Conservation Volunteer (Walsall - Towpath Taskforce)

Canal & River Trust; Walsall; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

A local environmental organization is looking for Conservator Volunteers in Walsall to help maintain the waterways and contribute to environmental projects. Volunteers will engage with the public, undertake various tasks including maintenance and restoration, and will benefit from outdoor activities and skills development in a supportive team environment.

Benefits

Spending time outdoors

Learning new skills

Meeting new people

Improving wellbeing

Qualifications

• Volunteers must be over 18 years old.
• Ability to engage with the general public.

Responsibilities

• Perform day-to-day maintenance tasks.
• Engage in heritage restoration activities.
• Assist with environmental enhancements.
• Create new access points.

Skills

Willingness to learn new skills

Ability to travel to remote locations

Job description

Overview

With 8 locks leading into the very centre of Walsall, this lock flight is a busy stretch of canal, with the towpath being a popular route into town. Joggers, cyclists, dog walkers and shoppers all enjoy this quieter route, sharing this highly urban area with some wonderful wildlife. Due to its location and popularity, this part of our network does need a lot of love and care from our volunteers.

As a member of our Towpath Task Force you will work alongside Trust operatives managing vegetation (pruning, clearing, planting), clearing litter and general maintenance tasks. You will also act as our eyes and ears, reporting any issues that need to be dealt with by us.

Finally, as highly visible members of the team, our Towpath Taskforce Volunteers are the friendly, helpful face of the Canal and River Trust, engaging with the general public, making our waterways a more welcoming place to visit.

Sessions currently run every other week led by our brilliant Lead Volunteer. Our existing Towpath Task Force volunteers rate this role highly for making friends, gently keeping fit and active and for general wellbeing.

Volunteers must be over 18 years old.

Why we want you

Our Conservator volunteers help to maintain our network, carrying out important heritage and nature conservation activities as well as everyday tasks to improve the local environment such as painting or litter picking.

Our Conservator Volunteers help to tackle some of our toughest issues on the waterways, ensuring as much of the canal is accessible and well maintained as possible. Each year we face new challenges in managing our increasingly popular space and your support as a Conservator Volunteer will help to achieve our goals in keeping canals alive.

Whilst we have regular teams carrying out important tasks, some run on more of a ‘project’ basis to achieve specific activities (rebuilding a section of stone wall or carrying out some mass planting) meaning that different people can give their time in different ways.

What you will be doing

• Day to day maintenance
• Heritage restoration
• Graffiti Removal
• Environmental enhancements such as hedgelaying
• Creating new access points by building or improved steps or ramps
• When you register as a volunteer, we will ask you about any unspent convictions which you need to declare and risk assess these as needs be.

The skills you need

• Willing to learn new skills
• Ability to travel to remote locations

What's in it for you

• Spending time outdoors
• Learning new skills (some with external accreditation).
• Keeping fit
• Meeting new and friendly people
• Being part of a supportive team of colleagues and volunteers
• Seeing improvements to your wellbeing