Hyperbole aside, If you’re aged between 16 and 25 and consider yourself a dab-hand with apertures, exposure times, high dynamic ranges and so on, or perhaps you’re a dangerously spontaneous wielder of the trusty camera-phone, get thinking along the lines of The Secret Life Of Canals And Rivers and send your entries to emma.wright@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk by March 31st 2010. 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.

L-R: Lucie Unsworth - Project Manager; Katie Williams - Volunteer; Hazel Mayow - Volunteer Leader

On Sunday 25^th October 2009, we held our Launch Event at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port.  The day was a massive success, attracting around 350 visitors to the site including Mayor Tony Sherlock, several local MPs, the BBC, and representatives from our partners (The Waterways Trust and British Waterways) and funders (The Bank of America and v – the National Young Volunteers Service).

Wildlife Displays

We got heaps of positive feedback from visitors and volunteers alike.  West Cheshire College Student and Young Volunteer, Maria Safina enthused – “Everybody’s been enjoying it, they’ve been getting involved with the wildlife, the bands have been a big success…they have added toward the cause…I think awareness is being spread”.

The launch, and all we achieved there, could never have happened without the hard work of our young volunteers.  A total of fifty-three young volunteers helped out on the day, serving in roles that ranged from event management to photography to media and communications management.  The event was largely organised by thirty West Cheshire College students whose involvement will go towards a v Award Certification, increasing their chances of successfully securing acceptance into universities as well as future work.  All of our volunteers did a fantastic job and we would like to extent our thanks for their boundless enthusiasm and all of the effort they put in.

The event also saw the launch of our photography competition, The Secret Lives of Canals and Rivers.  Anyone between the ages of 16 and 25 can enter for the chance to win a boat trip for them and their friends.  All you need to do is send in one or more photographs that depict what the waterways mean to you.  Whether it is the wildlife and natural environment of the area, the narrow-boats, or perhaps the history of the canal industry that inspires you; anything goes!  For more information on the competition or to send us your photographs, contact our volunteer co-ordinator, Emma Wright on emma.wright@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk

Article written by Sarah Glenister, Waterways Action Squad volunteer

Contact Emma Wright, Volunteer Coordinator at emma.wright@thewaterwaystrust.co.uk for more info and details on how to enter.

Photo credit: Kerry Morrison, “Wild and Productive 2009”. Leeds Liverpool Canal. Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial