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The charity making life better by water

Students in Bath adopt canal

A group of students from Bath College are pledging to look after a mile long stretch of the Kennet & Avon Canal in Bath for the next year as part of an initiative to get more communities involved in the waterway.

Students next to the Kennet & Avon Canal

Working with the Canal & River Trust – the charity that takes care of the historic canal – the students, aged between 16 and 19, are ‘adopting' the section of waterway, and paid their first visit to the site last week.

Tasks they'll be getting involved in include painting the locks, clearing vegetation and keeping the 200-year old waterway free of litter.

Hooked on waterways

Steve Manzi, volunteer development co-ordinator at the Canal & River Trust, said: “We're really pleased to have the Bath College students on board, they've got some fantastic ideas about how to improve their bit of the canal and we're really looking forward to helping them put them into action. Getting young people out and about by the water is so important to ensuring the future of the canals, and we're hoping this experience will get them hooked on the waterways for life.”

Julie Tonks, from Bath College, said: “We are very excited about the project and it is a fantastic opportunity for our students to take part in a scheme that will help to develop their confidence and essential employability skills. It also gives them the opportunity to get out of the classroom and will give them a new appreciation of their local environment and wildlife.”

We offer communities across England & Wales the opportunity to adopt mile-long lengths of canal or river to help transform some of our 2,000 miles of waterways and grow community ownership for their local stretch of canal.

We will work with groups to understand what needs to be done, whether it's to record and improve wildlife habitats, maintain towpaths, help fundraise, run educational events or help combat anti-social behaviour.

Last Edited: 02 October 2015

photo of a location on the canals
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