Clean up rewarded with beauty

Docklands’ riverbank clean-up crew was amazed last month when a black swan built a nest on the riverbank it has been caring for.

The riverbank had been neglected and was overcome with litter when the team from YMCA Docklands began performing regular clean-ups in May this year, led by manager Andrew Ward.

“The area is definitely much cleaner than in the past and when we saw the swan now nesting in an area that used to be strewn with rubbish, we realised our efforts had a significant environmental impact as well, something we did not anticipate,”
Mr Ward said.

“Of course we are over the moon to see this work having a positive impact on the wildlife as well as making Docklands beautiful.”