The Calder Conservation Group CIC: Meet the environmental crusader on a mission to clean up the River Calder - from Todmorden to Castleford, via Dewsbury
A kind-hearted environmentalist from Heckmondwike has set up a community group to help clean up one of West Yorkshire’s major rivers.
Avid angler Lee Murrell, 39, set up The Calder Conservation Group CIC along with two other voluntary directors at the end of 2024 as a project to help restore and protect the River Calder - which flows from Todmorden to Castleford, via Brighouse, Mirfield and Dewsbury - and its surroundings.
Fondly known as the Calder Cleaner, Lee has been fishing and litter picking at the same time for five years and was previously involved in the River Anglers Conservation Group.
Explaining the The Calder Conservation Group’s goals, Lee said:
“My goal, with my angling background, is to improve river biodiversity and habitats to improve fish stocks.
“The river has so many pressures facing it. We have got quite a lot of sediment going into the river. Then we have got a lot of plastics from industry going into the river.
“Then we have a massive input of sanitary products and wet wipes that come in through our combined sewage outlets. The responsibility for a sanitary towel falls on the person flushing it down the toilet. It’s a ‘think before you flush’ thing.
“These all build up on the river bed and have a negative impact on animal habitats and biodiversity.”
He added: “The overall goal of the CIC is not just to improve angling and fishstock but to also engage with community members, groups of children and run events around our river like litter-pick walks and river clean ups, as well as educate people on what we find and how they can help.
“Without getting the community involved it’s a waste of time. We want to educate the next generation on what is going into their waterways. It fosters community pride in our green spaces and, by doing that, our community members will challenge businesses who are polluting.
“We want to reconnect people with nature, which also has a massive impact on positive mental health and well-being.
“The goal is to grow the CIC this year and engage with as many volunteers as we can, grow the team and offer a catchment-wide service where we can run regular events and get as much rubbish out of the river as possible.
“We want to contact as many businesses as we can, raise some sponsorship and get as many people involved and talking about it as we can.
“We want to grow the CIC into a fully functioning business that’s actively surveying stretches of the water and identifying stretches that would benefit from intervention and improvement - and to get as many passionate volunteers as we can to grow the team.
“We also believe it is important for small like-minded groups with a similar mission to come together and collaborate their efforts.”
The CIC has run collaborative events with Friends of Wellholme Park, in Brighouse, and the Wandering Wombles from Halifax, whilst also hosting a litter-pick at Hebble Brook in Siddal, where 24 volunteers were on hand to help out, as well as a productive tidying session at Sands Lane in Dewsbury.
But more people are needed.
“I am quickly learning that the people are out there,” Lee said. “At Sands Lane we used a canoe to remove contaminants from the water course and then we had seven volunteers on the banking.
“We removed two full tonne bags of plastic, we removed scrap, filled four bin bags of aluminium cans and 40 kilos of other metals. These things settle on the bottom of the river and they do have a massive effect on nature.
“But if there were 24 of us, we would have removed four or five times more rubbish, which would make a massive difference. Groups like ours, with a regular supply of volunteers, can make a massive overall impact and difference.”
Asked what advice he would give to people on how they could help to improve the environment, he replied:
“Think about what you do with your waste. Everybody can do that. Don’t throw litter out of your car window, put it in your pocket and take it home and put it in a bin.
“Think about what you put down your drains, so think about what you flush down a toilet and think about what you pour down your kitchen sink.”