Development Manager, Kim Chester:

Today is Monday and what better way to start the week than with a colleague's birthday marked by cake; I'm meant to be swimming tonight but I can feel my will power ebbing away with each bit of icing - does fruit cancel out cake I wonder?

I've spent most of today working my way through my email box.  We're involved in such a diverse range of projects that it can be complicated trying to stay on top of all of them at once.  For example the advert for the Volunteer Co-ordinator on the Heartlands Canal has now gone live but the project manager isn't in post until April 4th so I'm fielding all the calls in her absence.

It's such an exciting project and new ground for us.  The canal in this area is very typical of an industrial heartland - surrounded by factories which cut the community off from the waterway.   Over time as freight on the canal dwindled so many of the factories closed, some have new uses but very few include the canal so they have all turned their backs on the canal.  It makes walking along the canal a very closed off isolated experience that isn't at all welcoming.  In addition the local residential community are primarily first and second generation refugees and immigrants; they have no connection with the industrial heritage of the canal.

This project sets out to work with the local businesses, the factory owners and the employees, to help them understand what the canal can do for them.  The impact of a wildlife rich canal that is clean and attractive cannot be undervalued as it attracts visitors and greater use but we need their help if we are to achieve this vision.  In addition we're working through community events and with schools to try to challenge the local perception that the canal is a dark and dangerous place to be.

Check out the job details if you're interested in applying.

Today's thoughts from Kim:

What a beautiful start to the day!  I had a little lie in as I was home late last night and then I got to run through the woods near my home before hoping on the train and coming into work.  Spring is bursting through and the sap is most definitely rising.

Now its back to the office and it's a welcome change that sees me based out of the office for a whole day; a meeting in London was cancelled so I have the whole day to work on a tender for a potential project.  It sounds really interesting but it's a very complex project on a tight deadline so we need to make sure that we can deliver what we promise and at the right price both for us and for the client.

A day at the office also means I can catch up with my post and also have a proper lunch rather than a sarnie grabbed on the go.  I'm meeting up with my sister today and we'll be trying out one of the new restaurants around Gloucester Docks.  It's a beautiful place to be and the new designer shopping arcade is a real boon to shopping and getting those forgotten gifts!

Yesterday I was in Manchester at an Access to Nature evaluation training day.  It was a great opportunity to take a good hard look at our Birmingham project and really identify what it was that we were doing and how we were going to measure that.  It's very tempting when dealing with a blank sheet of paper to design complex and sophisticated evaluation tools but often the simplest methods are the best.  We spent a lot of time looking at the beneficiaries and it was amazing to realize the true impact of the project and just how many people we had the potential to reach.  So if you go down to the Heartlands Ring in Birmingham in the next month or so be prepared to be stopped and asked or counted or involved in some way shape or form!

Find out more about how we working with our partners to transofrm Birmingham Heartlands Canal Ring into a resource for the whole community.