We need your help preventing floating pennywort from dominating canal stretches and threatening the existence of our much-loved wildlife.
Floating pennywort blocks sunlight and smothers native plants, depriving the water of oxygen and impacting habitats for fish, invertebrates and other canal creatures.
Through a coordinated programme in the East Midlands, we plan to remove this invasive plant species and allow nature to thrive in its place.
But this is time-consuming and costly, and we can't do it without your help.
Between 22-29 April 2026, every donation you give is doubled thanks to Big Give’s #EarthRaise campaign. Double your impact and donate today.
Floating pennywort can grow up to 20cm a day and has the ability to regenerate from tiny fragments. This rapid spread makes it incredibly hard and expensive to remove.
Your donation is vital to support our removal programme across the summer and autumn, tackling major infestations using specialist boats and contractors at an estimated cost of £65k.
Specialist boats help lift floating pennywort from our canals
Volunteers, partner groups, marinas, the Environment Agency and other Trust connections will also be helping with follow-up removal to prevent regrowth and maximise long-term impact.
Your donation today will help clear affected canals and restore healthy, oxygen-rich canals for wildlife like kingfishers and otters, and for everyone who enjoys them.
Invasive non-native species are one of the largest global threats to biodiversity, and our canals and rivers.
Without intervention, they put native species and their habitats at serious risk of eradication - including already endangered creatures such as water voles.
Before and after images of a canal smothered by floating pennywort, which was successfully removed during a previous eradication project in the West Midlands.
