8 minute read
Year of the Volunteer
Don’t be daunted by the prospect of getting stuck in. In this, the second of our volunteer focus features, we chat to two people who have just started out in their volunteering roles, to hear their first impressions and how they feel they’re fitting in…
Job Description:
Heritage Officer
A heritage officer works with branches to encourage an appreciation of the heritage of our inland waterways in the widest sense: buildings, navigation structures, boats, skills and traditions, people and archives. The role includes producing and maintaining a list of remaining heritage sites, and supporting branches in campaigns for their retention. An officer will also campaign to prevent developments whose scale or character will have an adverse impact on the appearance of the waterways.
Equally important is developing relationships with local historical and heritage groups to raise awareness of the importance of waterway heritage, and working with the national Heritage Advisory Panel and navigation authorities to protect this.
Case Study:
Derek Humphries
London Region Heritage Officer
How long have you been in the role?
Since February 2019.
What attracted you to it?
I became aware of the position while reading the regional chairman’s (Paul Strudwick’s) column in the quarterly magazine Meridian Cuttings. I met Paul in my early membership days at a branch meeting, when we struck up a conversation concerning the financing of restoration projects. I saw this as a golden opportunity to work alongside Paul and other seasoned personnel within IWA.
No. However, within a short space of time I was co-opted on the South London Branch Committee, and then discovered (by email) that I’m a member of the national Heritage Advisory Panel. So within a few months I found I was involved at branch, regional and national level!
How many hours do you spend on the role per week?
It varies from week to week. If I have a specific project in hand then I throw all my spare time at it, which could total around 25 hours a week. Otherwise five hours is more typical.
Have there been any challenges so far making space for the role in your normal routine?
Prior to taking on this role, I was editor of a weekly waterways travelogue, which was enormously time consuming. At the end of the 2019 cruising season I put this to one side to make more room for IWA matters.
What do you enjoy about it?
I have a keen interest in the historic development of our waterways, so for me this role is a perfect fit. IWA is full of people with wide-ranging knowledge and expertise and I particularly enjoy attending meetings, learning from others and feeling that I’m making a contribution.
What have your first impressions been?
To help me on my way, Paul Strudwick compiled a ‘job description’ (see abridged synopsis above). I admit to having felt quite daunted by the prospect, as this position was a new one within IWA. However, in the early days Paul and I worked together to look at aspects of recording and mapping heritage data. And since becoming a branch committee member for south London, I have also received ceaseless support from our branch chairman Libby Bradshaw.
One of my first objectives was to discover what heritage exists within the London region. It’s a huge patch and not easily researched by cycling all the towpaths! So I began by looking at a digital representation of the waterways instead, to ascertain the number of principal features (locks, bridges, aqueducts etc). The London region has about 200 miles of waterway, depending how much of the Thames estuary you include.
Listed Grade II: Bulbourne Yard on the Grand Union near Tring is an important historic site on the canal network, comprising a unique collection of canalside workshops, offices and dwellings. The site was historically used for the construction of lock gates and other waterway infrastructure.
Unlisted: Paddington Basin Warehouses, now used as outbuildings for St Mary’s Hospital. These 19thcentury storage sheds are one of the few remnants of heritage among the swathe of high-rise offi ce blocks.
I then consulted Historic England’s website and, by trawling up and down the region’s waterways, I identifi ed over 400 listed structures either on or immediately adjacent to them. In the majori of cases I was also able to identi a photo for each heritage site. Historic England classes structures as Grades I, II*, II and Scheduled Monuments; the London Region has all of these. An obvious example of a Grade I structure would be the Houses of Parliament, whereas a Scheduled Monument would include the lock fl ight at Hanwell on the Grand Union Canal.
I was asked by my branch chairman to give a presentation of this research at one of our social evenings last November. I was due to present it again to a London region audience in March,
Job Description: IWA Trustee
The role of a trustee is set down in the Chari Commission guidelines for all charities, large or small. A well-balanced board of trustees will have a wide range of knowledge and skill sets available to ensure good governance and soundness of the organisation. They are responsible for the determination and delegation of the powers necessary to deliver the chari ’s core objectives and to ensure that feedback mechanisms are in place and used to monitor the e ectiveness of the organisation. The role of the trustee does not directly extend to management of the Association, although many trustees are also involved in management or as active volunteers.
Case Study:
Dave Chapman
IWA Trustee
How long have you been in the role?
It was only in 2019, at the tender age of 76, that I sought the necessary support om the membership to become an IWA trustee.
What attracted you to it?
It was and is my view that IWA had become a victim of its own success; a er several years of direct action and campaigning to stop the neglect and destruction of the canal network by successive governments, the fi rst canal restorations groups were started to reverse the previous years of decline. As readers will be aware, restoration societies and trusts can now be found throughout the UK.
Then in 2012, a er 75 years of campaigning, we saw the launch of Canal & River Trust, which has since run a very successful campaign to build its ‘Friends’ and volunteer programmes.
While this is good news for the waterways, and wouldn’t have been possible without IWA’s input over the years, it also poses challenges for us, especially in terms of a racting new members and volunteers. I wanted to help address this.
but Covid-19 got in the way. Once the national crisis subsides, I hope to visit the remaining fi ve branches within the region with a view to ge ing more members involved.
How does it play to your strengths?
I’m good at applying a methodical approach and giving a ention to detail. This trait has proved useful in my past careers as a cartographer and IT consultant, and is just as helpful in my current IWA role.
What type of person would the role suit?
Anyone with a self-motivating passion for history, heritage, conservation, environment, culture etc.
Derek is IWA’s fi rst heritage o cer and we would very much like to see more volunteers come forward to carry out this role in other parts of the country. If you are interested please email iwa@waterways.org.uk.
Alongside some other trustees, we worked to persuade Paul Rodgers to stand as national chairman. Recognising the need for IWA to re-focus, we believed this task would require younger and more dynamic leadership; someone who is very much of today and still immersed in a successful career. Sensibly, Paul made it very clear that he would only accept the role with the commitment of a close support team; I am fl a ered to be one of his three depu chairs along with Rick Barnes and Chris Howes.
Have there been any challenges so far?
Anyone who has been involved in changing an organisation will know that it’s not easy; we have only just started. The impact of coronavirus is an added, unwelcome complication. However, we are learning new ways to communicate with members, including hosting branch AGMs online. Perhaps coronavirus has a silver lining then. It’s certainly pushing us to try new techniques far faster than we could have thought possible three months ago. Members who saw technology as coming om an alien life form are now actively seeking ways in which they can use it.
My wife, Beryl, and I have been members of IWA since 1973, having bought our fi rst boat, a 16 marine-ply Dolphin cruiser in 1970. Like many members, during the time we were building careers and bringing up children our support for IWA was via membership fees and donations only. It was only a er retirement, in 2003, that I started to volunteer at IWA festivals. In 2013, I joined Chiltern Branch commi ee and was asked to be their chairman – a role I still enjoy today.
How many hours do you spend on the role per week?
It varies, but is probably less than a couple of hours a week. That some of us do more, is where we are also involved beyond the duties of being a trustee.
