Last night a small but perfectly formed group gathered in Hounslow for an evening of riverside litter-picking. We were especially happy to welcome Thaty to her very first Hounslow run – hopefully the first of many!

After a quick briefing, we headed down towards the riverside to find litter pickers waiting for us. Once equipped, we got straight to work.

The haul was sadly familiar: plastic bottles, food wrappers, crisp packets and assorted bits of everyday rubbish. Most frustrating of all was the microplastic – those tiny fragments that seem to be everywhere . They're fiddly to collect and impossible to completely eradicate, but every piece removed is one less piece making its way through the ecosystem.

The scale of the challenge is huge. Research has found microplastics in every major UK river tested, while studies on the Thames have shown that small plastic fragments and films make up the vast majority of plastic pollution found in the water. Plastic bottles remain one of the most common items found in waterways, with food wrappers not far behind.

There's always a moment during a litter pick when you realise there is far more rubbish than you'll ever clear in a single session. But that's not really the point. We can only do so much in an hour, yet every bag filled improves the area, protects wildlife and makes the riverside a little bit better than we found it. Small actions, repeated often, add up.

With our bags collected and our good deed done, it was time to get back to base - with a little extra competition of course. We finished with stretches before several headed to the pub to catch the football and enjoy a well-earned post-task snack.

Looking ahead, this weekend is absolutely packed with community mission opportunities. There are too many to mention individually, but do check out the missions page where you can help marshal WLQP's annual walk, lend a hand at the canal festival, or get stuck into some balsam bashing on Chiswick Eyot. So much choice, and something for everyone.

One of our favourite places to help, Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts, needed some assistance clearing up after their fence installation. We love this spot because it feels like moving into history as we head along the river path and the scene opens up into countryside, complete with cows!

Task owner Russell always has some great active tasks ready for us too, the kind of jobs the scouts cant get involved with themselves. This time it inolved breaking up small branches into arm-length twigs; ready to be bagged and shifted. And moving heavy concrete posts and larger logs around the site, picking out some for the new loggery. A great workout that really is all about keeping fit by doing good, we look forward to returning.