From Kim, Trust Development Manager:
Today I'm working on the Stroud Canal
restoration project. This is a project with huge aspirations,
aiming to link the Thames with the River Severn through the
restoration of the Stroudwater and Thames & Severn Canals.
The Cotswold Canals Trust has
kept the project alive over the last 30 years; without their
efforts there would be no canal left to restore. This is typical of
the work that The Waterways Trust does, working in partnership with
the community and other groups to deliver waterside projects that
meet the needs and aspirations of the neighbourhood.
I'm working on an application for a flagship volunteering
project on the Cotswold Canals at the moment, the whole project
owes so much to the efforts of the community and volunteers that
it's not very hard to develop a convincing case. It's an
exciting opportunity as this will provide us with a chance to reach
out into the community and get people who wouldn't normally
volunteer involved. The final project will deliver a resource
which the community will own and be responsible for, could this be
Big Society in action?
I'm off to Leicester tomorrow to revisit the strategy for the
waterside with the River Soar
Partnership. I'm looking forward to it and to the
journey up there - plenty of quiet time on the train to get more of
my application done!