NATURE LOVERS CLEAN CANAL

Eco warriors help tidy beauty spot

A group of Coatbridge nature lovers have banded together to clean up a local beauty spot during lockdown.

The Friends of Monklands Canal, which is headed up by Coatbridge resident Alan McCormack and his eco warriors, embarked on the tidying operation to benefit their community.

Alan, 56, who has owned a roofing business in the town for more than 30 years, is a passionate photographer and walker.

He was disgusted by the state of the area during strolls with partner Liz Burns - and decided to take matters into his own hands.

Alan told the Advertiser: “I have lived in Coatbridge my whole life and have photographed and walked the canal path for a very long time; it has always been a special place to me.

“The group came about after my fianceé Liz and I decided to tidy up a small area that we stopped at on our daily walk.

“I thought if everyone who walked the canal picked up even half a bag of litter, it would make a massive difference.

“We started doing it every day and soon met other people who felt the same as we did.

“After a chance meeting one day socially distancing, we met John Mackins, Stephen McCargo and his wife Liz Ann and talked about the canal and how we all felt about it and how it had been neglected for years.

“It got me thinking about how we could clean the canal and get more people involved and the idea to set up a Facebook page came about as a way of spreading the message.”

Since its inception last month, the community social media page has already gathered 1000 members.

A delighted Alan enthused: “The whole community has taken this initiative to their hearts and we now have some amazing volunteers, who have all been working on the canal for the last few months; and the hard work has paid off as it is looking fantastic.”

The hard working volunteers have so far removed more than 300 bags of rubbish between Blairbridge and bridge at the Bargeddie section.

Alan explained: “The response to our clean- up campaign has been incredible and the community spirit has been at times overwhelming.

“Parents are encouraging their kids to get involved with the litter picking and are setting a fantastic example.

“There are now little treasure trails set up in parts of the woodland walks that were too untidy to do before the clean- up and the whole effort has created a feel good factor in the public who walk there.

“We all hope to maintain this beautiful part of Coatbridge for everyone in the community.”

And the former St Ambrose High pupil is grateful to the “many great people” who have worked hard over the past few months to create a safe haven for wildlife to return.

Alan added: “The wildlife down there is flourishing; the whole place has come to life.”