NO species has had more of an impact on the natural environment than man. Homo sapiens has felled the forests, exploited the oceans, flown his aeroplanes higher than the birds... and polluted the globe with his limitless waste.

The discovery of many bicycles, a shopping trolley and the remains of a computer in the canal at Worcester is indicative of the scant regard that so many people have for their surroundings. We can perhaps be forgiven for thinking that we live in an increasingly ugly world, one for which it is sometimes difficult to summon much enthusiasm.

And yet... amid all this metallic muck and rubbish there is hope. Granted, the humble freshwater mussel is not particularly high up on the evolutionary scale. Nevertheless, the presence of these bivalves - in great quantities, it would seem - provides living proof that while Mother Nature may be down, she is most certainly not out.

And it's not just the shellfish that are doing well, either. Marina manager Darren Mather tells us that the fish population in this polluted area is also thriving, despite the presence of all the debris suggesting there might be little life.

The message seems to be that despite Mankind doing his worst, the natural world will either fight back or somehow still contrive to make a living... even if it does mean some creatures must camp out on a pile of rusty old bicycles.

The ancestors of these mussels existed before the dinosaurs. And unless we curb our wasteful ways, it looks as if they will still be around long after we superior' animals have completely fouled our planet home.