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Thames21 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2025

Thames21's Annual Report for the year to 31 March 2025 sets out the charity's purpose and public benefit, how it delivers its mission of connecting people with their rivers, project case studies, impacts, communications, fundraising progress and future plans for 2025/26, together with governance, risks and audited financial statements. It highlights work such as leading efforts to restore the River Roding, one of London's most polluted rivers, for people and nature.

Report snapshot
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About

Thames21 is an environmental charity that mobilises volunteers and communities to improve London's rivers and waterways, from litter clean-ups and wetland creation to citizen science and campaigning on water quality.

Key Metrics

11,664 volunteer participants involved in practical river action in 2024-25
7,700 trees planted
7.9 kilometres of river restored

Key Outcomes

  • Volunteers engaged in cleaning and restoring London's rivers
  • River restoration projects such as the River Roding
  • Citizen science and campaigning on water pollution

Geography

London

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
5,999 active volunteers contributed 776,242 hours in 2025/26
Key Metric 2
137 winter maintenance projects across 45 canals; 109 lock gates replaced
Key Metric 3
101,640 children participated in Explorers/STEM outdoor learning, including 67,896 water-safety participants
Over 80% of the network kept fully open despite drought.
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
The Eco-Schools programme reached over 1.4 million pupils, with 2,162 schools awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
326,000 volunteers pledged to the Great British Spring Clean, picking up 425,626 bags of rubbish, supported by 288 local authorities and parish councils
Key Metric 3
2,227 Green Flag Awards given to parks and green spaces in the UK; 151 beaches given a Blue Flag and/or Seaside Award
98.3% of educators felt the Eco-Schools programme significantly supports young people's development of 'green skills'
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
First known breeding success of spoonbills in the Norfolk Broads in around 400 years, recorded at Hickling Broads and Marshes
Key Metric 2
Over 60 nature reserves managed across Norfolk, with land owned or managed for wildlife exceeding 5,000 hectares
Key Metric 3
1,500 volunteers helped protect wildlife across the county during the year
New urban nature reserve co-designed with the local community, expanding accessible green space in Norfolk
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
61,819 native oysters deployed across UK restoration projects in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
15,064 people participated in the Beachwatch beach clean programme, submitting 1,256 litter surveys — the highest in the programme's 31-year history
Key Metric 3
17,613 young people engaged through in-person or online youth programme sessions
£11.5 billion Ofwat investment package secured for storm overflow cuts in England and Wales following sustained MCS advocacy