What would you give for a 600km run for our river?
If you ask WATER’s Deputy Chair and Farming Lead, 40 year old John Mildmay-White, the answer seems to be, ten days. That’s how long it will take him to run from Coastguards Beach to Westminster Bridge in London, the equivalent of doing one and a half marathons every day.
A typical west country spate river, the Erme rises on Dartmoor’s open moorland and makes its 24km journey to the sea at Coastguards Beach. John would have to run the entire length of the Erme 25 times to match his Ultramarathon distance.
On its journey from source to sea, the Erme travels through an ever-changing landscape that includes not only moorland but woodland, farmland and saltmarsh in its tidal estuary. John grew up by the river and has observed the changes first-hand: declining stocks of migratory salmon and sea trout, bank erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution from a variety of sources, including raw sewage, resulting from overflow spills from multiple waste water treatment plants. WATER is working to restore the river to its natural healthy state by improving water quality, habitat and biodiversity.
The run is not just for the rivers but along them too
Explaining the reason for his very demanding solo 600km fundraiser, John says: “I wanted to do something that would highlight the plight of our river and many others across the UK suffering similar problems. If more people take positive actions for their local river we really can make a difference. But the government needs to be much more rigorous in tackling river pollution and supportive of those who are taking on the task of river restoration themselves. In our part of the world, that includes many of our local farmers, landowners and community groups.
Westminster is the heart of government and I realised I could actually do a fundraising run by following rivers. I start at the mouth of the Erme, follow it onto Dartmoor then across to Exmoor’s river Exe to north Devon, before joining the source of the Thames in the Cotswolds, from where I can follow it all the way to Westminster.”
Along the way John hopes to meet other river guardian groups and river users. He’ll be regularly posting his riverside encounters on his Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/runfortherivers/
You can donate to John’s run via his Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/runfortherivers
Asked what he wants to achieve with this gruelling solo effort, John says: “I hope to raise awareness of the state of our rivers and the Erme in particular. I grew up on the river and I want my children to be able to enjoy it as much as I did. Last year the bathing water at our local beach, on the estuary, was officially classified as poor, resulting in warning signs being posted about potential pollution issues for water users.”
All funds raised from the run will go to our charity, to enable our scientifically-qualified all-volunteer team, to undertake the testing needed to identify the types, and potentially the sources, of pollution. This test data will feed into our Catchment Action Plan to tackle the long term issues and, over time, help restore water quality and habitat so that the river becomes a healthier and safer place for wildlife and people.”
https://www.justgiving.com/page/runfortherivers
https://www.instagram.com/runfortherivers
