Patrick Godden and Jack Hanson, two 27 year-olds walked from the source of the Wharfe to London, picking up litter along the route, to raise awareness of river pollution and littering, and raise funds for the Ilkley Clean River Campaign.
They completed their walk at the Houses of Parliament, Wednesday 26 May 2021, where they handed an open letter to Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Rebecca Pow, urging the government for greater action.
An amazing achievement and a fantastic amount of money raised in support of the cause. You are really our heroes. Ilkley is proud!
Story:
They were aiming to raise £3,000 (which was exceeded) to raise money and awareness for the Ilkley Clean River Campaign by walking 425Km, the length of the River Wharfe and thence to London litter picking on the way. Please contribute more to this important issue!
The money raised will go towards buying the equipment and lab time needed for testing water quality along the whole length of the Wharfe.
Over ten days they took part in the big clean up project walking from, where we left off in Cawood, to London, over 200 miles in 10 days bringing litter picking equipment and cleaning up as they went.
They provided all of their own equipment so every penny raised went directly to the Ilkley Clean River Campaign. As local Ilkley lads, the Wharfe river has been an important backdrop to many events in both of their lives and they were excited to do a big part to preserve and enhance its health so that future generations get to enjoy it just as much as they have. The Ilkley Clean River Campaign is truly breaking new ground in the fight to conserve the UK’s natural splendour, setting a precedent of higher standards, accountability, and cleaner, safer water for people and wildlife across the country for generations to come.
