The call for volunteers
THE TRUST itself is calling for more volunteers to help wildlife by keeping canals alive.
It telling 'the nation’s navigable canals offer local opportunities for millions of people to help much-loved and endangered species'.
Calling on volunteers
The Canal & River Trust is preparing the ground for the year ahead and is calling on volunteers to help the much-loved and many endangered species that rely on the historic canal network that connects countryside with towns and cities, it adding the following:
'Last year over 4,500 people volunteered at the Canal & River Trust, contributing nearly 740,000 hours and helping to maintain habitat for otters, water voles, kingfishers and herons as well as the ducks, fish, insects and invertebrates that are a common sight across the canal network.
With species decline and biodiversity always near the top of the news agenda, people have the chance to make a big difference in their local areas, with volunteer opportunities to create new wildlife habitats, remove invasive weeds, clear up damaging plastic waste, and help the Canal & River Trust safeguard these important and historically-rich places.
Nine million people in England and Wales live within a ten-minute walk of the Canal & River Trust’s waterways, but many don’t realise that the locks, bridges, aqueducts and towpaths, together with the habitat for wildlife, are looked after by a charity. The Canal & River Trust is saying that canals can be a first port of call for people wanting to help nature on their doorstep.
Make huge difference
Volunteers make a huge difference, supporting the Canal & River Trust achieve more. For those wanting to get involved, a series of Volunteer Welcome Sessions and training will be running in February, with volunteers able to get on the ground within weeks and a host of seasonal roles available throughout the year.
The call-out for volunteers comes as the Canal & River Trust has run a winter-long fundraising campaign to raise much-needed donations to help its canal network stay resilient to the storms and intense seasonal weather brought about by climate change. This winter, Storms Bert and Darragh have already caused costly damage, bringing down hundreds of trees across the canal network, while January has seen sections of towpath washed away in the north and flooding in the East Midlands.
For further information and to find out how best to get involved visit: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteer