Getting down to cleaning up the Dodder

THE Dodder flows some 24km from its source on Mount Kippure to the Grand Canal Dock in Dublin.

It meanders through a number of Southside suburbs and provides a rich habitat for wildlife and green recreation space for local residents.

Projects are in the works to further develop and improve this resource, but river dumping has become more than a minor nuisance in recent years.

Victoria White, the secretary of Dodder Action Dublin, described some of the issues.

“Upriver there is an old dump that was cemented over years ago that oozes stuff whenever there’s high water,

? she said.

“There is also dumping going on in Firhouse. It’s beautiful up there, but it’s absolutely destroyed with rubbish.

“In high water, everything upriver flows down to litter the entire length. It’s just not acceptable in a modern capital city. We’re just not going to tolerate it.

?

But all is not lost, thanks to the efforts of volunteers on the second annual Dodder Day.

Dodder Action Dublin members led volunteer clean up efforts at nine different locations along the river.

Local residents and community organisations from as far upriver as Tallaght pitched in to help. Some arrived in chest waders, ready to walk into the river to extract items buried in the riverbed itself.

A strong sense of community pride prevailed. Long-time Milltown resident William Higgins said with a smile:

“It’s a great initiative. It’s very rewarding and satisfying to see people out cleaning up other people’s mess.

?

Equipment and support were provided by Dublin City Council, South Dublin County Council, and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as part of An Taisce’s National Spring Clean.

Hard-working crews picked up, fished out, and unearthed from the banks all manner of filth and garbage.

The team in Donnybrook retrieved cans and bottles, plastics, metal and building scraps, and more than one old pair of trousers.

Milltown volunteers discovered shopping baskets, bicycles, auto parts and construction waste among the common bits of trash. In areas near walking trails, dog waste was common among the other litter.

Clean-up teams even found a large number of full dog waste bags thrown into the river or in the grass by careless walkers.

As sad as it was to see the river so abused, the combined efforts of hundreds of volunteers made a marked difference.

Sections of the river spoiled by litter in the morning were returned to spotless natural beauty by mid-afternoon.

In some areas, Dodder Action Dublin members and returning volunteers noticed fewer litter and large items like construction materials and bicycles collected than last year.

It appears the annual clean up day is gaining a foothold.

Some of the long-term goals of Dodder Action Dublin include helping the three councils work together more efficiently in matters involving the river, to cease river dumping, and to support efforts to responsibly develop the river.

Dodder Action Dublin is an umbrella group of volunteers who want to maximise the potential of the River Dodder as an amenity for the people of Dublin.

For more information and to get involved, see their website at www.dodderactiondublin.com and find them on Facebook.