British Waterways is planning to increase the number of days worked by volunteers on its network from 5,000 to 10,000 a year. A national volunteering manager has been appointed to help this to happen. The volunteers would assisting with projects such as heritage work, vegetation management and clearance of towpaths. [report]
This sounds like an excellent plan. There must be a good number of people who care enough about their local waterway to give some of their time in this way.
However, the volunteers must not replace paid staff! The work they do should be additional to what can be achieved now. Used imaginatively, voluntary work can enhance the work of BW, but we are still going to need experienced, multi-skilled bank staff who can turn their hands to anything from water management to emergency lock gate repairs.
Overgrown vegetation and crumbling heritage are symptoms of inadequate waterway funding. The ultimate solution is more money! Bring on the volunteers, but bring on better funding, too!
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3 comments:
At the moment, BW applies the same elfin safety standards to volunteers as to their contractors, resulting in the kind of nonsense the Granny Buttons blog drew attention to the other day (http://tinyurl.com/4x4raj), where people tidying the towpath had to wear hard hats.
It makes it another waste of scarce resources.
Bruce
The 10 organisations included are all boating organisations - is there an intention to include other waterway user groups to represent cycling, walking, environmental, historical etc or were they not asked. I feel that we need recognition of the broader appeal to further our general cause.
In answer to Jan, I really hope so! That is what SOW is all about, including the vast majority non-boat users in the campaign.
The towpath is the first to go due to poor maintenance. Have you seen the lower Oxford canal this year? Just a couple of years ago the first of three 'veg pledge' cuts would have been done by now.
What price 'veg pledge' when the towpath can't be seen in places due to Defra cabbage?
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