The Water of Leith has featured a lot in the printed and online pages of the Spurtle over recent months.
Flooding, flood prevention, and the temporary ruination of local banks have all caught the attention of locals. People here clearly care.
This weekend there's a chance to do something practical about the state of this 22-mile 'silver thread in a ribbon of green'. A clean-up is planned on Sunday 7 April involving Water of Leith Conservation Trust volunteers, members of the public and umpteen scouts, cubs and beavers.
This particular litter-pick – one of 50 organised each year – will be focused around the Visitor Centre on Lanark Road, which is not exactly within even the most elastic definition of Broughton. However, it doesn't need to be. Much of what's in the water and shouldn't be will be heading downstream, in our direction, soon. So, if you care about the river here, why not intercept the rubbish before it arrives?
Some two-and-a-half double-decker buses worth of rubbish are pulled from the water each year. Items recovered in the past have included the usual tyres, bottles, footballs and shopping trolleys, but also Nordic skis, scooters, bicycles, cupboards, beds and false teeth.
Rather than sending away such treasures for landfill, this year the scouts will be washing them down for possible recycling. Rather them than me.
The clean-up starts will last from 10am till 12.30pm, and volunteers are requested to phone in advance to confirm attendance (Tel. 455 7367). All volunteers will get to enjoy a high-visibility vest courtesy of Barr Construction.
[Photo below shows replanting of trees at Canonmills, earlier in the week.)
