The PLA’s Clean Thames Challenge is back for its second year!
Running throughout September, the litter picking challenge encourages individuals and groups to join in a variety of ways, all with the shared goal of cleaning the foreshore and stopping litter from getting into the river and affecting the environment.
If you are quick to get on board, you’ll get a special delivery - your very own Clean Thames kit! With a hi-vis and a trusty litter picker, transform into an eco-hero. Sign up soon to receive one of the limited number of kits!
Find out more about the challenge and sign up before 1 August 2025.
After more than 40 years working on the Thames, Peter Ward is preparing for a well-earned retirement - and it’s hard to overstate the impact he’s had on the Port of Tilbury. From leading the creation of Tilbury2 to championing diversity and skills development, his legacy is one of vision, leadership and lasting transformation.
The 14-21 June is Drowning Prevention Week. Not all children receive water safety education at school but you can visit the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS) website for resources to help educate children about water safety. Here are four key messages to share with your children: • Stop and think • Stay together • Call 999 • Float If you see someone in distress in the Thames: CALL 999 and ask for the Coastguard. If you can, throw them a lifebuoy. DO NOT go in the water!
Working on the Thames, either on the water or ashore? Thames Skills Academy is working with the Metropolitan Police and the Greater London Authority to upskill the Thames’ hospitality sector in free Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training.
The WAVE training session will be the only one of its kind this year. The training session aims to provide those working in the licensed industry with an awareness of vulnerability, their responsibilities and how to meet them. It also aims to increase the skills, knowledge and confidence of those working in licensed premises focusing on identifying vulnerability and making appropriate interventions.
For people registered on Thames Continued Professional Development (CPD), this training is eligible for CPD points.
Denton Berth redevelopment: Q&A with PLA project manager and engineer Dan Johnson
In April, James Palmer, Director of Marine Operations, joined the PLA’s Project Manager Dan Johnson, who is working on Denton Berth’s redevelopment, to see work on the project’s three-brand new 60m custom built pontoons begin. The new structures, which will replace our three downriver pontoons at Denton (Albert, Victoria and Hope Enterprise), are being manufactured by Dutch Shipbuilders Damen at one of their Shipyards in China. The new pontoons will create additional, safer and easier to use berthing space for PLA operations and external partners.
National Geographic, read by over 25 million people worldwide, has turned its lens to the River Thames foreshore in a thoughtful and balanced feature exploring the rise of mudlarking. The article highlights how this growing hobby - fuelled by social media and public fascination - is being carefully managed to protect the river’s archaeological integrity.
Our role in regulating access through our permit system is central to the piece, which gives fair voice to hobbyists, archaeologists, and the PLA, as a river authority, alike. We’re pleased to see such a globally respected publication recognise both the foreshore’s cultural value and the need for stewardship.
Now that the Thames Tideway, the £4.5 billion ‘super-sewer’ is switched on, the Institute of Civil Engineers is hosting a free lecture to explore how Tideway navigated the challenges and complexities of this endeavour, addressing key considerations of time, cost, quality, and safety.
23 June 2025, 18:30 - 21:30
Institution of Civil Engineers One Great George Street, Westminster, London, SW1 3AA
From ancient artefacts to vibrant cultural celebrations, there’s something for everyone at London Museum Docklands this summer.
In June, join them as they mark Pride Month with a thought-provoking series of talks exploring queer London, past and present. Then, on Windrush Day (21 June), they pay tribute to London’s Caribbean community with powerful oral histories, family-friendly activities, and their Caribbean Voices tour.
Over the summer holidays, their exciting programme includes archaeology adventures in The Big Dig, family walks exploring Roman London and the Great Fire, and an energetic weekend of Caribbean dance, crafts, DJs and food (8-9 August).
Younger visitors can enjoy Tots at the Docks, themed play sessions for under-5s, while Secrets of the Thames and other exhibitions bring the river’s hidden histories to life.
Get ready to set sail on Estuary Festival 2025, running from 21–29 June, as it carries the theme of “Vessels” through South Essex and North Kent. This vibrant nine-day celebration transforms the Thames Estuary into a living gallery of large-scale commissions, performances, participatory events and boat journeys – all free to attend.
Highlights include ‘SALT’, a striking tidal-pool performance by Arbonauts, merging theatre, dance and sound to explore climate change, performed live in water by over 20 dancers. Another highlight is artist Damilola Odusote’s ‘Call Me Back!’ which consists of two components: a mural and Damilola’s first public art commission, which is a reconstruction inspired by a BT phone booth from the 1990s.
Plus, immerse yourself in site‑responsive audio walks—from mythic guided journeys in Gravesend and Canvey, to mudflat explorations at Benfleet Creek; take boat rides to the 19th century Fort Darnet, paired with performance; and see seaside film screenings at Gravesend Town Pier.
With cutting-edge art in unexpected estuary spaces, Estuary Festival invites everyone to reconsider how communities, memories and ideas are carried across water and time.
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