Every year the Club organises a series of work parties to improve habitat and numerous public facilities - voluntarily. One such annual event is the collection of rubbish from the shores of Rockland Broad. This year we cleared some 25 sacks of rubbish of which about 24.5 sacks were left by holidaymakers throwing rubbish into the water from their hire boats. Along with the usual detritus of plastic bags, bottles etc. (and more increasingly used syringes thoughtfully tossed into the water by semi comatose drug users) we had a number of star items this year including a cartridge case from the 50's, a "Bullards" ale bottle again of the 50's era at least - maybe older & still complete with stopper, the skull of a Chinese Water deer and most curiously of all what best could be most discreetly described as an impressive marital aid!

The syringe needle issue is not such a joke though. These are found either attached to the syringe, in which case they are more visible, or detached making them virtually impossible to see, especially when lodged vertically in the reeds ready to pierce the sole of your boot (or dog's paw). We have found this to be a mounting scourge in the last few years and it is difficult to see what safeguards we can employ to prevent injury, but since none of the other users of the Broad are prepared to perform a clearance service, all we can do is take extra care.

Photographs of this year's event can be seen by following the gallery links on the left.