An expat said he wants a polluted canal in Cau Giay District, Hanoi to be turned into a garden.

James Kendall, founder of the Keep Hanoi Clean Group and an English teacher in Vietnam, along with several other expatriates cleaned a seriously polluted canal on Nguyen Khang Street last year. 

He was praised and given a city badge by the Chairman of Hanoi Nguyen Duc Chung for the effort last year.   

Kendall said he had returned to the canal four times in his attempt to improve the environment of the area. 

After cleaning the canal, the group will put up the fences, trees and bushes to make it into a garden, he said.

Parents at some schools where Kendall is teaching English also participated. Their effort and determination spread to other people, even passers-by.

"I walked by there one morning and saw them tirelessly dredge up the rubbish so I stopped to help. They're from another country and willing to act for Vietnam's environment. Why can't we do the same when we are from here?" a local said.

Kendall said he considered Hanoi his second home after four years in Vietnam. He said he and his friends also wanted to improve many other polluted locations in the city.

dtinews