Charity seeks volunteers to help look after canal in Littleborough

Want to buy this photo?

Rochdale Canal at Littleborough

Waterways charity the Canal & River Trust wants to recruit new volunteers to join a new Towpath Taskforce to help care for the 200-year old Rochdale Canal in Littleborough.

The volunteers will support the work of the Canal & River Trust – the charity that cares for the waterway- to do a variety of different tasks on the canal in Littleborough.

The events will be held on the first Tuesday of the month.

However, due to Pennine in Bloom, more volunteers are needed to help on extra dates on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 July between 10am-2pm. Anyone who is interested can come along. The meeting point is at Lock 48, off Canal Street, OL15 0AU.

The work is part of the Trust’s Towpath Taskforce volunteering project, which encourages people to come out, get their hands dirty and help protect some of the region’s most important wildlife habitats and public open space. The Taskforce provides regular volunteering opportunities for local communities which, as well as benefitting our canals and rivers, also create memorable and rewarding experiences for everyone who takes part.

The teams meet regularly and are aimed at encouraging more community ownership of and pride in local waterways. Projects include painting lock gates, improving access to the towpath, clearing overgrown vegetation, cleaning up litter and graffiti and helping wildlife.

Jodie Weathers, from the Canal & River Trust, said: “We are looking for people with a few spare hours each week to help us improve the canal. We want to make sure it is in the best condition and the more people we have, the more we can get done.

"It’s really rewarding and you’ll also get the chance to meet new friends, get out and about in the fresh air and make a difference to your local community.

"We’ve added a few extra dates so we can get the canal looking even nicer as part of Pennine in Bloom so any help is really appreciated.

“You don’t need any special skills, just some enthusiasm and a can-do attitude and we welcome people young and old to our volunteering events so you can involve the entire family.”