Freshney Comrades

13/08/2026

08/08/2026

Our Kev helping out, no dirty river on his watch!

03/08/2026

18/07/2026

Today is THE day 🥳

At 10am, the first of our monthly litterpicking pop up events across the borough begins.

We meet the The Punchbowl on the seafront for a prompt start.

The session is 10 till 12, but if you can only stay 20 minutes, that's absolutely fine 🙂

All gear is supplied and its dog, cat, child and well behaved husband friendly.

Refreshments and toilets are supplied by the pub, and we may even a have a visitor from the galactic empire. Photos are a must 🚀

Oh, and don't forget to lob your name on our 'Nice Person' board, for a chance to snaffle a Riverhead Coffee voucher.

See you soon and TELL YA MATES

11/07/2026

Litterpick along the freshney near footgolf and new cut drain.
Met a little boy and his mum who had left his fishing net near the drain and I gave him it back after finding it.
He went to show me what he catches in his net some tadpoles and little fishes.
He also has a litter picker that he uses sometimes 👍💚
Sad to see lots of dog p**p all over the grassy area opposite the houses 😞
Thanks to footgolf for letting me use their bin.
Comrade Hayley 💚🚮

01/07/2026

Heads up!

25/06/2026

We love our river!

This morning an assemble of the Freshney Comrades joined together on the Duke of York Gardens (Boulevard Park).

This occurs at least twice a week in this area to help keep the river looking clean, safe for wildlife and nice to look at.

They were joined by Jim The Canoe River Cleaner and Zac from PickWalks

Zac and Jim also got a gift each from local supporter and champion of niceness - Paula. Thank you so much! ❤️

Comrades Kev and Jo tackled this stretch of the river and the park area and made it look a lot nicer. A lot of broken glass was observed, spread over a wide area, so this is going to be reported to the council to hopefully get it swept up. 🧹

Thank you to other friends who joined us as well to enioy the sunshine. ☀️ Many thanks to all the other Comrades who tackle litter elsewhere throughout our lovely town.

Stay cool and hydrated!

22/05/2026

Go team !!

YES YES YES!! We’ve been nominated 🙌

Many moons ago, when I started this river cleaning malarkey, I very quickly realised I couldn’t do it alone.

I also recognised that the majority of litter in the ocean starts its life on land before heading down rivers, so I wanted to cut it off at the source.

And so, the Freshney Comrades were born. A group of people on the banks who are hellbent on “making a difference” in their own time and without pay.

There is no hierarchy, and I’m simply the guy in the boat who sorts stuff downstream, and that’s how it should be.

We chat regularly in our group forum to tackle issues and manage our work, and we even have an annual picnic by the river to celebrate our efforts 👌

It is, therefore, with great pleasure that we’ve received a nomination for a BBC Make a Difference Award.

It’s early days, but it’s still a lovely way to start the weekend with our heads held high.

Go team !

Jim 🛶

09/05/2026

Lovely morning for a litterpick along the freshney parkway 💚🚮🌞
Was nice to hear a cuckoo, can't recall ever hearing one around here.