March for Clean Water

On 3rd November, five Sheffield rebels travelled down to London to join the national March for Clean Water. Organised by the charity River Action, the march brought on board supporters from more than 130 nature, environmental and water-sport organisations as well as Extinction Rebellion in the biggest ever protest about sewage and contamination in our rivers and seas. Last year raw sewage was discharged into our rivers and seas for more than 3.6 million hours by England’s water companies, more than double the quantity in the previous year.

Marchers were asked to wear blue, and there was impressive creativity on display amongst the placards and costumes, with graphic representations of the sewage and other unwelcome items found in our rivers and seas, as well as our beleaguered fish and other wildlife. The Sheffield team had made head-dresses and placards of blue fin tunas, and a huge model of an angler fish skeleton painted in neon orange and yellow, which attracted much attention. It was good to see so many main-stream organisations coming together on the streets to protest, with many attending their first ever demonstration. The march ended with a rally in Parliament Square, where Chris Packham made the final impassioned speech, calling on our politicians to start taking radical action NOW!