As part of Community Roots – a project which encourages communities to help care for their local waterways - the eight students, along with a team of volunteers helped clear litter from the towpath and floating on the water. Using a grappling hook the students also fished out large items of rubbish from the bottom of the canal which, if left, could have cause problems for boaters navigating the waterways.
Nick Cleaver, from the Canal & River Trust, said: “It was great having the students out on the canal as they really got stuck in and helped us to remove a whole load of litter from the waterways.
“In total we removed two tonne bags worth of rubbish and we even managed to haul an old mattress, a soggy guitar and a bike from out of the canal. A big thanks go to all the volunteers, we can already see the impact of their work. Being by water is proven to be good for your mental and physical health and, now that the weather is starting to get nicer, I would urge local people to come and visit and see for themselves how lovely the canal here is.”
Built in 1790 and weaving from 38 miles from Fradley Junction to Coventry Basin the Coventry Canal was once a bustling canal hub with boats being loaded and unloaded with goods bound northwards for Fradley Junction and southwards to the Hawkesbury Junction and the Oxford Canal. Nowadays the Coventry Canal is a lovely rural waterway and is a great place to enjoy a stroll away from the town centre and recharge the batteries.
