Plaque marks volunteering milestone
SWANSEA Canal Society volunteers have been rewarded for giving more than 50,000 hours of their time since 2012 with a commemorative plaque.
It was presented by Mark Evans, director of Glandwr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales, beside the canal recently.
Congratulating the society on this milestone, he said: “This is an amazing achievement and we are so grateful to the group for their hard work. They have a genuine love for the Swansea Canal and their dedicated commitment is pivotal in creating a bright future for both the canal and the area.
“We also commend them for their impact on the local community. The Swansea Canal Society is a shining example and here’s to many more hours of working with them!”
Swansea Canal Society is run by enthusiastic volunteers dedicated to maintaining, restoring and improving the canal. The hours they generously give are spent in ‘hands-on’ tasks including clearing vegetation, litter picking and restoring the banks.
They also organise fundraising activities, are involved in tourism – including running a canoe and kayak hire service – and provide other local community groups the opportunity to get involved.
Society chairman Gordon Walker described their energy as boundless. He added: “I am so pleased to be able to receive this plaque on behalf of the society’s fantastic volunteers. Of course, many recent activities have been curtailed – in fact, this presentation should have taken place on the day lockdown commenced – but we will soon be back firing on all cylinders.”
Earlier this year the society was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.