🥶❄️ **Brrr… it’s *that* kind of cold** - like stepping into a swimming pool before you’ve warmed up! 🧊But don’t worry… layer up with your thermals and you can still have loads of fun *and* make a real difference to your local environment 🌱🧵⬇️

What a way to start 2026. We can't wait. Please get involved in this fun event and help make a positive difference to the environment. All are welcome.⬇️

“The best place to enjoy nature is close to home,” said Sir David Attenborough in his @BBC Wild London documentary. We couldn't agree more.🧵⬇️ View here: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

8. The Mayor and partners are developing a ten-year plan to clean up London’s rivers 🌊 This winter, check out @thames21.bsky.social upcoming river clean-up events - a simple way to support the rivers on your doorstep. See more below 👇 www.thames21.org.uk/events/

Happy New Year from all of us at Thames21! 🎉 🥳We wish all our volunteers, supporters, river action groups, funders, corporate volunteering partners, and project partners a wonderful 2026. 🌊🧵⬇️

We’d like to say a huge thanks to volunteers from West London Welcome who joined our litter survey in Bishops Park last week. 💙 🚮The incredible work of the volunteers removed plastic litter and wet wipes, benefitting the environment and the community. #thames21

📣Our final volunteer event of the year at the River Beck is tomorrow! 🗓️Join us tomorrow, 17th December, at High Broom Wood. 🌿🪵We'll be installing dead hedges, building flow deflectors, and litterpicking. 🔗https://ow.ly/7Va350XKacO #thames21 #bromley

💝As we approach the end of this brilliant year, Thames21 would like to thank all of our volunteers, ‘River Action Groups’, participants in our activities, funders, corporate volunteering partners and project partners. ⬇️🧵

Thames21 has played a part in helping to raise awareness of this issue through our media coverage, and that increased visibility has helped to contribute to this outcome. 🧵⬇️ 📸BBC

🌊We’re still working our way through the government’s new Environmental Improvement Plan.🍃 In reviewing the plan so far, we’re pleased to see strong commitments to long-term river restoration. H/r, delivery of the plan must now be accelerated with real ambition.🧵⬇️

Mottled Shieldbug (Rhaphigaster nebulosa) from pollarded Sallow branch 28/11/25. New site record #ThamesRdWetland SMINC in London Boro Bexley, managed by @thames21.bsky.social Feeds on various decidous trees. First found in UK in London area 2010, following increase on near continent. (Pic Elio G)

📣Gores Brook-ers, don’t miss our last volunteer session of the year! 🗓️Join us us this Saturday, 13th December, at Goresbrook Park for a fun and rewarding event. We'll be clearing litter and managing vegetation. 🔗https://ow.ly/MQNT50XG9ss #thames21 #goresbrook

3 of us today #ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social Sallow pollarding, Reed + other veg work. V. annoying to have to clear 6 bags clothes, pots + pans, 2 large 'just eat' bike delivery back-packs, blanket + shag-pile carpet dumped on site, fortunately near council rubbish collection point.

Happy #WildlifeConservationDay! 💙 At Thames21, our river restoration work directly impacts wildlife. We tackle pollution to help nature thrive, prevent plastics entering ecosystems, and protect wildlife. Join our mission! End the year meaningfully by volunteering with us. 🤝

Ist of December so my mother is baking gingerbread men, and I’m really not sure if there’s something wrong with her oven or this is some kind of death threat.

🙏🏾🙏🏽🙏🏼Super thanks to the volunteers who showed love to the Thames foreshore at Limekiln Dock on Friday. 🌊 🌿🌊🧵⬇️

Great to see members of our 'IR' team coming together in Greenwich, southeast London, to exchange knowledge and build skills around nature-based solutions for flood prevention. From exploring effective leaky dams to sharing best practices, it was a valuable day of collaboration and learning.

Spot the find. An easy one. Mudlarking is about ‘getting your eye in’, i.e. looking for perfect shapes & colours of artefacts that don’t appear naturally among the stones, gravel, mud, sand and rubble of the Thames Foreshore. Scanning as I walk, a pop of green grabs my attention. A child’s marble.

🎺We are accepting expressions of interest to participate in London Rivers Week 2026 (Saturday 23rd May to Sunday 31st June). London Rivers Week is a week-long annual campaign inspiring the public to connect with and appreciate London’s rivers and the projects to restore them.⬇️🧵

Great that Thames21's Aggie Hodges featured in today's @theipaper.com discussing Wallingford Beach's bathing water status. Fantastic report by Lucie Heath. Read full story here: inews.co.uk/news/england...

Conservationists are working to protect London’s uniquely 'charming hairy snail' — and Thames21 is proud to be supporting this project with @citizenzoo.bsky.social, @zslofficial.bsky.social, and many other fantastic partners. Read more here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Our very own Liz Gyekye featured in this great @nytimes article. Glad that she was able to keep pushing this important issue into the spotlight, so the key stakeholders take urgent action to clear this waste up and protect the River Cherwell. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/w...

Our very own Liz Gyekye featured in this great @nytimes article. Glad that she was able to keep pushing this important issue into the spotlight, so the key stakeholders take urgent action to clear this waste up and protect the River Cherwell. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/w...

“Mercury can leak out and become a threat to marine life”... www.thebarentsobserver.com/news/mercury...

