THE health and flow of rivers is greatly related to and affected by what is happening in the surrounding landscape. The source of almost all pollutants, including plastic of course, can be traced back to humankind. Our impact on all environments, land, rivers, and oceans is catastrophic, as we now know.
Polluted rivers flow into the seas, adding to the damage that has been done over generations. 
Anyone watching David Attenborough’s Blue Planet will be left on no doubt that it is down to each and every one of us to stop and think about the destruction we are causing and how this can be reversed. Be it small actions by individuals, right up to governments and beyond, every level counts.
All over the world, campaigning and conservation groups (Action for the River Kennet being one tiny part of the movement) are working to try and reverse this damage, both on land and in water. Mankind is waking up to the realisation that we are destroying our planet, often through greed and selfishness, but also through lack of knowledge and understanding.
No one sums it up better for me than David Attenborough, this was his closing line of Blue Planet: “The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us.”
VAL COMPTON
Marlborough