Waterways Action Squad Blog

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 this 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, also 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 meet few more people and had a really good laugh and worked well as a team, and everyone was helpful and helped with the chaos and supported each other. I also did 2 other activate. Raft building, this involved team work and communication skills, and kayaking that involved your own physical skills like your balance but we supported each other.

Why should you join waterways action?

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

Polly’s Day Horseboating

ChristyM — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:27:38 +0000

On a lovely April 28th a few very brave people took to a boat to begin a journey from Slaithwaite to Huddersfield powered only by horse! Starting at 10am and arriving at their destination at 6pm

‘It was a day of trials and tribulations that we overcame as a team – great fun!’ (Mayow, Hazel 2010). Here is an account by a Waterways Action Squad volunteer who helped to crew the boat on the day…

I signed up to help the Horseboating Society because I was very interested to see this old style of boating in practice. I wasn’t sure what to expect before I arrived but I did imagine it to be very arduous for the horse. I was surprised that the boat glided effortlessly and Bilbo (the Society horse) didn’t seem to struggle at all. There was a gentle silence to the boat, which is not possible with a motored barge, and when we weren’t preoccupied with the locks it was relaxing to walk alongside it. I’d never operated a lock before so that was an experience in itself, some of them were quite easy but others were rusty and they posed a bit of a challenge.

When the narrowboat, horse and crew in (mostly) full Victorian dress passed through more urban areas the difference between old and new was striking and it made a nice image.

It was exciting to ride in the boat through a long, dark tunnel, which had been especially built beneath a development to accommodate passing boats. There was no room for Bilbo who had to be taken along another route to meet us at the other side. Without the horse towing us members of the crew used poles against the side of the walls to push us along. I appreciated seeing this technique but I was quite glad we didn’t need to ‘leg’ the boat through. ‘Legging’ involves lying on the narrowboat and pushing it along a tunnel with your feet using the walls or ceiling. I wasn’t sure I was quite ready for the indignity of that!

It was an interesting day and I’d encourage anyone to have a look at horseboating in action if you get the chance.

Polly xxx

My volunteering

CandiceS — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:47:26 +0000

My name is Candice; I’m now 20yrs of age. I have been working in a lot of different places over the past couple of years and I have never felt so in place before until I started working here as a volunteer in the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port. I’m working in the office and helping out with, updating the website for Waterways Action Squad, updating the volunteer database, taking down notes about the various different things that go on in this place and type them up, etc.
I enjoy working here as the people I work with are all really nice and friendly, which is good to have in a work place.
I’ve learnt how to do stuff on the computer which I would have never known I could have done. I like this place because you learn things about the past like how to build boat from scratch an how they did various other things which is really good to know.

The Secret Life of Canals and Rivers- Photo Competition

ChristyM — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:58:03 +0000

Hey, did you know we’ve got a competition on at the moment? The deadline for entries has been extended to May 31st to give you time to get photo-taking!

If you’re aged between 16 and 25 and enjoy snapping away on your camera, see what the theme ‘The Secret Life Of Canals And Rivers’ conjures up in your mind and send your entries to emma.wright@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk by May 31st 2010. Use your imagination and see what delights you can come up with, whether it be a photo of a canal boat or a Kingfisher.

Make sure you send jpegs and keep them to a maximum size of 800 pixels x 800 pixels so they fit on our screens! The best entries that we receive will be exhibited in the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port some time later in the year and the winners will get to spend a day boating with friends!

Get snapping!

First e-newsletter

LucieU — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:58:43 +0000

Click the link to view…

http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/22976.pdf

Waterways Ambassadors

AlishaM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:58:53 +0000

The first Waterways Ambassadors meeting kicked off on Thursday 4th March at the Merseyside Youth Association, Liverpool; and it proved to be an excellent opportunity for Waterway ambassadors to get together, hear more about the organisation with a presentation from Lucie Unsworth, Hazel Mayow and Emma Wright, and what being a Waterways Ambassador entails; we also discovered interesting things about each other, with various ‘team building’ exercises, a great laugh. More importantly however; the meeting enabled the Waterways Ambassadors to voice opinions on upcoming events throughout the summer; such as a camping canal boat, that can be used by groups of children, which gained positive feedback from the team; also discussions for possible summer activities, included in the Young People’s activity centre to occur along the waterways, resulted in ideas like zorbing, kayaking, cooking, pottery etc. Final touches were also decided on the brilliant, new advertising campaign for the Waterways Ambassadors, designed and created by our volunteer, Allen Bulger.
All in all the meeting was a great success with exciting , new ideas for everyone to get involved in, and ended with a lovely meal and loads of laughs!
Don’t forget! If you want to get involved with planning summer activities and a residential, join the next Waterways Ambassadors meeting on Saturday 3rd April at the National Boat Museum, Ellesmere Port at 11am, followed by the Easter Boat gathering Event, which promises to be a lively event with loads of historic canal boats joining from across the country. Hope to see you there!

The Waterways Renaissance Awards 2010!

Mena — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:07:42 +0000

The Waterways Trust Annual Awards Evening returned on Wed 17^th March 2010, and turned out to be quite a fun event! Hosted by Sir Peter Soulsby at The Lowry in Salford Quays, the ceremony had a beautiful and appropriate setting overlooking the River Irwell, with breathtaking views of the city at night. Everybody was dressed in their best attire, and seemed ready for lots of laughs and, above all, appreciation for the year’s hard work. Dinner was yummy (we even had chocolate gateau) followed by humorous and inspirational speeches by various panel members. There were 11 categories, with the surprise of a 12^th unexpected award for Outstanding Achievement from one project that could have apparently won in a number of categories. The lucky winner was the Lough Neagh Regeneration Project, which has increased awareness of the waterways for visitors and decreased damage to the natural environment. Gerry Darby said it was ‘unbelievable’ to win, and seemed seriously over the moon when accepting the award. The ceremony was followed by picture taking, congratulations, and lots of merriment. Overall, the night moved along smoothly and everybody went home smiling – and perhaps a little bit tipsy!