A busy spring for volunteers on the Northampton Arm
NORTHAMPTON Branch volunteers have been busy as usual this spring. They have made much progress in keeping the canal tidy and making it a better place, including building a bug hotel.
They repaired potholes in the towpath and access track, made fencing repairs and with Canal & River Trust supervision and a chipper, they dealt with loads of vegetation that needed cutting back.
A major, deep litter pick was carried out around Lock 17 and the lock island and the Westbridge Arm of the River Nene. Where the canal passes the St James retail park it also got a lot of much-needed attention; 23 trolleys and 100 bags of rubbish were collected.
Volunteers built a bug hotel in the memorial garden at Lock 10 and repainted parts of the mural at Lock 12 where it had suffered from weathering.
They also planted about 70 mixed hedge whips in the laid hedge adjacent to Locks 4, 5 and 6 as well as planting around 10 oak and cherry saplings in the field adjacent to the above hedge.
All these tasks will make the canal a better place to be, and will contribute to biodiversity along the Arm.