Waterway Watch » Activities

Kennet & Avon Canal Volunteering Renaissance

Will Chapman — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 06:43:42 +0000

The team on the boat at BW's Caen Hill yard ready to begin the refurbishment: ©Bob Naylor

Waterway volunteers will be recognised in the Waterways Renaissance Awards for the first time this year — and a group on the Kennet & Avon Canal have reached the finals of the award.

The Devizes-based Avon Vale Group completely restored a British Waterways workboat that had sunk on the Bath Flight on the K&A Canal — and they now volunteer for BW clearing offside vegetation on the canal.

The group was formed after a group of canal enthusiasts realised that financial constraints had led BW to have to concentrate on essential maintenance work at the expense of jobs like off-side vegetation management which meant that the navigation width was rapidly becoming narrower.

They believed that they could do something about it — if they only they had a boat— and in 2007 they heard about a sunken BW workboat on the Bath Flight.

They negotiated with BW to take it over and restore it to its original condition so that they could use it to work on the canal. They towed the boat from Bath to Devizes and took it out of the water and immediately set about removing the engine so that the engine that had been submerged for some time could be brought back into use.

After having the hull grit-blasted they repainted the boat in its original BWB colours, refitted the cabin and replaced the engine and they were ready to go.

British Waterways gave the team five years to complete their refurbishment — but they completed the work by 2010 (two years ahead of schedule) and they immediately began the work of clearing the offside bank on the Long Pound near Devizes to widen the channel.

Working one day a week they have made a marked difference on the 16-mile Long Pound and the core team has begun recruiting more teams so that the boat can be used more often — and they have also encouraged work to start on other stretches of the canal using other BW workboats.

As well as the bankside work they have also become a valuable resource for BW as a team of boat handlers. They move BW workboats to sites ready for maintenance to start — freeing up BW staff for essential maintenance work.

On a waterway where the culture of volunteering on work directly connected with the canal had been lost — this project is a significant step towards returning to the hey-day of volunteering on the K&A that existed in the 1960s and 1970s. And just like the early years of volunteering on the K&A local businesses have been encouraged to play their part. The Avon Vale Group say they would not have been able to achieve so much without the support of local businesses like Boat Safety Examiner Mike Price, Victoria and Spencer Collins at The Boat Yard Hilperton, Devizes Marina, Protect Fire Equipment, Devizes Commercial Signs and HMG Paints who have been generous with materials and services — and they have had regular coverage of their project in local papers and on local and national radio and television.

This project has been an inspiration for other groups along the canal who have drawn strength from its success of this project and gone on to develop their own projects.

Team member John Kirby said: “Our project shows how a small number of people with a vision, determination and passion for what they are doing can make a project happen — and make a difference for the benefit of all users of the canal.”

The Avon Vale has also been used as the removal ‘van’ for a remote canal-side house in the Bath Valley that had no suitable road access.

The group have had a two-stage assessment on the way to the final, first with Eileen McKeever, the Strategy and Engagement Manager at the Environment Agency and then with Ian George who is the Maritime Technical Director at Hyder Consulting Ltd who are partners with BW in the Renaissance Awards.

The final results will be announced at a ceremony at the ICC in Birmingham on 23rd May.

The Waterways Renaissance Awards is run by The Waterways Trust and recognises exceptional projects that have turned inland waterways into desirable places for living, learning and leisure.

via KAcanalTIMES: K&A Canal volunteering renaissance.

Staffordshire canal users asked to help keep crime down

Will Chapman — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:47:20 +0000

Police in Staffordshire have unveiled Canal Watch, a new campaign to help keep the waterways safe.

Those who sign up to Canal Watch will be able to report suspicious activity and find out about any incidents on the waterways in their area.

They will have access to the Owl Online Watch Link system currently used by Neighbourhood Watch groups. If incident hot spots are identified police and Police Community Support Officers will help British Waterways officers patrol them.

