Camps & Covid A way forward?

canal camps and Covid?

With WRG’s particular mode of operation, getting back to work in the current situation is tricky. Alex Melson reports on discussions under way

WRG Covid Working Group

Volunteers are working hard behind the scenes to adapt and assess how WRG can get back out there and get boots on the ground restoring our derelict canals. The ever-evolving situation with regards to Covid19 has made it difficult to safely support volunteers in our existing format. Whereas we at The Inland Waterways Association (WRG’s parent body) are confident in our approach to create a Covid secure site, which can be found in our IWA Covid Guidance Note for Restorations (provided for the benefit of restoration societies and trusts for their own working parties), the issue surrounding accommodation, catering and numbers for WRG work is a more complex one.

At this point the nation is giving a collective sigh of relief at the thought of the vaccine roll out, but even here there are several complexities around priority roll out, available doses and health implications for individuals suffering with specific health conditions. The WRG Board has put together a Covid working group made of volunteers from several different backgrounds to assess these issues and to present solutions and findings for implementation or even the postponement of Canal Camps in 2021.

Whilst this article does not announce how we will be moving forward, it aims to give an insight into the discussions taking place.

The issues

Working on site: this is the easy part, and it is agreed that WRG would be able to ensure work is carried out in a secure way that is adapted to ensure the upmost safety to volunteers. Depending on the restrictions in place locally and nationally, volunteer numbers could be limited, work bubbles formed, rigorous guidance implemented

Tim Lewis

and a Covid officer implemented to ensure guidelines are followed.

Volunteers across the country: perhaps the most rapidly changing aspect and unavoidable one during this pandemic has been the introduction of lockdowns and different tiers for different regions. WRG being a national organisation offering opportunities all over the place, restrictions could very easily result in unavoidable cancellations that would disappoint both volunteers and host societies. We also need to be aware that the leadership teams may end up under lockdown themselves

Accommodation: perhaps the worst thing we can do right now is jam 18 volunteers from all over the country into a cramped village hall. We must also be aware that our regular providers of accommodation may not want us using the halls, nor might the local community. This could be due to the number of groups using the halls or

As our working group discusses the issues involved in a future return to something akin to the

WRG way of working (see above), our friends in KESCG recently got together with the

Wilts & Berks Canal Trust for an urgent one-day job to fence off a collapsing wall by a well-used towpath length on the Wilts and Berks in Wantage. Covid considerations included: being aware of what tier the site and potential volunteers’ homes were in; volunteers bringing and using their own tools; wearing masks; 2m distancing at all times; sanitiser; a formal Covid risk assessment; and no shared catering. After the initial planned date fell victim to the November lockdown, a small team completed the work successfully on the re-scheduled date in early December, and are now planning a similar day on another length of the canal in late contact Stephen Davis on srdavis_76@yahoo.co.uk. What options are being looked at?

The working group is looking at methods to run a canal camp on a single site and will then assess how this could be rolled out across the country, or indeed whether can be. At this point everything is being considered: from campsites to sleeping cabins; increasing the leadership teams size; and selecting the right volunteers for the job to make up for any reduction is camp size. The group are hoping to put together a plan for the WRG Committee to review by the end of the year. Fingers crossed we can get everyAlex Melson

If you have any thoughts on changes you’d like to see then please do contact Alex at Alex.Melson@waterways.org.uk

KESCRG in action on the Wilts & Berks

January, provisionally the 23rd: one back out on site sooner rather than later.