Pippa Rowlandson from the River Lee Floating Pennywort Project invites readers to join her clearing a nuisance weed from the Lee.
The Angling Trust and British Canoeing are working in partnership to manage Floating Pennywort on the River Lee Navigation. We run regular volunteering events on the River Lee which are extremely inclusive for any ability.
We teach our volunteers to work from the bank or paddle in canoes from the Canal & River Trust base at Enfield Lock. Volunteers learn how to identify, report and safely dispose of Floating Pennywort and how to stop the spread by Check Clean and Dry.
It’s a fun and rewarding way to volunteer.
- Thursday 7th March: Enfield Lock
- Sunday 21st April: Stonebridge Lock
- Sunday 19th May: Stonebridge Lock
We'll probably be putting on more events between those dates and into the summer, so get in touch if you're interested.
Floating Pennywort - Hydrocotyle ranunculoides
First naturalised in 1990 as a result of discarded plants from garden ponds. It spreads rapidly and can grow up to 20cm per day, quickly dominating a waterbody by forming thick mats and impeding water flow and amenity use. May out-compete native species by blocking out light, causing deoxygenation, obstructing air breathing insects and reducing water temperatures. It is found mostly in the south-east of England and occasionally in the northwest of England and Wales.
Here’s a couple of photos from one of our events, showing the flexible use of canoes in small creeks on the Lee where its harder for the bigger boats to access the Floating Pennyworts and working in collaboration with the canal boat and C&RT volunteers to help remove the plant mass
For further details of how to get involved with environmental volunteering opportunities on the Lee Navigation, please contact.
The videos below show similar work on the River Wey.