The mid-Staffordshire scheme is being launched by Staffordshire Police next week. It follows the launch of a similar scheme in South Staffordshire in March 2011 which has proved a success.

Louise Jones, the Staffordshire Police Canal Watch co-ordinater, said:

“Our neighbourhood officers and PCSOs routinely patrol the canal towpaths but as we have such a large network we want to encourage members of the public to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity near canals.

“The towpaths are often used by dog-walkers, joggers and people fishing and it is these regular users who can help us continue to keep crime on towpaths and canals low.

“The scheme allows members to access and share information on reported incidents in their area by email, text or by visiting the Canal Watch Facebook page – they will also receive advice and guidance on crime prevention.

“This official launch is taking place at the busy Aston Marina and we welcome anyone who is interested to pop down and have a chat.”

Anyone interested in signing up can find out more at Aston Marina between 11am and 4pm on Thursday, April 5.

via Local news from Stafford and Staffordshire | Staffordshire canal users urged to become crime fighters.

Stratford River Festival June 30th – July 1st 2012

Will Chapman — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:14:54 +0000

The increasingly popular Stratford River Festival will be held this year on
Saturday 30th and Sunday 1st July 2012.

There will be live music all weekend, beer tent, craft and charity stalls,
family area, boats moored on the River Avon and on Saturday night, an
illuminated boat display followed by a spectacular firework display.

Details of the River Festival can be found at their website where an application form for a
concessionary River Avon licence to attend the festival can be downloaded so
boats can attend both the Evesham and Pershore Festivals on the two
following weekends.

Help save historic canal boat in Stourport

Will Chapman — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:03:36 +0000

9th Jan 2012

An appeal has been launched to restore a historic canal boat at Stourport Canal Basins. The Bramble was donated by British Waterways to local group Stourport Forward.

Volunteers from Stourport Forward plan to refurbish the Bramble so that it can be used for education and possibly boat trips. Some of the volunteers also give their time to the British Waterways Historic Working Fleet, so they are able to bring their heritage expertise to the project.

The appeal, which is being run by local community newspaper The Shuttle, aims to raise enough money to give the boat a new prop shaft, carry out mechanical and electrical work, new covers and fenders, and carry out mechanical and electrical work. The volunteers also intend to repaint the boat and furnish the interior with historical replica items.

Life on a working boat

Jim Amos, the Stourport Forward volunteer in charge of the Bramble Appeal said: “This is such a wonderful opportunity to restore Bramble for use as a historic working canal boat on site.

“Visitors will be able to step inside the recently restored canal boat, see the way that the boat would have been furnished with rag rugs, lace plates and even a table that converts into a bed and learn about what it would have been like to live in tiny living quarters and the physical labour involved in working on a canal boat in times past.”

If you would like to donate to the Bramble Appeal, make cheques payable to Stourport Forward Limited and send them to Jennifer Meierhans, at The Shuttle, 6 Towers Buildings, Blackwell Street, Kidderminster DY10 2DY. Please include your contact details as Stourport Forward would like to respond with letters of thanks to all those supporting the appeal.

If you can help with materials for Bramble’s refurbishment, contact Jennifer Meierhans on 01562 633346.

For more details of the appeal, contact Shuttleeditor Clive Joyce on 01384 358282.

via Help save historic canal boat | News | Waterscape.

Stratford-upon-Avon river festival

Will Chapman — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:10:32 +0000

Stratford-upon-Avon river festival

02 July 2011 – 03 July 2011

The recreation ground and River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon will come alive for the festival, which brings together boaters and the local community for a fun-filled weekend.

There will be entertainment, activities, stalls, live music, food and drink, all just across the river from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

To enable boaters to visit the event and the Evesham Festival the following weekend, there are concessionary River Avon Licences available.

For more information call 01789 292718 or email info@stratforward.co.uk.

via Stratford-upon-Avon river festival | Events | Waterscape.

