14th September marked our annual Positive Day – a day when we close-up shop to make a Positive (sorry-not-sorry) impact in our local community.  

 This year we voted to dedicate the day to The Environment. And as both of our offices are walking distance to beautiful water ways, what better way to improve the local environment than with a river/canal clean up? 

It kicked off bright & early, with the team meeting at the Richmond & Rotterdam offices to pick up supplies. Armed with bin bags, litter pickers and wellies it was time to get the ball rolling.  

In Richmond we split into two teams, going in different directions to cover as much ground as possible. Venturing up the river paths we gathered all the rubbish we could find and soon filled our bin bags with everything from bottles & crisp packets to abandoned balls & pants (yes, that was a particularly odd find!). The people we passed often thanked us for our efforts, and Captain Andy at Hammerton’s Ferry even gave some of the team a free river crossing so they could pick up more litter on the other side.   

Bags full & legs tired, we headed back to base and had a quick ice cream before going out to enjoy the River Thames in all it’s tidy glory: on rowing boats! Sun shining and river gleaming, we relaxed & enjoyed being out on the water, with only a few water fights & boat races upsetting the peace. Finally, the full team gathered for a well-deserved dinner, where we toasted our efforts and caught up with colleagues from all the different functions.   

Overall it was a fantastic Positive Day and great to see the waterways in both Richmond & Rotterdam looking sparkling clean from all our efforts, just in time for Clean Up Day on 16th September. Thank you so much to everyone who made it such a success!

Watch this space for more action around the environment as our voted Positive cause for the year, as well as our next Positive Day in 2024!