Rivers
Become a River Guardian
You can help care for the River Medway and local waterways by becoming a River Guardian through the Friends of the River Medway initiative.
River Guardians are residents who care about the health of rivers and want to play a role in protecting and restoring them. The scheme encourages people to develop a closer connection with the river, take simple practical actions and become advocates for healthier waterways.
Find out more and sign up:
What can River Guardians do?
River Guardians can help by:
- Spending time observing and enjoying local rivers
- Reporting pollution incidents and environmental concerns
- Supporting citizen science and river monitoring projects
- Taking part in river clean-up events
- Learning more about river health and ecology
- Sharing information with their communities
- Helping raise awareness of the importance of healthy waterways
- Switch to natural flea care for pets
- Choose non-toxic detergents & personal care products
- Eat sustainably-grown food
- Help save water in the home
- Become a citizen scientist
- Advocate for the Rights of the River
- Celebrate the River
Every action, however small, helps build a better understanding of local rivers and supports their long-term recovery. The Friends of the River Medway initiative promotes practical action, community stewardship and monitoring of river health.
What is Maidstone doing?
Maidstone Borough Council is taking action to protect and restore rivers and waterways across the borough through:
- Nature recovery projects
- Wetland restoration initiatives
- Support for catchment partnerships
- Water quality improvement measures
- Nature-based solutions to climate change
- Sustainable drainage and flood mitigation projects
- Trialling waste capture solutions to reduce pollution in our waterways
- Habitat enhancement for wildlife
The Council's Biodiversity Action Plan includes actions to create wetlands, improve waterways and participate in catchment-wide partnerships addressing water quality and flood mitigation.