Half the population lives within five miles of one of our canals and rivers and an incredible 13 million people use them every year as part of their everyday life. Whether you live close to a river or along the banks of a canal, doing a tidy up can make a big difference to the look and feel of an area.

Of course if you're near water, there are extra risks you need to think about before you get going. As well as safety, there are other issues you'll need to consider such as biodiversity and heritage. That's why the first thing you should do is get in touch with an organisation that knows about the waterside.

British Waterways cares for 2,200 miles of the country's canals and rivers. Their annual  Towpath Tidy initiative brings environmental benefits to the nation's canals and rivers and supports their year-round work. You can also get involved in their regular volunteering parties across the country. These meet meet once a month to undertake a variety of tasks, from litter picking and vegetation management to painting lock gates and habitat creation.

The regular work parties are a great opportunity for local people to get involved and make a real difference to the canal or river on their doorstep and provide an easy way to get involved in waterways volunteering.

The British Waterways website also contains useful information about organising events by the waterside.

Assess the risks
Before you think about organising a tidy up near water, you need to do a full risk assessment of the area. But that's not all. Here are some other things you'll need to think about:

* The canal system is a 200-year-old transport network and something that looks like a bit of metal sticking out of the ground could be an important piece of industrial archaeology.
* Take care that you don't damage any historic structures.
* The waterways network is home to a massive range of wildlife that will benefit hugely from your help. Remember to consider the wildlife in these areas - depending on the time of year they may be nesting or hibernating. Some animals are protected, so disturbing or harming them could mean that you're breaking the law.
* It's possible to collect litter on the water from a boat or from under water using grappling hooks. However, there are higher and often hidden risks with this, so the involvement of the waterways owner is essential.
* The water is, on the whole, very clean. However, it's not clean enough to drink and contact with it should be kept to a minimum. This should all be considered in your risk assessment.

Most of the navigable canal waterways in England are managed by British Waterways, with others managed by the Environment Agency, local authorities and local charitable trusts.

If you're planning an event by a canal, please visit www.waterscape.com to find out who manages your local waterway. They will want to know about your event and will give you as much support as possible. They may even have events already planned that you could join in with.

For more information about organising events by water, and to find out about Keep Britain Tidy's waterside-related programes, click here .