Waterways Action Squad Blog » Uncategorized

A short video showcasing some of what we got up to during our first two years

EmmaW — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:54:29 +0000

New youth volunteering programme 24:24

EmmaW — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:51:32 +0000

The 24:24 programme started off with a very successful induction week in July which included a trip to Afon Du near Conwy for a challenging gorge walk and a stop off at Conwy harbour for chips on the way home. There are currently 5 young people in the cohort, 4 males and 1 female, aged between 17 and 19. They come from a range of backgrounds and are all on the programme because they want to learn new skills, do something useful and ultimately find employment.

We have undertaken some work such as lock painting and vegetation management (chopping down overgrowwing branches etc) at Tower Wharf near Taylor’s boatyard in Chester. We have also undertaken some painting at the museum and helped with the huge operation of tackling the ever expanding weed in the canal and basin there. Recently we met Geoff Taylor, a relative of the Taylor family, and a key member of the Chester Canal Heritage Trust, who was very pleased with the work the cohort are undertaking and impressed that young people are engaging with the waterways. The group have also been on a day’s boating which ended in disaster when the boat broke down miles from home and they had an angling taster session to teach them more about using the waterways for leisure purposes.

The participants are about to start work on a social action project where they will be given the opportunity to change something in the waterways community that they care about and they will be given a budget to spend and support from Emma. We’ll update you on this soon.

Volunteer Conference and Celebration

EmmaW — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:17:52 +0000

Hi my name’s Sarah and I’m a volunteer for Waterways Action Squad helping with the Volunteer Conference and Celebration Event that’s coming up on 15^th June. As the current project reaches its end, Waterways Action Squad want to receive some form of evaluation from anyone who has been involved, and also to celebrate everything that the project has achieved over the past two years.

It’s been great to see the type of opportunities Waterways Action Squad has created for young people and the difference it has made in restoring and protecting the local waterways as well as how it has affected the volunteers. So we decided to create this event so you can come along and try out some of the opportunities we have done, such as willow-weaving and aquatic surveying, as well as being able to tell us how Waterways Action Squad has affected you in the past two years. We’ll also be having a celebration later in the day to say thank you to all volunteers, with an awards ceremony for volunteers’ contributions to the project, a delicious BBQ and other activities like bell-boating and water-zorbing.

Volunteer Conference and Celebration Event

Wednesday 15^th June

12:30-7:30 p.m. Awards start at 3 p.m.

National Waterways Museum, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 4FW

If you’d like any more information please email either Simon (simon.colderley@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk) or Emma (emma.wright@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk). Looking forward to seeing you there!

Have your say!!

LucieU — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:10:48 +0000

As you may know, after 2 years our current project comes to an end in June of this year.

We’d really like to know what you’ve thought of our project and the activities you have taken part in. What did you enjoy? What could we have done better? What types of things would you like to see us developing in the future?

We really want to know about your experiences so that we can evaluate our current work and work with you to decide how best to develop Waterways Action Squad in the future.

There are a few ways you can have your say…

Complete the feedback form- just follow the link – http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YRCQCQM
Write a comment on this post – Just scroll down this page and leave a comment!
Become a Volunteer Case Study for our project – Email simon.colderley@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk to find out more
Email any of the project team with your comments / ideas
Help us to consult with other young people and get involved in shaping up proposals and bids to continue the project in the future – Email lucie.unsworth@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk for more details

Please take the time to let us know what you think of Waterways Action Squad. Your comments are very much appreciated and will help us to make the project even bigger and better in the future!

Thanks.

Musicians wanted

AliceA — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:07:24 +0000

We are looking for talented young musicians who would like to join in music and songwriting workshops and write some new pieces to celebrate the Waterways (that’s canals and rivers to you and me) with Tom Kitching fiddle player and canal enthusiast extraordinaire, and renowned Singer-songwriter Gren Bartley. You can work as a soloist, as an existing band, or create a new act with other volunteers – this will be a great opportunity to meet other musicians and swap ideas.

The workshops start from the beginning of February and will finish with a performance evening between April 22nd – 24th at the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port.

musicians at the museum

This is not a beginners course – You should already be able to play or sing to a basic standard, though you don’t need to have done grades. A basic understanding of music theory OR the ability to learn by ear would be useful.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Simon Colderley or Hazel Mayow on 0151 373 4392, or email simon.colderley@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk hazel.mayow@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk

Uplifting Art

AliceA — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:46:53 +0000

The Big Draw campaign is a month long campaign to get more people drawing and painting. At the Anderton Boat Lift in Northwich we are holding a week long event for local children called ‘Uplifting Art’.

We are going to create a huge canvas wall depicting the lift and the surrounding area and over 240 children will take part. There will be 22 hour workshops every day from Monday 11th to Friday 15rd October.

If you have an interest in art and love working with children then please volunteer to help us with this project.