Droitwich Canal Opening and Water Festival | Events | Waterscape

Will Chapman — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:07:47 +0000

Droitwich Canal Opening and Water Festival

01 July 2011 – 03 July 2011

Vines Park

A weekend of events to celebrate the opening of the restored Droitwich Canals. Vines Park will play host to a huge gathering of canal and working boats.

Friday

The official opening ceremony will take place in Vines Park from 2pm. At 3pm, a flotilla of boats and canoes will pass along the canal. In the evening there will be live music and a real ale bar.

Saturday and Sunday

There will be boat trips, canoe taster sessions, guided walks, Fire Service rescue demonstrations, a boat parade (1pm Saturday), craft, trade and information stalls and a firework display (7.30pm Saturday). On Sunday, the Activity Zone at Netherwich Basin will be offering archery, angling demonstrations, canoeing, cycle agility trail, battle zone and guided cycle rides.

The Water Festival coincides with Droitwich Music Festival, and there will be live music events throughout the weekend.

via Droitwich Canal Opening and Water Festival | Events | Waterscape.

Volunteers needed in Alrewas for towpath tidy

Will Chapman — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:09:47 +0000

In preparation for the Alrewas Canal & Music Festival, Stuart Collins, BW Volunteer Leader in BW’s Central Shires Region recently organised a few work party days at Alrewas to tidy up the towpath.

The first one was last Wednesday where a small group did a great job tidying up the towpath around the Alrewas lock area. This only just touched the surface so Stuart is looking to organise a more few work days.

Anyone who would like to assist for a day or just an hour or two then gather at at Gaskells bridge (Church Road, Alrewas) on Wednesday June 22nd at 09.45′ish for a 10.00 start. People can either bring their own lunch or enjoy the offerings at one of the local pubs.

Contact Stuart on:

Tel: 01827 252000 | Mob: 07879 884802

Alrewas Canal & Music Festival website open again

Will Chapman — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:42:46 +0000

Over the past several days visitors to the Alrewas Canal & Music Festival website may have been troubled by a rogue website issuing false virus warnings will be pleased to know that the site is clean again.

The festival, which will take place over the weekend of July 21-24 2011, is building an entertaining programme of music and other distractions and is conveniently a few miles away from the IWA National which takes place on Shobnall Fields, Burton on Trent the following weekend.

The Alrewas event is being sited at an attractive location between Alrewas Lock and the weir. There is room for about 80 boats and plenty of space for tents and caravans.

The Alrewas website is http://alrewascanalfestival.org.

For the technically inclined

Visitors site who approached the site by entering the website address in their browser weren’t troubled but those that entered by searching on a link in a Google search or a link in an email, Facebook or Twitter were redirected to a site in Russia (and later India) that redirected them to a page which tried to persuade them (falsely) that their computer was infected with a virus and offering a fix (for money).

If you experience something like this on any website (the malware is quite widespread), the best thing to do is just close the browser window. Usually, if you just type (or paste) the url of your target website into your browser, you will avoid the trap; the trap is only set if you approach the affected website via link.

As a result of having to figure out how to fix the problem, the festival organisers are now, for a modest contribution to charity, in a position to advise other webmasters of sites that have been similarly afflicted. Contact them via the Alrewas Canal Festival website.

Robin Evans – Volunteering – it should be easy

Will Chapman — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:32:48 +0000

03 March 2011

The latest episode of Robin Evans’ blog reads:

For many years we were understandably criticised for not encouraging or even welcoming volunteers onto our waterways. That has now changed with volunteers of all skills and experience in all locations being actively sought and engaged. We now have full time dedicated volunteer co-ordinators in all waterways and we’re developing excellent relationships with local and national volunteer organisations across the country. Forty six per cent of volunteers are from partner groups like canal societies. There are 30 self-supervising groups who work on the canal without any supervision or health and safety oversight from BW and we now have 14 canal adoption schemes where companies and groups of individuals are looking after ‘their’ stretch of canal.

