Spent the day volunteering on a workboat
THE Bassetlaw Community and Voluntary Service (BCVS) team spent the day volunteering on the Python workboat.
This was on the Chesterfield Canal between Shaw Lock and West Stockwith, writes Becky Law, BCVS Head of Service and Staff Health and Wellbeing lead.
The first time
We’d been aware of the great work that the Python volunteers do for some years and had been connecting with them through Green Social Prescribing, but this was the first time that all BCVS staff had had the opportunity to all take part in volunteering alongside the Python team.
There were two volunteering sessions with half the staff team on Python in the morning and the other half in the afternoon; 17 members of staff taking part all together. Following a safety briefing and with a cup of tea in hand, staff assisted to bring Python through the first lock and under the Shaw Lock Bridge to set off on their journey to West Stockwith.
From there on the team split their time between working from the boat and along the towpath,clearing obstacles and overhanging branches, picking up any rubbish and debris and generally making sure the towpath and canal were clear and usable by other walkers and boats.
Swapped over
At lunchtime the BCVS staff swapped over, and the afternoon team of volunteers joined the boat at West Stockwith and headed back to Shaw Lock, repeating the process and clearing any items and debris that the morning crew had left for them to do. BCVS staff had a fantastic day!
Everyone came away feeling elated from the time spent with the wonderful Python volunteers, working in such a beautiful setting and benefitting from a day in the outdoors, soaking up the fresh air and relishing the experience. The organisation and planning both ahead of the day and during the session was excellent with detailed communications making it clear to our staff what they needed to wear and what to expect on the day.
The benefits of volunteering and being outdoors are well documented and activities such as these available through the Chesterfield Canal Trust form part of the Green Social Prescribing options available in Bassetlaw and across surrounding areas.
I enjoyed my time volunteering with the team and enjoyed being on the boat as I regularly see it but have never had the chance to be a passenger. I thoroughly recommend anyone to volunteer as it is great for your wellbeing to be physically active, being out in nature, being part of a team to clean up the towpaths and water edges to help preserve habitats.
Make the operation a sucess
I had a great afternoon on board the Python. It was so interesting to see the way the locks worked, whilst doing my bit for the community and witnessing the effort the team put in to make the operation a success.
I would encourage anyone thinking about spending the day on Python to go for it—it's a lovely, fulfilling process. The cake and cookies were a welcome bonus!
Python was an experience with which I was pleasantly surprised. The crew were lovely and extremely knowledgeable about the canal and the workings of the locks; their insight to this relaxing lifestyle, was fascinating. Being able to join in and operate the locks (under supervision of course!) was great.