STAFF AT THE SEA LIFE LONDON AQUARIUM JOIN FORCES WITH THAMES TIDEWAY TUNNEL AND RIVER CHARITY THAMES 21 TO HELP PRESERVE AN ICON OF LONDON – THE THAMES
03.06.15
To celebrate the opening of brand NEW Thames Walk area in association with Thames Tideway Tunnel, staff at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium got their hands dirty with a big-beach clean alongside partners at leading waterway charity Thames 21.
Thames 21 organises clean-up events along the river, as well as monitoring water quality. Tonnes of waste is blown into London waters every year and also enters the river when sewage is discharged into the river after rainfall, jeopardising the environment for the freshwater animals that live there. Animals can become trapped in plastic waste, get caught on discarded fishing equipment and get cut by broken bottles.
Taking hands-on action to help prevent this, environmental campaigners at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium, led by Conservation and Education Manager Rebecca Carter, alongside the Thames 21 team and representatives from Thames Tideway Tunnel, organised a big-beach clean starting outside the South Bank attraction today.
The group of volunteers will trawl 200 metres of beach to collect rubbish like plastic bottles, crisp packets, drinks cans and plastic shopping bags, ensuring the waste doesn’t continue to pollute the water.
"The new Thames Walk area at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium will educate locals and visitors to London from around the world about the history of the river and efforts being made to make it cleaner and healthier for future generations, and for the animals and plants that live there," commented Carter. "It’s a great new talking point for us and another way to get that message out there again, starting with us practicing what we preach and getting our hands dirty doing a community beach clean.”
The Thames Walk area is now open for guests to visit at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium.
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