Building Source to Sea momentum at Clydebuilt Festival

It was a glorious sunny weekend on the River Clyde for the Clydebuilt Festival, where we engaged with visitors from Glasgow, across Scotland and even as far away as Australia, to raise awareness of Upstream Battle and the source to sea litter pathways. The festival was a great way to kick-start our #Source2Sea Week of Action, where we encourage action nationally to reach individuals and communities across Scotland with online activities and in-person events, such as organised litter picks.  

Visitors, families and fellow stall-holders also took part in a two-minute clean up or litter survey around the Clydebuilt Festival site, which resulted in more than 15 bags of litter being collected from the car park and Clyde Walkway. As well as being essential in preventing this litter ending up in the River, taking part in the activity also entered participants into a prize draw to win a hamper of sustainable goodies.

To tackle litter that was already in the River Clyde we were fortunate to be able to partner with MetroOutdoors, who were offering free canoe taster sessions for visitors, to complete a litter pick on the water! Three bags of litter were collected from around the Tall Ship and banks of the Riverside Museum by the participants, in just over half an hour! 

The weekend was complete with music from local bands, food stalls offering regional produce and the exhilarating Dragon Boat Championships and Castle to Crane open water rowing race! 

Joe Oxley-Glenister, our Education and Learning Officer, said: “The Clydebuilt Festival weekend was a fantastic way to engage visitors of all ages and locations, about the impact of source to sea litter. Being held right on the bank of the river, you only had to walk down to the waterfront to get a sense of the issue, which really resonated with visitors. Everyone we spoke to was very passionate about protecting our waterways and were keen to share their experiences of what they do to take action and tackle the issues of source to sea litter in their area.”   

If you’re inspired to take action to tackle litter in your local area and stop it ending up in our waterways and oceans find out how you can get involved in our #Source2Sea Week of Action.