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Cotswold Canals Connected; environmental volunteering on the Stroudwater Canal

Join Pete Savage, Canal Project Officer, as he dives into how vital our volunteers are to the success and wins of the Cotswold Canals Connected project.

Since joining the Cotswold Canals Connected project in August last year, my work has relied heavily on the help from volunteers to carry out a wealth of tasks along the river Frome, the Stroudwater Canal and on the recently purchased land near the village of Whitminster. This area of around 20 hectares nestled amongst the Stroudwater Canal and the River Frome is split into three main habitats: wetlands, species-rich grasslands and traditional orchards.

Volunteer groups have been hard at work so far on the restoration in a number of areas, so I wanted to take this time to highlight the positive changes we’ve seen over the course of the year.

Pockett’s Orchard

A volunteer group formed around two years ago to restore the orchard. It had been largely unused so had become overgrown with scrub while the fruit trees were top-heavy from being overladen with branches and mistletoe.

Pockett’s Orchard volunteers tackling invasive creeping thistles in July 2022

Pockett’s Orchard volunteers tackling invasive creeping thistles in July (c) Peter Savage

This required an expert in traditional orchards to advise on the restoration and to provide tuition to the volunteers who will be carrying out the work. Tim Andrews, a Trustee of Gloucestershire Orchards Trust, and an expert volunteer whose knowledge and skills have been crucial in getting the orchard back into shape.

This summer our volunteers were busy tackling invasive creeping thistles and encroaching blackthorn shrubs. They also built some timber props for propping up some of the leaning apple trees and carried out some grafting. Grafting is a form of propagating new fruit trees using buds or twigs. The twig or branch from an existing tree is fused onto a branch or stem of another tree, which is selected for size, suitability to site and tolerance of certain soil conditions.

Volunteers building guards for newly planted fruit trees in Pockett’s Orchard

Volunteers building guards for newly planted fruit trees in Pockett’s Orchard (c) Peter Savage

More recently they have been picking the apples and pears for cider and perry production and clearing brambles. Over the next few weeks, the leaves will begin falling from the trees and the restorative pruning operation will begin once more. Our volunteer group consists of around 20+ volunteers who live in Whitminster and surrounding villages.

Stroud Wildlife Survey Group

The land at Fromebridge between the river Frome and Stroudwater Canal has been purchased by the CCC project and is being managed by GWT. We intend to create habitats including a wetland, species rich grassland and bring a traditional orchard back into management.

All three sites have been grazed by cattle over the years. By reducing the intensity of the grazing and erecting a stock fence along the River Frome we’re able to improve the biodiversity in these green spaces.

Members of Stroud Wildlife Survey Group surveying the ground vegetation in Whitminster

Members of Stroud Wildlife Survey Group surveying the ground vegetation in Whitminster (c) Peter Savage

Stroud Wildlife Survey Group are a group of volunteers that carry out surveying and monitoring for wildlife conservation. They’ve been conducting ground and riparian (the area between a land and water) surveys, laying the groundwork and created a baseline of the land which allows us to assess how healthy it is and record improvements over the next few years and beyond.

They’ve also carried out surveys on the resident moths, bats and hedgerows. The group are based in Stroud and are on the lookout for new members. If you’re interested, please email Maureen at stroudwildlifesurvey@gmail.com.

The Roaming Group installing an accessible kissing gate on the canal towpath

The Roaming Group installing an accessible kissing gate on the canal towpath (c) Peter Savage

Roaming Volunteer Group

The Roaming Volunteer Group have been carrying out important practical work along the canal and on our newly acquired land at Whitminster, including repairing stock fencing, environmental monitoring, scrub clearance and installing an accessible kissing gate.

This is currently a small group, but as our work commences on the wetland areas we will be on the lookout for extra helping hands to assist with some exciting tasks like planting ponds, installing built habitats for bats and birds, planting trees and hedgerows and installing fencing. If you’d like to get involved, please email volunteering@gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk.

Basic tree inspection volunteers

Restoring the canal means the waterway will be open for recreation and the towpath will be fully accessible, which means an increase of visitors. Trees are a vital part of the canal and river corridor being home, food and shelter to a wealth of wildlife, plus providing cleaner air and a boost to our mental health. Trees can however provide a health and safety risk.

Tree inspection volunteers taking part in training with the Arboricultural Association

Tree inspection volunteers taking part in training with the Arboricultural Association (c) Peter Savage

Our Basic Tree Inspection volunteers received training from the Arboricultural Association in Standish, before doing a survey of the trees along the length of the Stroudwater Canal. This started last October, and they recently finished the survey at Stroud Brewery.

The data that these volunteers have collected will be used by the canal owner (Stroud Valleys Canal Company) to identify possible risks to the public and have identified trees that require an opinion from a professional arborist. Although we should celebrate the completion of the survey, it’s important to remember that it should be carried out around every 18 months to ensure the information is up to date and all changes to the trees are captured.

Tree inspection volunteers carrying out a survey

Tree inspection volunteers carrying out a survey (c) Peter Savage

The assistance we’ve had from volunteers so far on the Cotswold Canals Connected project has been crucial, and it’s not just been the groups mentioned above. Photography volunteers have been providing images for social media, an admin volunteer sifts through wildlife images captured on trail cameras, and nearby residents have kindly assisted with semi-aquatic mammal monitoring from their gardens! It’s clear that this project would not run without our wonderful volunteers and I’m looking forward to working with them over the remainder of the restoration.

If you’d like to get involved, please email volunteering@gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk.

 

The Cotswold Canals Connected is a multi-partner project to restore the Stroudwater Canal between Saul Junction in the west to The Ocean at Stonehouse in the east. This restoration will link the Gloucester to Sharpness Canal with the canal towns of Stonehouse and Stroud once more.

Project partners include Stroud District Council, Cotswold Canals Trust, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and Stroudwater Navigation Archives Charity among others. The restoration is being funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and donations from members of the public.

More information about Cotswold Canals Connected

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