Volunteer group adopts waterway

UPPERMILL Community Action Network group at work.

A STRETCH of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Uppermill has been adopted by a hard-working community group who keep it spick and span.

The Uppermill Community Action Network group will be helping the Canal & River Trust take care of the canal between bridges 73 and 78 as part of the charity’s ‘Adopt a Canal’ initiative.

The network has already received an official adoption certificate confirming its pledge to the stretch of canal.

The group, which was set up a few months ago, has 30 dedicated volunteers and has volunteered more than 400 hours to carry out a variety of tasks ranging from litter picking, vegetation clearance, painting, and planting.

Steve O’Sullivan, volunteer development co-ordinator for the Canal & River Trust, said: “Canals and rivers are a terrific resource to have on our doorstep and we only hope more people follow the lead of groups like this in caring for their local waterway.

Priority

“Peter Killian, the group leader, is a local resident and is obviously very proud of this waterway and it’s great that we have support from the local community.

“Our time and money is spent on major priority repairs like repairing locks, bridges, aqueducts and towpaths, so the work of our amazing volunteer groups is essential and brings huge and equally vital benefits.”

Communities across England and Wales are invited to adopt mile-long lengths of canal or river and help transform some of the Trust’s 2,000 miles of waterways, and over 100 groups have now joined the scheme up and down the country in a bid to improve canals and rivers.

Full details about Waterway Adoptions can be found at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteer or by contacting volunteer@canalrivertrust.org.uk or 0303 040 4040.

At a hands-on level the trust will work with the group to understand what work needs to be done, whether it’s to record and improve wildlife habitats, maintain towpaths, help fundraise, run educational events or help combat anti-social behaviour.