If there is a polluted river in your area, there are a few things you can do.
1. Find out if you have local volunteers or groups willing to help
2.Set up a clean up with them or independently
3.Post on social media with the #theBIGrivercleanup
4. Get in touch with me via the contact page, I'll be more than happy to help.
However, the negative effects really took me by surprise because I knew I would find the odd can or two and maybe a car tire. But when I came across a small stream that was overgrown ,unloved and used as a dumping ground, I was really taken back. It was even more shocking that fact it was just across the road from where I live in South Wales. Straight away I began to document it for the project. So I can show people what fly tipping does to the landscape but that wasn't enough for me. So I decided to make a short film, asking for peoples help to do something about it. I thought this small River can't simply be the only one across the country, I needed to get the message out there. Get people inspired and also to ask for some help to tackle this polluted stream with me. To get the video out their, I created the campaign know as
#The Big River Clean Up (Find video below & in the video section of the site)
Using social media such as Facebook and Twitter as way to share it, I got in touch with a small group of volunteers called 'Ogmore Valley Priide', who had seen the video and were willing to help. This group was set up to protect the heritage and enhance the local environment of Ogmore Valley for the benefit of all who live, work or visit there. I hadn't even known that my own community had such a dedicated group of people. It didn't take long and until an event was set up for people to come and give us a hand to clean it up. Sadly the day it was arranged on fathers day so many people were busy but a small group of four, my self included took on the challenge. As I mentioned previously it took 3 days, the first day we worked as a team collecting 20 bags of rubbish. The other two days I worked solo and collected another 17 bags of rubbish. It was tiring, hard work but it was incredible to watch nature return to its original state. Throughout the those three days I filmed a time-lapse whenever I was able to show the transformation. I am currently editing the video and will post it shortly to the video section of the site.
The contents we found while cleaning the River was quite interesting and strange:
- Nutella packets -Buckets x3
-Crisp packets -Radios x2
-Traffic cones -A pair of boots
-Cans -Slippers
-Glass bottles - A toy helicopter
-Pregnancy tests x2 -Spirit Level
-Car Exhausts x4 -Carpets
-Chairs - A Furby
-Car tires -Kettle
-Bicycle tires -Machete
-Scooter -Shopping Bags
-Guitar -Cutlery
-Footballs -For Sale signs
-Rugby Balls
-Action Man
-Barbie
So if there is any polluted Rivers in your area please do not hesitate to do something about it. We sadly still live in a time where we believe the council will come and fix it or clean it. Sadly that is far from the truth, if you want something done or an unhappy about it. Let your voice be heard because someone will be listening. If there is a polluted river in your area, there are a few things you can do.
1. Find out if you have local volunteers or groups willing to help
2.Set up a clean up with them or independently
3.Post on social media with the #theBIGrivercleanup
4. Get in touch with me via the contact page, I'll be more than happy to help.