River Roding Trust

The River Roding is London’s third largest river. The Trust aims to protect, restore and enhance the river for the benefit of wildlife and local people.

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

Come and join us for the last volunteer days on the River Roding, as we do all we can to care for & restore the river before the arrival of spring.

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

This winter work season has seen a flurry of activity on the River Roding: using the brief window of time in late winter to plant & tend hundreds of trees, remove tonnes of rubbish & clear paths & create public access along the river. None of this would be possible without our many dedicated volunteers who come out in all weathers to restore & care for the river we all love.

With spring on the way, we want to squeeze in a few more workdays to get the river in as good a state as it can before plant growth stops most work, so we have three more volunteer days coming up for anyone in London who wants to get out in Nature & care for it.

This Saturday (tomorrow) we’ll be at Aldersbrook (one of the rubbish pollution hotspots along the river) trying to remove as much plastic & floating litter as we can. More details at the eventbrite link, or simply meet st this point at 11am (https://t.co/DRIcxd0828); anyone welcome to come later if they can’t meet at that time.

https://t.co/Gmdz062qgf

On 16th March we’ll be going out last reedbed clean up of the season, trying to get as much litter out of the reeds between Barking & Ilford as we can:

https://t.co/FhzlJ9cvXB

Then, on Saturday the 29th, we’ll be creating a large new wildlife pond alongside the river in Barking:

https://t.co/MAh1x0usef

Do join us for any events that you can!

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

Could you be the voice of the River Roding & become the first person to represent a river on a Catchment Partnership I’m England? We’re looking for someone with a deep care & connection towards rivers to undertake this role, more details below 👇

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

Exciting news in River Guardianship: The Roding, Beam & Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership are seeking to become the first in England to bring the voice of the river they care for onto a Catchment Partnership. Although voluntary, these bodies bring together many different authorities & groups working for their rivers across the country & this have a key role in river protection & restoration.

I joined the RBI Catchment Partnership 4 years ago & although I have been impressed by the efforts of many members of the group on behalf of the river, I found it odd that there was no voice we ever heard: that of the river itself. There were many issues where the lack of consideration of what the river itself might want or need led to firstly worse outcomes for the Roding.

For some time I’ve sought to persuade the partnership that we should follow the burgeoning worldwide Rights of Nature movement & represent the voice of the river on the catchment partnership. They recently agreed to do this, and now we need to find the right person. The guide for the role is below: we already have a lot of knowledge of the Roding itself on the catchment partnership, so more than local knowledge, we are looking for someone who has knowledge & experience of nature guardianship & acting, advocating & speaking up for rivers. If you think this might be you, & you’d like to be the first voice of a river on an English Catchment Partnership, do consider applying for the role or asking any questions you might have.

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

Our first volunteer day of the 2025 season will be on 8th February, getting rid of the huge amount of litter that builds up on the Aldersbrook in Ilford & followed by some tree planting along the river.

Do join us if you can-registration link below:

https://t.co/bcNJPprzE0

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

This is the story of an ongoing oil spill on the River Roding &, most importantly, why the Environment Agency not only needs to respond quicker, but also needs to get better at working with local river guardians on the ground, who are the eyes & ears of our waterways.

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

On Thursday night I looked out of my boat & knew immediately that something was wrong on the River Roding. The moon was glimmering off the water in a strange way I hadn’t seen before. I went outside to discover an oil slick streaked across the river & the smell of engine oil in the air.

Here’s what I did about it & what it says about regulatory failure & the role of river guardians 🧵

[Friends of the Thames @friends_thames]

Come & join us in giving our river a voice. https://t.co/mEgZ3acIAn outside city hall on Wednesday 5th @davejvwallace @riverroding @cleansafethames @RiverActionUK @BrentPollution @LynneLambourne @AliDriverUK @paulpowlesland

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

The full report, with various exciting graphs & concerning sewage-ey pictures, can be seen at:

https://t.co/DEYiZeYUcZ

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

The results of the first ever comprehensive water testing programme on the Roding are in!

The River Roding Trust took part in the project, together @Thames21 & local volunteers in an excellent example of local coordination & action.

https://t.co/MDrNKBkoaE

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

These discharges meant many of the samples collected produced results that were poor & showed e-coli above safe bathing water quality levels.

The worst performing outfall was the Aldersbrook outfall, causing e-coli spikes of up to 19 times safe limits in the centre of Ilford

[RBI Catchment Partnership @YourRBI]

Great to hear John Bryden of @Thames21 and @paulpowlesland of @riverroding speaking on behalf of the River Roding and London's Rivers more broadly. Watch via the link below ⬇️

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

What better way to confirm that the Lower River Roding around Wanstead & Ilford now has some of the most urban otters in London that this stunning shot by @TheCowboyBirder?

It should give us all the incentive we need to protect & restore our river for all its creatures.

[Tony Brown @TheCowboyBirder]

After my first sighting on the 2nd March, this happened today along the same stretch of the River Roding at Wanstead with @WansteadBirder. One the very few photos of a wild Otter on a London river @riverroding @standardnews #londonbirds

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

The River Roding represented (in all senses) at a a Redbridge council meeting last night.

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

Last night I represented the River Roding at Redbridge scrutiny committee, during questioning of Environment Agency & Thames Water about Water pollution & flooding.

I brought water from the river itself into the chamber, as discussing nature without its voice or presence is a cause of many of the river’s problems.

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

@seankerrigan @NPASLondon Thank you!

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

@seankerrigan @NPASLondon That’s great to hear- we obviously wanted to be sure before any official announcements. If you could link us up with those naturalists so we can confirm the sightings & use them to campaign for the river, we’d really appreciate it.

[River Roding Trust @riverroding]

@CanalRegent @paulpowlesland That’s heartening news- if they can survive the Lea, they can hopefully survive in the Roding.