Tidy Our Town: Meet the award-nominated volunteer working hard to clear Northampton’s waterways
Meet the award-nominated volunteer who has worked hard for more than a decade to clear Northampton’s waterways for the benefit of the community.
Dave Jordan, known by the name as Sonik for his standout blue hair, began litter picking around 13 years ago when he noticed a number of trolleys, bikes and other bulky items in the town’s waterways.
It made him question what else could be lurking in the water that could not be seen to the naked eye, and began magnet fishing to see what difference he could make.
Sonik continued doing this for eight years without anyone acknowledging what he was doing, and he takes pride in the fact he was the original individual doing this work in Northampton.
“People couldn’t believe what I was finding and the level of stuff I was getting out of the water,” Sonik told the Chronicle & Echo. “People were in disbelief.”
The dedicated volunteer took the leap to start a YouTube channel four years ago, to document the clean ups he was carrying out in Northampton and further afield across the UK. The channel is called ‘Adventures with Sonik & Friends’.
Sonik’s aim is to inspire others to get involved through his social media content, and the project has unexpectedly “turned into this massive machine” – which sees viewers offer their time to help him with larger clean ups.
The hotspot waterways where Sonik visits are the River Nene, particularly behind the Railway Station, and the Northampton Arm branch of the Grand Union Canal.
“I can’t unsee things,” said Sonik, who goes out weekly on Wednesday afternoons, Sundays and sometimes even Saturdays. “Once I have seen items, I have to do something about it.”
Sonik explained that larger clean ups happen around once a month, and it takes a couple of weeks to first publicise a video on the area they plan to tackle to get willing volunteers to join.
For smaller clean ups – which can sometimes be tackled by just Sonik and a friend – the rubbish removed from the water through magnet fishing is either bagged up or taken to the scrapyard.
“I tell people that 90 percent is rubbish and eight percent is interesting stuff, like enameled signs, hammers and old objects to restore,” said Sonik.
“The other two percent is guns, bombs and knives that we let the police know about. 100 percent is good for the environment when it is removed.”
Sonik is grateful that he started his YouTube channel, as it has expanded the community of waterways cleaners and the videos allow them to look back on what they have achieved.
He continued: “Other people use magnet fishing to treasure hunt and look for what’s exciting. I’ve gone down the environmental route as I can guarantee there will be a massive pile of rubbish.”
Sonik was asked about the feedback he has received from the Northampton community, and if there is a sense of appreciation among residents.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve been in Northampton around 16 years, and I didn’t seem to fit in anywhere or make friends. Suddenly I’m somebody and people notice me by my blue hair.”
Sonik was proud to be a finalist in the green category at this year’s BBC Make a Difference Awards, accompanied by his volunteer friends the Northants Litter Wombles.
He was amazed to have been nominated by his subscribers and fellow volunteers and said: “I couldn’t have done it without other people’s help. This channel is bigger than me.”