Latest News

Emily M Lewisham Rivers, Volunteer

Rivers & People Volunteer Programme [January – March 2024]

New Year, New You? Don’t want to pay a gym fee to be indoors working out? Why not join us once a week in the Rivers of Lewisham? Plus, whilst you do that you are actively helping the blue spaces within the borough!

The volunteer session programme has now been released for October to December 2023. Check out the programme HERE. If you would like to get involved in volunteering on Lewisham’s rivers please read through the the River Volunteering web page, and if you have any questions or queries please get in touch with Emily.

Emily M Volunteer

Rivers & People Volunteer Programme [October – December 2023]

Autumn/ Winter is when we can get many of our hands on practical tasks done as most of the wildlife on the banks are hunkering down for the colder period. Why not join our Tuesday volunteer sessions? The volunteer session programme has now been released for October to December 2023. Check out the programme HERE. If you would like to get involved in volunteering on Lewisham’s rivers please read through the the River Volunteering web page, and if you have any questions or queries please get in touch with Emily.

Emily M Lewisham Rivers

Drowning Prevention Week

RLSS UK’s Drowning Prevention Week is an annual, water safety campaign designed to educate children and young adults in water safety and lifesaving skills.

Drowning Prevention Week educates children aged 5 to 17 each June with crucial water safety advice just before the summer holidays, when young people are outdoors more and need these skills and knowledge most, so everyone can enjoy water safely. We’re calling on all carers, schools, lifesaving clubs, leisure operators and water-related businesses to participate.

Save the Date: Drowning Prevention Week is happening from 13-20 June 2026.

RLSS UK exists to prevent drowning and support everyone to enjoy water safely. We are committed to saving lives by leading in lifesaving, lifeguarding and water safety education, and we aspire to have communities free from drowning. With your support we can achieve this.

Drowning is preventable and nobody should drown.

Download Drowning Prevention Week Resources from RLSS UK

Emily M Lewisham Rivers

Rivers & People x University of Arts students

“I had a brilliant time volunteering at Ladywell park with Rivers & People Riverbank Management. As a student I’m always working at a computer so it was a lovely change of pace to get up and active whilst helping out the community. Meeting the other volunteers was a great opportunity to meet other locals and make connections outside of university. From a conservation perspective it was really interesting to learn about the maintenance needed for these parks to stay enjoyable all year round. In the session I attended we focused on removing reeds and silt to improve the flow of the stream. As a newcomer everyone was welcoming to me and I felt very comfortable in the group. I hope to be involved with more projects in the future and I encourage you to do the same!” – Elsa, Local Uni Student

Emily M Friends Groups

Digging the Dirt – the world beneath your feet

Wild Cat Wilderness are running a project entitled Digging the Dirt – the world beneath your feet from March to June 2026. As part of the project at the Wild Cat Wilderness there will be a Soil Festival 18th April and a Summer Solstice Exhibition to show any creative outputs from the project 20/21st June.

There are several opportunities for gardens/ greenspaces to get involved

Become a Soil Hero

If you are part of a local group we are looking for people to help with project and spread the word. WCW will provide some training and information all about soil health so you can pass this onto others on the 8th March at the Orchard Gardens. For more information and to enrol (x1 person per garden/greenspace) please email Maria wcw@rgtb.org.uk

Take part in “Soiled”

Check your soil health by burying some calico for x4 weeks and participate in a collective community piece of art to be exhibited at the Summer Solstice Exhibition. WCW will provide the calico and instructions and then you return the results back to us to form part of a communal art piece.

Lewisham open gardens day

Be part of a self-guided trail across the borough of greenspaces with an open day and map in conjunction with Good Food Lewisham on the 19th April. 

Hands on workshops, talks and films about soil, sustainable gardening, growing advice and composting. Dates to be announced. WCW are also looking for local experts to get involved so get in touch.

Grow a bee friendly plant or herb

Sow some seeds to plant at you greenspace. WCW will provide the seeds and instructions.

They are also open to ideas and attach a summary of the project. To get involved with any of these free opportunities please email Maria

wcw@rgtb.org.uk – with the subject matter ‘Digging the Dirt’ and which garden/greenspace you are part of.

Emily M Lewisham Parks, Lewisham Rivers, Volunteer

Volunteer Sessions in January

January began in a very wet fashion, with lots of heavy rain and the rivers in flood mode. Our first session back was at Cornmill Gardens where we working on the viewing platform both checking the wooden slats and removing a line of vegetation so in a month’s time when the plants get growing you’ll still be able to see the river! The volunteers also cleared up litter and various bits of rubbish that had floated downstream in the recent rains, which Glendale’s cleansing team collected at the end of the session.

Later in the month we were back on the weir in Ladywell Fields, allowing the river to permeate through the weir and unblocking the secondary channel was our key aim and after 3 hours of shifting vegetation, rubbish, fence panels, and a e-bike we left the weir with a good flow, and a cohort of moorhens who appeared as we left.

Emily M Lewisham Parks, Lewisham Rivers, Volunteer

Volunteer Sessions 2025 Wrap-up

It doesn’t feel too long since I wrote a post about the end of 2024, but 2025 has been a really busy and varied year for our Rivers & People volunteers. Firstly, I want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped out at one of our 36 sessions this year. We covered all three rivers within Lewisham, and miles of banksides, surveying for wildlife, litter-picking, restoration projects within the channel to improving access to the river from within the parks. Overall, 693 volunteer hours have been given to the rivers in Lewisham, so thank you to everyone who has been involved.

To join the Rivers & People volunteer group in 2026, please check out our January-March session programme.