BCN clean-up

The 2023 Birmingham Canals clean-up weekend took place on 25th-26th March on the Walsall Canal in Tipton. The annual event aims to help keep the less well-used parts of the BCN and Black Country Network from getting choked up with rubbish and becoming impassable for boats. This year was no exception as Waterway Recovery Group volunteers used grappling hooks to recover shopping trolleys, tyres, bicycles and even more exciting treasures from a section of the Walsall Canal between the basin and Ryders Green locks.

Volunteers from IWA, including WRG volunteers, are supported each year by volunteers from Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, Dudley Canal Trust, Coombeswood Canal Trust, Canal & River Trust, Friends of Tipton Cut and local residents. IWA’s Volunteer Manager, Jenny Hodson, and Events & Restoration Hub Co-ordinator, Verena Leonardini, also attended the event. IWA Birmingham, Black Country & Worcestershire Branch helped to organise the event and also provided volunteers.

A BCN clean-up can remove up to 60 tons of rubbish. Such events can help to combat plastic pollution, littering and fly-tipping which threaten our waterways, as highlighted in the Protect Our Waterways campaign.