Two weeks of graft, and what a difference it has made. The Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) has wrapped up a fortnight of summer canal camps at Darnford Moors Ecology Park, and the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust reports real progress on the Lichfield Canal.
Canal camps bring volunteers from across the country to live, work and learn together, tackling everything from bricklaying and clearance to concrete work. Week one saw four concrete bases completed; week two added walls built from Stepoc blocks along both sides, finished with two concrete pours — a real step towards connecting the restored canal through to Darnford Lane.
The numbers tell the story: roughly 60 cubic metres of concrete, 15 tonnes of rebar steel and 1,500 Stepoc blocks, laid across more than 2,100 volunteer hours over the fortnight. Camp leader Colin Hobbs thanked the Trust for hosting WRG again this year, saying “I felt very proud of the work we have done.” It was lovely, too, to see two of the Trust’s Gold DofE volunteers, Jack and Michael, joining week two as the residential section of their award.
A huge thank you to every WRG volunteer for their commitment and good humour — blood, tears and doughnuts included. You can read the Trust’s full round-up, with all the camp stats, on the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust website.
