Party: Waterway clean-up with MK Branch of Inland Waterways Association

Party: Waterway clean-up with MK Branch of Inland Waterways Association

Waterway clean-up with MK Branch of Inland Waterways Association

Volunteer and help us clean up the Grand Union Canal in Milton Keynes!

We’ll be working MK Branch of Inland Waterways Association (IWA), who are organising this event. We are doing this event in a bid to raise MKSAC’s profile and therefore be mentioned in press releases as well as talking to members of the public on the day.

As well as wearing MKSAC t-shirts, all MKSAC volunteers will have some club literature to hand out to members of the public who are interested in learning to dive. The MK Branch of IWA will be doing the same sort of thing.

Event Date: Day 1, 17th – Day 2, 18th April 2015

Day 1 Programme – Friday 17th April
Morning meet: 9am
Location: Fenny Lock

9:30am Health & Safety briefing given by IWA

10am Get started!

Mid-morning break (time TBC)

12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch Great Linford – pack your own or head to the local chippy!

Mid-afternoon break (time TBC)

3:30pm -5:00pm Approximate finish time for Day 1, depending on the amount of rubbish in the canal. Boat is moored at the Black Horse near Wolverton

Day 2 Programme – Saturday 18th April
Morning meet: 9am
Location: Black Horse near Wolverton

9:30am Health & Safety briefing given by IWA

10am Get started!

Mid-morning break (time TBC)

12:30 – 1:30pm Approximate finish time for Day 2. Boat moored in Wolverton.

What you can do to help
Essentially there are four main jobs:
1) Litter picking on the towpath – we need as many volunteers as possible!
2) Grappling the canal bed from the towpath – we need approximately 8-10 volunteers for this.
3) Litter picking the water and offside, and some light grappling, from a floating pan, a shallow drafted utility boat pulled by a narrowboat.
4) Heavy grappling along the bed of the canal from a hopper, a heavy deep drafted work boat pulled by a narrowboat – We only have a few spaces for this activity as you’ll be on the hopper!

MORE INFO
https://www.waterways.org.uk/miltonkeynes/cleanups

What you’ll need to bring

• If you want to work on the hopper, you’ll need to bring safety boots
• Please bring/be prepared to buy lunch
• A smile! So members of the public come and talk to us.

IWA supply you with
• Lifejackets for boats
• High-viz jackets for shore and land
• You are covered by their public liability insurance
• You can bring your drysuit however contact with the water will be very limited to non-existent depending on what role(s) you have chosen

How to volunteer
Please let Jenny know a) if you’d like to volunteer for part of/all of the days and b) what jobs you’d like to do from the above list.

Please note: if you’d like to do activity 4) then you’ll need to spend the morning/afternoon or whole day on this as the boat can only moore at set times.

Confirm your place to Jenny directly or email [email protected]

Invited: Paul Furlong, Ai Franky, Narrowboat Skipper