Canalsocietiesorganisation “Waterways charities depend entirely on the goodwill of their members and supporters” - some further thoughts on canal trust organisation More thoughts on canal societies complete, and volunteers are more likely to Following on from his piece in the last issue giving an independent view on canal societies’ governance, the author, who has previously served on the Inland Waterways Association’s Restoration Committee and as a Trustee of three canal societies, has brought us some further thoughts on how these organisations should organise themselves and their activities...
be drawn into the project if they can see there’s a regular day each week so they can turn up on that day expecting to be able to contribute. Conversations with passers-by are another element of the marketing mix – being able to sound as if you and your organisation will stick at it until the job is completed will encourage those passers-by to feel more confident of a positive outcome from your work. It might even result in more people joining and becoming part of the active membership – or perhaps donations towards your funds. To me, it is a statement of the obvious that waterways restoration charities depend entirely on the goodwill of their members and supporters. The management posture should be welcoming and encouraging. Anyone who helps, or wants to help, is a friend to be thanked. If a volunteer needs to be reprimanded for action that the management doesn’t approve of, the reprimand should be gentle, and fair. The volunteer has given of their time and skills in support of the objective – they are not an employee
Pictures by John Hawkins
Before I wrote the first article, I made a list of issues – and the people associated – to prompt my memory when I got to article number two. Here’s a few examples, but I’ll still have a few to write about in the next issue of Navvies – if Martin will allow me the space. One example that really should be obvious is about the way the Trust presents itself to the local population. Is the work party team on site and working hard on a regular basis for at least one day every week? Is the site left tidy and securely fenced at the end of each workday? Is there good site signage to caution against entering areas of the site where work is not yet complete? Is there signage about the overall objective, with the Trust’s branding, website and up-to-date contact information for further enquiries? Occasionally a landowner will feel they should be asked for their permission before signage is displayed on the site – so a polite approach, perhaps asking for their approval to the style, size, and wording of the sign is called for. A reputation for determination and persistence is a good thing – waterway restoA question of balance: does a scrub-bash make more sense... rations take many years to
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