I thought this fundamental change of approach would be welcomed but it seems that volunteering is creating concern in some quarters.

I was taken to task recently for encouraging volunteers to do work we currently pay contractors to do. I am not going to apologise for this. If there are skilled volunteers who are prepared to offer us their time and talent to save us money then we will accept. If that volunteer replaces a paid contractor and we can recycle that money to another needy area of the business then we would be failing our supporters and funders if we didnt accept. However we will not displace or make redundant any permanent employee with a volunteer. We have stated this very clearly to the unions, all staff and just as importantly, volunteers who would not want to take away anyone’s permanent job.

Volunteer lock keepers

Seasonal workers are different and we are looking for seasonal volunteer lock keepers this summer. We cannot afford to take on as many seasonals this year because of the grant cuts, increased pension costs and lower commercial income. Without volunteers the levels of customer service at many of our busiest sites would reduce when it is needed most. I am delighted to say that we have had a tremendous response and we will have a number of volunteer lock keepers at many of our sites this summer.

The press also seem keen to publish stories that imply we are preventing volunteering. The latest is where we stopped some well-meaning individuals from removing graffiti from one of our bridges. This is just the kind of community based volunteering we wish to help and encourage but we also have a responsibility to ensure no harm comes to those individuals, passers-by or the environment. Often all that is needed is a common sense risk assessment that need only take a few minutes to establish what might go wrong and how to ensure it doesn’t. In this case there were issues about the chemicals being used and their potential harm to the individual and to the water quality if it got into the canal. We will find a way to enable these volunteers to remove the graffiti but only when we are satisfied it can be done safely.

This may at first glance appear bureaucratic but people often forget that a misdemeanour by an individual will often be ignored or forgiven but when it is done under the auspices of a large organisation with the knowledge and experience to get it right first time, regulators and individuals seek retribution. As an example, we sell water to farmers for irrigation. They have legal contracts with strict limits on the quantities they can abstract. If they are found to be taking more than they are permitted to do, then the regulator prosecutes us not the farmer. The same approach is taken by health and safety and environmental regulators. Individuals likewise will make a claim against us for a bit of paint or spray drifting into their eye as they walk past whereas they might only have had a sharp word or two if it was their neighbour at fault.

Work with us

I am sure we don’t always get it right and we need to learn to be less heavy handed at times but the spirit within BW is willing and we ask that people work with us to get it right not against us.

Finally on a more positive note some interesting facts emerged this week from a local probation service with whom we are working. Apparently attendance at our schemes averages 80-85% compared to the norm of 50-55%. Even more pleasing was that 5-10% of community payback attendees return as volunteers on their own account.

And volunteering isn’t a one way thing. Dan Wickson recently finished volunteering in our GIS (computer mapping) team because he found a job. He passed this comment back to us: “After five months of learning new and interesting skills I secured full time work and was told that a contributing factor to my employment was that I kept my skills and working knowledge up to date by volunteering.”

via Volunteering – it should be easy | Blog | Waterscape.com.

Liverpool Boat Show cancelled

Will Chapman — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:41:33 +0000

15th Feb 2011

Marine Industry Events, the organiser of the 2011 Liverpool Boat Show, has announced the cancellation this year’s show, citing the damaging effects of the economic climate in the leisure marine sector.

The cancelation follows the news that several major exhibitors have withdrawn from the show. Discussions between Liverpool City Council and other local partners have now started on whether an alternative event can be staged, although Marine Industry Events will have no further involvement.

Julie Sharman, head of regeneration north for British Waterways said: “It is disappointing news that the Liverpool Boat Show has been cancelled, however we welcome early indications that the City may still hold a dock-based event on the same dates.

“Although the vision for major European boat show to be held in the city has been put on hold due to the unprecedented financial climate, the Docks have benefited from recently installed pontoons which we will still use for moorings for visiting boats and potentially as a brokerage.”

via Liverpool Boat Show cancelled | News | Waterscape.