How do you pay back the river gods - remove floating pennywort
After taking three days to paddleboard down the River Lee Navigation (from Hertford to Limehouse Basin) I wanted to do something good for the river so joined the Pennywort Removal squad
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There may not be river gods. But there are definitely river devils including invasive and fast spreading floating pennywort (which looks a bit like big, hollow watercress).
In hot weather pennywort expands exponentially, creating fat mats that canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, rowers and even narrowboats can struggle to get through.
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For the past 18 months Pip Rowlandson has worked on the Clear Access Clear Waters project to remove floating pennywort on the River Lee Navigation. The project is a legacy from the creation of Lee Valley White Water Centre. Pip always seems to be about to run out of funding, but she’s brilliant at getting groups of volunteers together to have a go removing this invasive non-native. See the interview with her here.
With my paddleboard friend Hester (above centre) I’ve already joined Pip in cold conditions from Enfield Lock. This time it felt like summer, a beautiful 20C+ day of sunshine and the volunteer team was aided by a group from one of the companies developing the site at nearby Meridian Water (where the old Tottenham Ikea was). By 2040 this site will have 10,000 new homes.
We also met interested parties - Drew from the Anglers Trust who took charge of towpath clearing, Lewis from the Environment Agency. We were also joined by Andy (above right) and Tim, both from Woosh Canoes, who have years of experience successfully removing floating pennywort from the River Stort (which flows into the Lee).
I was in charge of steering this Canadian canoe and did a very zigzag job of it. My patient companion Sam put up with it though!
First excitement was getting through Tottenham Lock. Thanks to gentle use of a key by Canal and River Trust (CRT)’s Darren we barely noticed the water rising or falling as we rafted up (held on to each other’s Canadian canoes).
We found and removed a crayfish trap near Tottenham Lock. Although crayfish are also invasive non natives and better removed, regrettably these traps are super dangerous for other animals too. They have even been known to trap and drown otters on the Lee Navigation.
On one bank the floating pennywort had taken a serious hold. By lunchtime we’d cut and floated it to the side where it quickly shrivels up.
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Pennywort gets heavy quickly, it’s why Pip’s group will remove tonnes this year. Many hands definitely make light work.
At this point on the Lee Navigation the river’s sides are rather high, so a trug is used to winch up the cut floating pennywort.
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Sometimes it’s landed on a large tarpaulin - overseen here by Lewis - and then moved to a raggedy verge spot to stop the pile crushing too many towpath side plants.
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Our floating pennywort day ended with a high pressure hose wash (or bio clean) to make sure the boats, nets, hooks, rakes, trugs, buoyancy aids etc will not spread floating pennywort to any other waterway. At this point I escaped to the Waterside Cafe at Stonebridge Lock near Tottenham Hale and had a well deserved cup of tea. For that I also gave thanks to the river gods.
FIND DATES OF THE NEXT VOLUNTEER PENNYWORT CLEARING DAY on the Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/clearaccessclearwaters
WANT TO READ A FUNNY NOVEL ABOUT PADDLING? Then have a look for Not That Deep by Nicola Baird. First reviews call it “laugh out loud” and “chuckleworthy”. Link for £10 paperback and £3 ebook here.