coming soon Training

Looking forward to two training events in the near future to help hone your skills ready for the forthcoming summers Canal Camps programme

WRG Leaders Training Day (LTD): Saturday 13 May

The date has been fixed for Saturday, 13 May 2023, and the venue is at the traditional location of Rowington Village Hall, Rowington Green, CV35 7BU; What3Words = driven.amuses.basics). Please ignore any previous dates or locations you might have seen or been told.

The day is open to everyone who leads or aspires to lead WRG Canal Camps or working weekends. A leadership team is formed of the leader, an assistant leader and, perhaps most importantly, the cook. The day could also be useful to local societies who organise work parties of any duration or ask WRG to assist on week-long or weekend digs.

The day formally starts at 10:00 but breakfast products will be available from 09:30. We have the hall from about 18:00 on the Friday for anyone who wants to travel the previous evening. There will be no catering provided on the Friday (apart from tea and coffee) but there is the kitchen, which could be used, and there is the Tom o’ the Wood pub just a gentle stroll away.

Lunch and supper will also be provided on the day. Attendees are encouraged to stay overnight in the hall and attend the WRG Committee Meeting on the Sunday morning at 10:00 to get an understanding of all the things that have to be done in the background to allow Canal Camps to go ahead.

Bookings must be made in advance through the WRG website wrg.org.uk or by telephoning WRG Head Office on 01494 783453; please advise of any dietary or other requirements. There is no charge for attending the LTD.

This year, as always, leaders will be brought up to date on all those matters that enable a Canal Camp to go ahead safely, efficiently and effectively. Some things will be familiar to experienced leaders, but complacency cannot be allowed to occur and we have new leaders on camps who will not be so familiar with the key elements of running a Canal Camp and be grateful for reminders and tips.

There will be time for attendees to fire in questions, suggestions and comments and generally get things off their chests. Updates on legal and WRG requirements will be provided. There will also be sessions where leaders can help each other in developing ways to communicate amongst each other, to exchange vans and trailers before and after Canal Camps, to exchange ideas on integrating and organising their teams, amongst other things.

WRG would like leadership teams to share and develop ideas and practices to help make the Canal Camps even better than they normally are; especially for the leaders who quite often bear the brunt of the work at the start and end of the weeks.

If you have any questions, please contact Jenny or Verena at WRG HQ on 01494 783453 or message David (Evvo) Evans.

Keep On Digging

Dave ‘Evvo’ Evans

WRG Training Weekend: 27-28 May

A little earlier than usual, this year’s Training Weekend will take place on Saturday 27 th and Sunday 28th May with accommodation available from Friday evening. The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust have been kind enough to welcome us onto their site at Fosseway Heath once again, providing us with a fantastic, central place to update skills needed for the forthcoming Canal Camps season.

We are hoping to provide initial training and refresher sessions across a range of skills that have been identified as a priority for this summer: small excavators, dumpers, vans and trailers, site tools, bricklaying and pointing.

The weekend would be ideal for those who are in need of a refresher session before Canal Camps start. Leaders may also be aware of volunteers who are attending their weeks and would benefit from having some experience in the skills outlined above. Additionally, if you are an instructor, able to volunteer and share your expertise over the two days, please do get in touch.

Volunteers can register their interest through our website wrg.org.uk or by contacting head office on 01494 783453 or enquiries@wrg.org.uk.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Ali ‘Womble’ Bottomley