The working party this week included eight eager volunteers from Virgin Media giving an amazing total of 24 pairs of boots on the ground.

A party of five volunteers led by Gill headed five hundred metres up from Trebanos Lock to tidy a section of the off-bank.  Gill is busy with a drag fork clearing weed encroachment from the canal.  Volunteers Mike and Esther are doing sterling work picking up litter and discarded detritus.  Other volunteers use Ada, the canal society’s work boat, to collect and remove the collected stuff.

Volunteers Alan, Martin and Paul are busy doing a spot of gardening this week, and planted Primroses in various places around the lower lock at Trebanos. 

Two years ago a number of small Primrose plants were added around the upper lock.  These have thrived and multiplied, and the lock is now looking very attractive.  We welcome any new volunteers who wish to assist us in the re-establishment of native plant species along the canal.

Five hundred metres down from Trebanos volunteers continued the repair of the canal bank and digging out accumulated silt.  Volunteer Gerry stands by a willow filter that the team have installed where a stream feeds into the canal.   This is an experiment to see if it will allow water to pass through but hold back some of the gravel that the stream washes into the canal.  Over the years the build-up of sand and gravel has severely reduced the depth of the canal.

Volunteer Gordon shovels silt to complete the canal bank repairs, and Toby stands triumphantly on the repaired bank.

Another successful work party concludes with a break for tea and coffee.  Thank you everyone.

Blog and photos by Michelle