All volunteers that get involved will be invited to the unveiling and open day on 24th October and will receive a v Thank You certificate!

We need volunteers to sign up as soon as possible as this opportunity involves working with children and may require a CRB check to be undertaken.

There will be disabled access

Where? The Anderton Boat Lift, Northwich

Any experience/ skills needed? Volunteers would need to be good with children and have an wide interest in art.

Dates: Monday 11th Oct- Sat 15th Oct

Expenses: Public transport costs wil be reimbursed.

Who to Contact : To register for this volunteering opportunity or for more information, please contact Simon Colderley on 0151 3734392 or simon.colderley@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk

End of Summer Celebration

LucieU — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:38:19 +0000

Bell Boating at National Waterways Museum

Last Thursday was a lovely day and we had an end of summer celebration event for Volunteer’s and to celebrate this we had a BBQ, a meeting with Volunteers and some staff members.

In the morning there was a Bell Boat race that took place in Chester down the Canals, which was enjoyed by all

Bell Boating is a twin hulled canoe and is a team of 8-10 people working together to move the craft. We have found that the Bell Boat is a great way to enjoy the water and promote good teamwork.

Thanks to John Driver and the outdoor Lets Go Adventure Company for their help with the Bell Boating and BBQ.

There was 13 Volunteers that took place in this 8 mile Bell Boating race down the Canals from Chester to Ellesmere Port (which was done rather quickly)

We all went into the Boat Hall and spoke about the Museum and what’s it’s helped us all with and there was leaflets and info packs on the tables for people to have a good look at and then we had a lovely BBQ.

The aim of the event was to showcase Waterways Action Squad’s first year and included displays about…..

Wildlife and conservation projects
Rolt music project
Murals in Ellesmere Port and Bootle

At the end of the event Alison and Bethany led a Wildlife Walk along the Shropshire Union Canal to Freemans Copes

We would just like to give a Big Thank You to Chief Exec of The Waterways Trust – Roger Hanbury and Chief Exec of British Waterways, Robin Evans for attending.

And a big Thank You to Ronnie and Flat lane Community Group for helping us set up.

Written by Candice Smith

My two days at Burrs Activity Centre

SimonC — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:05:58 +0000

Volunteer Ambassador Ryan

What I got out of it?

I gained more confidence and independence which will help in the near future to help me get into employment.

I also did conservation work on the canals, we took the Himalayan balsam out as this was killing other plants. It was interesting to find out a few facts about the Himalayan balsam, what it looks like and best way to kill the plant.

What I enjoyed?

I enjoyed it because I met a few more people, had a really good laugh, we all worked well as a team, and everyone was helpful and helped with the chaos and we all supported each other. I also did two other activaties; Raft Building, this involved team work and communication skills and kayaking that involve’s your own physical skills like your balance, but we supported each other.

Why should you join waterways action?

I joined Waterways and I have gained more working skills, like my communication skills have become better and also my IT skills. I am also doing an NVQ in Business, so you get qualifications out of your voluntary job. We also go on residual holidays. I have met some good people. Voluntary also looks good on your C.V.

Why not get involved yourself?

Hello

SimonC — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:01:12 +0000

Hi, I’m Simon Colderley and I’m going to be around for the next 6 months or so working for Waterways Action Squad as the Volunteer Co-ordinator.

I’ve been out on a couple of conservation tasks and the ambassadors residential at Burrs. Its great to see so much energy around and I’m looking forward to getting out and about seeing as many projects as possible. We are currently gathering a whole host of new opportunities, that we hope to have posted soon, giving an even greater breadth of experiences to volunteer for.

To coin a phrase “I’m here to help” so any questions please get in touch simon.colderley@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk and I’ll try to answer your questions.

May 2010 Ambassadors Meeting

ChristyM — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:14:12 +0000

Lunch break

The Pride of Sefton was the location for this months ambassadors meeting. This narrow boat has been specially fitted to allow disabled access and frequently travels along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Docked at Haskayne, we arrived a little later than intended but with plenty of enthusiasm and plenty of grub!

Cruising along the canal we got to discussing the hot topics of summer activities schedules and ways to get returning students into volunteering with us. The Waterways Action Squad newsletter, which we hope to make a regular thing was also brainstormed. Ideas thrown into the pot include adding puzzles and volunteer profiles to get more people reading it. Plans to get our leaflets into public places and into universities were also put in place.

After a few hours, the biggest muffins ever and plenty of other food was brought out. We got to watch the baby ducklings whilst chatting about the ambassadors residential that’s coming up over the summer. We even got a few people to sign up on the day.

Then it was time to have a go at steering the boat (althought I think we just held the handle and Frank and Alan did the steering!).

Overall I would say it was a great chance for a catch up and to plan what will be going on in June, July and August, whilst getting to enjoy a fun trip along the canal! Thanks Pride of Sefton!