Since I signed up to be a GWT volunteer a year or so ago, I’ve been working on different elements of the Cotswold Canals Connected (CCC) project under the direction and guidance of Pete Savage, Canal Project Officer. It’s been hugely rewarding to learn about the different ways we can improve habitats and opportunities for wildlife.

The task of the first work party I joined was to repair and replace stock fencing for grazing cattle to protect an area of grassland that had been overgrazed for years, seriously depleting biodiversity on that land. More recently, alongside Stroud Valleys Project (SVP) volunteers, we worked at The Ocean at Stonehouse with the cooperation of local householders whose land we were working on. The aim was to open up the congested area of water, by removing rushes, bramble thickets and young willows which had been steadily encroaching on the waterway for some years, and pollarding the mature willow trees. On that morning I had woken to an outdoor temperature of -3.5°C, albeit under a brilliant blue sky, and indeed when we arrived on site, parts of The Ocean were iced over. Despite this, a couple of hardy souls donned waders and bravely tugged and hacked and sawed at willows and brambles which had grown many metres into the waterway.

Another task this year has involved working alongside SVP volunteers on a project to plant a new hedgerow along the length of the Fromebridge Mill driveway. No whips, the name given to small hedge plants, were planted on this occasion because the repair and securing of the stock fencing. This needed to be done prior to any planting so that grazing cattle would be kept away from the new hedge. As of February 2023, planting is well under way and the long driveway will be completely transformed once the whole hedge is planted, creating an important and valuable habitat for a huge range of species.

We’ve been working on a patch of land adjacent to Pockett’s Orchard alongside SVP volunteers where there is a natural pond – a waterhole for cattle. The pond had become badly overgrown and was overshadowed by a dense trees, brambles and ivy canopy, which meant that very little light was reaching the pond and its banks. By clearing away the overgrowth, the aim was to get the pond back to good health, for the habitat to regenerate, and encourage the return of flora and fauna as the renewed habitat establishes itself.

There was fence repair work to be done here to prevent grazing cattle accessing it as they’ll have water troughs instead. Having secured the fence, all the branches and boughs from the canopy clearance were piled up against the fence as an additional barrier, with the bonus of the log pile being a brand new habitat.

I feel very privileged to be involved in the CCC project, having known for many years about the scope and ambition of the overall canal restoration renovation, but having not stopped to think about what opportunities could be seized to create and improve habitats and biodiversity. On each occasion, I learn so much from the Project Officers and fellow volunteers, and it’s been a joy to find myself in this group of such generous and enthusiastic souls, which means there’s a lot of fun to be had along the way.