The Rubbish Raft — An adventure into Manchester’s polluted waterways
Adventure filmmaker and presenter Raphael Holt sets out on an ambitious journey to raise awareness of the issues facing Manchester’s waterways by building a raft from rubbish collected along the riverbanks and sailing it across the city. In this first blog for The Rivers Trust, he sets out his plans and shares his motivations.
05/11/25
There is nothing more serene and peaceful to the human mind than perching on the bank of a river and enjoying the natural, effortless flow of water. However, on far too many an occasion my serenity is shattered by a discarded bottle bobbing its way toward me.
Therefore, I wondered what I could do, to turn these unsightly imposters into something great. Something to inspire action amongst Mancunian communities that love their environment so deeply.
From the start of this November, I will be spending my time on the banks of Manchester’s rivers, harvesting as much rubbish as I can find a in order to build a “rubbish raft” that I will sail across Manchester, floating on the very problem we’ve created. My goal is to spark conversations, inspire local action, and highlight the incredible work of The Rivers Trust and Mersey Rivers Trust in restoring our waterways.
Why am I doing this? To be quite honest, I’m not entirely sure, but during the course of this riverside adventure I will seek to find out why. What is it that attracted me to be the one fishing litter from my own environment? What is actually wrong with these waterways? What can be done to help them? And why does all of this rubbish end up here?
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to hitchhike from London to Istanbul. During this time, I formed incredible connections and received such love from every environment I encountered. Now, still seeking that connection to an environment and community – I will adventure in my own back garden. There is an entirely separate attitude to life when exploring, a complete openness and naivety, this can sometimes be negative, but is also incredibly positive when it comes to building connections to life around you. I look forward to speaking to locals as they walk their dog beside me, gradually building a picture of my own connection to these rivers and the communities that surround them.
Rivers are potentially the most honest things on our planet; they are a direct reflection of how they are being treated. Manchester is one of the most loved cities in the UK. So why do the rivers not reflect that? What connection do the previous owners of these bottles I collect have to these rivers and this environment?
Throughout the journey, I’ll be learning from The Mersey Rivers Trust and local community action groups working tirelessly to restore our waterways. My hope is that this adventure encourages others - especially young people - to reconnect with their local environment, take small actions, and support the organisations protecting our rivers.
You can follow the entire adventure on Instagram at @raffexplores, where I’ll be sharing updates, behind-the-scenes footage, and reflections from the water. A short documentary will be screened later this year.
How you can help
To support the cause, please consider donating to our joint fundraiser for The Rivers Trust and Mersey Rivers Trust. Every contribution helps keep our rivers alive.