Thousands of people will be raising money for marine and freshwater environments later this year as part of the World Wildlife Fund's Blue Mile Event.

Ecover has just become the official sponsor of the event, a sponsored range of activities aiming to raise funds to help protect the world’s marine and freshwater environments.

You can get involved too - if you want to take part all you have to do is cover a distance of one mile either in, or next to, water.

This can be done at the WWF’s Blue Mile London event at Stoke Newington West Reservoir on Sunday September 4, where you can swim, kayak, or try your hand at stand up paddle boarding.

Or if you're feeling really energetic, why not try all three with the Blue Mile’s Triple Challenge? You can sign up at the WWF website or by calling 02392 312008.

Alternatively, you can organise your own sponsored Blue Mile event with friends and family at a location of your own choosing - perhaps the local swimming pool, or just a casual stroll along your favourite riverbank or beach.

Ecover, which has worked with WWF many times in the past, produces a wide range of cleaning products, all designed to have minimum impact on our marine and freshwater environments.

Rudy De Vis, speaking on behalf of Ecover, said: "We are really proud to sponsor the Blue Mile campaign – it’s a project that we truly believe in and we are excited to be working with WWF to raise awareness of this crucial issue.

"The protection of our environment and waterways is a growing area of concern throughout the world and action needs to be taken. We support this wholeheartedly, so much so that Ecover teams will be taking part in the challenge on the day."

[Image: Simon Hickson]