New Year’s resolutions for outdoor swimmers

Doing a 2-minute litter pick before a swim, learning more about your local river, getting involved in citizen science: what small acts or lifestyle changes can we make as outdoor swimmers to reduce our environmental impact and affect change in 2026?

When it comes to reducing your impact on the environment, achieving significant change is more often a matter of taking small, incremental steps than making big gestures. To help inspire your resolutions for 2026, we asked UK environment organisations what small changes we can make to reduce our environmental impact and affect change in 2026.

“For outdoor swimmers, the places we love are often the places that need us most,” says Georgie Shannon, Marketing & Communications Manager at The 2 Minute Foundation. “A simple New Year intention for 2026 is to make every swim a moment of care – whether that’s picking up two minutes’ worth of litter before you get in, learning about the river or coastline you swim in, or inviting a friend to join you. Small, consistent actions add up, and when people come together, they create real, lasting change for our waterways.”

Kirsty Davies, Community Water Quality Manager at Surfers Against Sewage, agrees: “There’s so much you can do as a swimmer to help protect the places we love. If you swim at a spot listed on the Safer Seas and Service, you can download the app to check the water quality and email your MP in a few clicks. Want to go further? Join our Citizen Science programme and help collect the data needed to expose pollution and demand change,” she says.

There are so many different actions, big or small, that swimmers can take to help rivers and have a positive impact on the planet, adds Rebecca Duncan, Media & Events Lead at The Rivers Trust. “Whether it’s by volunteering your time, donating to environmental campaigns, making a small lifestyle change, or simply becoming more informed about environmental issues, it all counts, and the easiest way to do any of those things is by finding your local Rivers Trust and following them!”

Finally, after the excesses of the festive season, getting outside can really help to boost your mood and kick-start good habits. It helps if there’s a focus, too, a reason to get out in all weathers. “Winter is prime whale-spotting season around the south of England, so why not swap the sofa for a seaside stroll to see if you can spot any?” says Chris Graham, Head of Ocean Regeneration and Sustainable Seafood at the Marine Conservation Society. “While jellyfish and turtle sightings are less common at this time of year, these species may still appear along UK shores. Reporting sightings provides the charity with vital data to monitor marine life and track changes in ocean health.”