Volunteers of the future?
WENDOVER Canal recently hosted an IWA Family Volunteering Day which was adapted to a four-hour taster session due to Covid restrictions.
The day was organised as part of the first Youth Engagement Month – a joint initiative from The Inland Waterways Association and Canal & River Trust. Another Family Volunteering Day organised by CRT took place on the Lancaster Canal.
Jenny Brice of the Wendover Canal Trust reports: “The day started with the required H&S talk, high vis, gloves and one five-year-old even wore his own hard hat. Then into bricklaying which became quite competitive with fighting for the bricks. But under the expert eye of Alex Melson from IWA, a sturdy good wall was built, albeit in the middle of the car park.
“Then off for a stroll along the towpath: seven children, all under the age of eight, six adults, two wheelbarrows and a pushchair! There was a purpose. We were out identifying the bug, bee, bird and butterfly populations and, as an added bonus, a peer down a rabbit hole. Along the way we also checked out the flora and berries on the hedgerow and some lucky children also managed to find a few tasty damsons to eat.”
As the bookings were taken in advance, the number of younger children was known, allowing Alex to focus on the skills available. He built a bug hotel and took this along for the children to fill.
After a picnic lunch sitting on the grass at Whitehouses, the children were dispatched with the task of finding twigs, hollow branches, dead grasses and any other material which they could fit into the bug hotel to make a comfortable home for small creatures.
Then, using second-hand bricks from the canal, they built a hedgehog house and covered this with natural vegetation to encourage future tenants.
The day was all go with no time to dally. Off went the contingent following the winding path along the woodland walk to the viewing platform.
A short easy explanation of a pumping station followed, enhanced by a recollection by IWA volunteer and restoration hub co-ordinator Jenny Morris of clearing out the cellars during a WRG work party.
Finally, the children were given handfuls of wild meadow seed which they distributed on the future meadow area on which the Tidy Friday work party had already strimmed an area in advance.
Jenny Brice concluded: “As well as the publicity this gives the Wendover Canal, it encourages children into the outdoor environment. They all enjoyed themselves on this outdoor adventure and hopefully will make further visits to the area to check out any occupants in their bug hotel and hedgehog house.”
Jenny Morris added: “Over the past five years IWA’s Restoration Hub has been looking to increase engagement with young people through our programme of family Canal Camps. Our joint Youth Engagement Month initiative this August with the Canal & River Trust’s Restoration Team was an exciting next step in our plan to broaden the diversity of waterways volunteers and raise awareness of the importance of involving young people in waterway restoration.
“Year one was all about providing support and advice to groups who want to reach out to a younger audience but going forward we hope this will become an annual fixture in everyone’s calendar, celebrating youth volunteering on the waterways .”