This looks like an interesting opportunity #rivers

➡️Looking for ways to get involved in citizen science and help gather data on river health? Join our riverfly monitoring training session at Chalvey Community Hub in Slough on 23rd Nov. 🏃‍♀️Hurry to secure your place here: ow.ly/qx3B50Xtoih #thames21 #slough

Some tiny treasures from the Thames last week. The oldest is a clay tobacco pipe bowl, stem is missing, but dating from 1640-1680. Partial Georgian-era buckle, made from pewter, possibly from a shoe. Eurocoin token for a slot machine and a brass/paste brooch, shaped like a bow, could be 1950s.

😀The government is expected to sign a ban on the sale of plastic wet wipes into law today. Thames21’s Liz Gyekye made an excellent appearance on BBC Breakfast earlier this morning talking about the great news.⬇️

Did you catch us on BBC South this evening regarding the news about the massive illegal waste dump threatening the River Cherwell? T21's Claire Robertson spoke about the environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight in Oxfordshire. Watch back 2mins 18 secs in. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis... 📸BBC

Thames21 warns: All river stakeholders must act FAST to stop a massive illegal waste dump from hitting the River Cherwell. Thames21's Claire Robertson was quoted in the @theoxfordmail.bsky.social over the weekend. Read more below.⬇️ www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2562376...

Harrow Litter pickers are hosting an event on the 23rd November with @thames21.bsky.social and @brentpollution.bsky.social at 10am to help to clear up the Edgeware Brook. Meet at Methuen Close Edgeware HA8, There will be litter picking and Water Testing. People with Waders very welcome!

Thanks so much for your kind words Liz. As Liz says, please join us. All are welcome. 😊

All river stakeholders, including the Environment Agency and Cherwell District Council, need to work together in a swift manner to prevent a massive illegal waste dump from being washed into the River Cherwell, according to environmental charity Thames21.⬇️ 📸©Thames21

🪇🎂🥳This year marks the 21st anniversary of Thames21 — two decades and one year of working with our volunteers, local communities, partners and funders to help protect the River Thames, its tributaries and surrounding ecosystems.⬇️

🗺️Part of the Lewisham community? 🗓️Join us on Saturday 15th November, for an informative session at Riverdale Sculpture Park from 11am to 1pm followed by a co-making workshop at The Blue Garage from 2pm. ➡️ ow.ly/sSQz50XqsOW #thames21 #lewisham

😊Delighted that our River Ching project has featured in today's Waltham Forest Echo.🐟 We are exploring ways to improve the health of the River Ching. Read full story here: walthamforestecho.co.uk/2025/11/13/w... #riverching #walthamforestecho #rivers #fishbarriers #fish #wildlife

🗺️Part of the Lewisham community? 🗓️Join us on Sunday, 15th November, for an informative session at Riverdale Sculpture Park from 11am to 1pm followed by a co-making workshop at The Blue Garage from 2pm. ➡️ ow.ly/sSQz50XqsOW #thames21 #lewisham

📍Join us on the 17th November at Woodlands Farm, Welling, for an informative discussion on the benefits, different types of natural flood management (NFM), and the works happening in Oxleas Wood and Bostall Woods. 🔗 ow.ly/c6Mr50XmnW6 #thames21 #bexley

Thames21 welcomes the government’s long-awaited announcement on a timeline for the already-agreed ban on the sale and supply of wet wipes that contain plastic by 2027.🧵⬇️

🗓️🎃Are you part of the Lewisham community? Come spend this Halloween with us at Northbrook Park Wetlands on 31st Oct. 🎨🦎🔊 There’ll be plenty of activities: arts and crafts, scavenger hunt, pondside tales and more. 🔗 ow.ly/7tRI50XiUMv #thames21 #lewisham

It was fantastic to invite Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Affairs Committee and MP for North Cotswolds, to see our water quality testing in action at Wealdstone Brook in North London.🧵⬇️

These latest findings from the Environment Agency are deeply concerning. For over a decade, we’ve seen warnings about declining water quality and ecosystem health — and yesterday’s results show that the situation is worsening, not improving. 🧵⬇️ www.watermagazine.co.uk/2025/10/24/e...

We are excited to highlight the results of Thames21’s collaborative SYMBIOREM Gallions Lake project in south-east London! ©RichardHeald

We’re thrilled to announce that Thames21 has secured funding of more than £1.4 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to launch a collaborative project called ‘The Roding Rises’ that will kickstart the revitalisation of the River Roding - London's third longest river.🧵⬇️

🌺🚮We have two upcoming events on the 28th Oct and 13th Nov at Gores Brook Park and would love your help in improving the brook. We’ll be removing invasive plant species such as Himalayan Balsam and litter picking. 🔗 Join us! ow.ly/1I2F50XgiJp #thames21 #goresbrook #dagenham

Where do plastic bottles go? Over 50% in the Thames end up in the North Sea. Let's tackle plastic pollution together! 🔗 Read the full paper: ow.ly/ZRCb50Xgh56 #PlasticFreeRivers #SDGs #Sustainability #TogetherForTheSDGs #NumericalModelling @thames21.bsky.social @zslofficial.bsky.social

✨Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating!✨ #happydiwali

💯A huge thank you to all the volunteers who came out earlier today for our Gores Brook community event in Dagenham, East London.⬇️

🧽💧🍃 🌳🐸 Have you heard of a ‘sponge city’?🧽💧🍃 🌳🐸 🧼A sponge city is one better designed to absorb and hold rainwater, managing flood risks, sewage and road run-off pollution with green solutions instead of relying solely on drains. 🧼⬇️