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Towpath Tidy 2011


Every year British Waterways holds its Towpath Tidy campaign, inviting people to take part and spruce up the country’s canals and rivers in time for the start of the boating season.

Last year more than 1,100 volunteers joined 291 members of British Waterways’ staff in filling 2,238 bags of litter, painting bridges, locks, fences and graffiti covered walls, and cutting back vegetation. This year it’s hoped that even more people will take part and be inspired to join one of the volunteer work parties.

This volunteer effort brings wildlife and environmental benefits to the canals and rivers, as well as providing a welcome boost to the year-round work carried out by British Waterways.

This year’s Towpath Tidy will also see the launch of new regular volunteering parties. Anyone who wants to do more to keep their local canal or river spick and span will be able to continue volunteering all year round. These new informal groups will meet at least once a month, providing friends, family and strangers the chance to work together on a variety of tasks, from environment management and conservation work to painting locks and smartening up sites across the country. The parties will complement the work already done by many waterway trusts and societies.

What will I do at Towpath Tidy?
There are plenty of different jobs to get stuck into at Towpath Tidy. You could pull litter out of the canal from a boat, paint lock gates, cut back vegetation or fill a rubbish bag from the towpath.

Read one person’s diary of a day at Towpath Tidy.

This year’s Towpath Tidy events

This year the Towpath Tidy campaign will be kick starting a year-long programme of regular working parties. Find out more about events in your area.

Last updated: 16/03/2011

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