Canal & River Trust Volunteering Day
As our series of Altus volunteering continues, the next team building was spent at Bath Lock. We had a busy day cutting back the hedgerow, picking up litter & painting the lock on behalf of The Canal & River Trust.
Richard Jones, Waterway Operative at Canal & River Trust commented:
The Canal and River Trust is responsible for 2000 miles of canals (and it may interest you to know, as it has become quite topical, 236 reservoirs).
We are a Health and Wellbeing Charity providing access to Walkers, Boaters, Runners, Cyclists and anyone who wants to feel connected to an environment, that provides a unique opportunity to relax or chill out near water and wildlife …. We’re “Making Life Better By Water”.
The City of Bath a Unesco World Heritage site (located on the 87 mile long Kennet and Avon canal, connecting Bristol in the West with London in the East, by way of the River Thames @ Reading) on The Great West Way has a sequence of Locks called The Widcome Flight, The top lock being Lock 13 and the bottom lock Lock 7.
On Wednesday 7th August 2019 a group of Volunteers from Altus & Sainsburys in Bath, co-ordinated by Mike Plows of B&NES Community Volunteering were tasked to paint the Lock Gates of Lock 13.
After a short delay due to inclement weather, the team, led by Connor Peart a Canal & River Trust Waterways Operative, supported by Les Knott of Canal & River Trust, Bath Volunteer Group, began the day with some vegetation management while the gates dried in the sunshine.
Maintaining hedgerow vegetation on the towpath is an important part of our work at Canal & River Trust and requires regular attention so that the towpaths are free from overhanging and encroaching Blackberry briars, Nettles, Hawthorn and other hazards. The sympathetic management of these hedges is undertaken under strict guidelines from our environmental teams to ensure that only appropriate and necessary work is undertaken.
As the weather improved and lock gates were now dried, the team moved their attention to the preparation part of the painting task, rubbing down the lock gates, removing flaky paint and getting the gates ready for the important application of quick drying wood preserving paint.
After some hard work and conscientious endeavour the challenging task of painting the lock gates was completed and the gates looked resplendent with their new Black and White coats.
We would like to thank you and your team for helping us to “Make Life Better by Water” by adapting to the conditions of the day and accomplishing a fantastic result on both the hedge and the Lock Gates.
