I AM writing in response to Mr Saunderson’s letter which was featured in the April ? edition of The Hunts Post. It is disappointing to see that the first St Ives RiverCare project has come under fire and has been unfairly accused of being a political project.

The February RiverCare project was a great success, with 17 volunteers coming together to represent a wide range of local community groups. Together the group removed 13 sacks of litter, two buckets full of broken glass, some dumped furniture, a discarded motorboat battery and a rusty bike frame from the river itself.

It is important to stress that this group is set up and run independently and is open to all members of the community. The response from all of the volunteers on the day was very positive, and there are currently two further projects being arranged for mid May in which we are hoping to involve the local canoe clubs to remove litter from the main river channel as well as the banks.

Unfortunately we were not able to cover all areas on the first project as we only had limited time. However, if members of the public have any suggestions for areas which they feel would be ideal for a project then please find us on Facebook (St Ives RiverCare) and put your suggestions forward.

Coverage of the project in group newsletters etc. is a great way to spread the word about the work done by the RiverCare volunteers, and hopefully, a tool to recruit more volunteers in the future. Two of the groups represented on the day have included the RiverCare project in newsletters and as a result I have received enquiries from a number of new volunteers wishing to get involved with future projects.

RiverCare is a community project which is open to everybody and does not favour any one group over another. I would encourage all members of the public, local groups and businesses to get involved in future RiverCare projects and hope to see even more volunteers at the next clean up in May.

CHRIS HAYTON

Team leader

St Ives RiverCare

Nicholas Lane

St Ives