Paddle UK: protecting our blue-green environments

The Paddle UK team, many of whom are paddlers themselves, appreciate the importance of the sport’s connection to nature.  

Encouraged by their members' desire to protect the places they paddle, Paddle UK launched the Clear Access Clear Waters Charter in 2018 (recently renewed in 2023), an internal sustainability team in 2019, the Environment and Sustainability Advisory Panel in 2021, and their Sustainability Strategy in 2023.   

The Paddle UK charter, panel and strategy are all neatly linked to provide clear direction and mandate for the team.

Chantelle Grundy from the organisation says they “help showcase the positives of what paddle sports can bring to the environment”.

When developing plans and strategies, the Paddle UK team consult employees, members, and wider partners and stakeholders to understand what they want to see.  

• Developed the ‘Paddlers’ Code’ to guide paddlers on best practice to respect, protect and enjoy the natural environment – inspired by Natural England’s Countryside Code.  

• Developed the annual ‘Big Paddle Cleanup’ campaign, encouraging and equipping local clubs to organise their own local waterway cleanup events. In 2023, over 2,600 volunteer paddlers participated, removing around 1,800 sacks of rubbish from local waterways. 

• Leading action on managing invasive non-native species (INNS), partnering with government, providing guidance and removal kits, and organising volunteer events.  

• Partnering with key stakeholders including the Clean Water Alliance and the End Sewage Pollution coalition.

Helping build understanding and action 

Paddle UK focus on making it easy for paddlers to understand how to protect their paddling environment.

The team worked closely with external designers and film-makers to bring the Paddlers' Code to life, presenting the information in an easily digestible way.

Another example is Paddle UK’s charity partner the Canoe Foundation, who fund access points into the waterways. This requires clear, easy-to-understand signage to communicate where and how to use access points, both for user safety as well as environmental protection.  

Paddle UK also make it easy for paddlers to play their part in protecting the environment. Through the annual, national Big Paddle Cleanup campaign, they provide clubs with all the information needed to organise a paddle cleanup event, as well as big paddle cleanup kits with the key equipment required.  

The Big Paddle Cleanup and the cleanup kits have been so popular that Paddle UK now offers a ‘Go Green’ membership option, where £2 per membership fee is ringfenced to support the Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign, the Big Paddle Cleanup, and biosecurity kits.

This membership option has proven popular, with Go Green members raising £50,000 towards these initiatives to date.

INNS – biodiversity work 

Paddle UK is the lead non-governmental organisation working on invasive non-native species.

Over 2,000 species have been introduced to Britain from all over the world and around 15% of these become invasive and harm native British wildlife and environment.

Paddle UK work to control, monitor and educate paddlers about these INNS. Floating pennywort is the priority INNS for Paddle UK due to its impacts on access onto and along our waterways. Floating pennywort can grow up to 20cm per day, blocking out light and reducing oxygen for other plants and wildlife.  

Floating pennywort and other INNS are spreading rapidly across the country. Paddle UK encourage paddlers to ‘Check, Clean, Dry’ paddling kit and equipment to halt the spread.

They run volunteer groups across the country to remove floating pennywort from waterways. In 2023 this work picked up pace, with funding put in place for two environmental protection officers.  

The Northern team reported: 

• 100+ tonnes of floating pennywort removed 
• Across three waterways in the North West and Yorkshire  
• Covering 8.5km of waterway
• 97 volunteers contributing 460 hours  
• Sent out around 300 INNS removal kits  
• 18 paddling clubs involved, and 21 other organisations.

The Southern team (River Lea Navigation) reported: 

• 20+ tonnes of floating pennywort removed
• 200 volunteers contributing over 1,000 hours  
• 12 floating pennywort removal volunteer events  
• Paddle UK, the Canal and River Trust, Whoosh Canoe Club, and the Angling Trust were the promoters and facilitators. 

Looking after your paddling environment provides paddlers with a sense of purpose. The Paddle UK team have found that their environmental actions have also helped engage and retain members, bring clubs and communities together, and improve the skills of new paddlers.