Post by Glen B Ogle on May 18, 2007 18:50:24 GMT
Having looked at a couple of the other threads thought I'd introduce another, slightly more unusual, outdoor pursuit - canal restoration!
I've been a "member" of the Waterway Recovery Group for several years, going out once a month or so to "do my bit" for Britain's derelict waterways, as well as working on other worthwhile projects.
There are several regional groups who have a dig each somewhere every month or so, as well as week long "Canal Camps" throughout the summer.
The group I normally "dig" with is based in Essex (Northampton and Milton Keynes are in Essex for our purpose, geography not being our strong point) but we actually work anywhere we can reasonably get to in a weekend. We specialize in tree and hedge work, having certificated (or certified depending on your viewpoint) chainsaw and chipper operators, but we also do brick laying, concreting and pretty well anything else that needs doing. Other groups tend to have their own specialties.
The advantage is that it's quite a social activity - as social as sleeping in a village hall with up to 20 other people has to be, and although it can be moderately physical it does make a change for me from sitting flying a computer. One rule we do have is that no-one is expected to do more than they are capable of - a rule I'm taking advantage of at the moment. Last time I went out I spent most of the weekend sitting in a small boat on the Crayford Navigation (it's a tributary of the Thames) with a chainsaw operator - sounds hazardous but we are (and have to be) extremely professional about Health & Safety. Anyway it was a lot less hard work than being one of the people on the bank hauling in the bits of tree we were cutting off. In a couple of weeks we'll be on the Chelmer & Blackwater navigation - not a derelict waterway but one that our parent organisation, The Inland Waterways Association saved from closure a couple of years ago. Much of the work we do there is to help keep the waterway financially viable - it's also our "home" waterway being only a few miles for where several of our members live.
I should say we're not the only people doing this sort of thing, the National Trust have their own volunteers and there is also the BTCV who work on more general countryside projects.
Glen
I've been a "member" of the Waterway Recovery Group for several years, going out once a month or so to "do my bit" for Britain's derelict waterways, as well as working on other worthwhile projects.
There are several regional groups who have a dig each somewhere every month or so, as well as week long "Canal Camps" throughout the summer.
The group I normally "dig" with is based in Essex (Northampton and Milton Keynes are in Essex for our purpose, geography not being our strong point) but we actually work anywhere we can reasonably get to in a weekend. We specialize in tree and hedge work, having certificated (or certified depending on your viewpoint) chainsaw and chipper operators, but we also do brick laying, concreting and pretty well anything else that needs doing. Other groups tend to have their own specialties.
The advantage is that it's quite a social activity - as social as sleeping in a village hall with up to 20 other people has to be, and although it can be moderately physical it does make a change for me from sitting flying a computer. One rule we do have is that no-one is expected to do more than they are capable of - a rule I'm taking advantage of at the moment. Last time I went out I spent most of the weekend sitting in a small boat on the Crayford Navigation (it's a tributary of the Thames) with a chainsaw operator - sounds hazardous but we are (and have to be) extremely professional about Health & Safety. Anyway it was a lot less hard work than being one of the people on the bank hauling in the bits of tree we were cutting off. In a couple of weeks we'll be on the Chelmer & Blackwater navigation - not a derelict waterway but one that our parent organisation, The Inland Waterways Association saved from closure a couple of years ago. Much of the work we do there is to help keep the waterway financially viable - it's also our "home" waterway being only a few miles for where several of our members live.
I should say we're not the only people doing this sort of thing, the National Trust have their own volunteers and there is also the BTCV who work on more general countryside projects.
Glen