The final restoration work party of the year was, compared to some of what had gone before, a rather low key event. A day and a half of effort ticked off a variety of jobs. The ever popular Christmas Dinner held on Friday night was the highlight of the weekend.
The main centre of activity on Friday was Crickheath South. The two large trees growing out of the old wharf wall, having been felled by CRT the day before, were duly disposed of. The opportunity was also taken to remove small bushes and generally tidy up the area. Another bout of surveying beyond Crickheath, and the departure of another load of IBCs completed the first day. On Saturday half a dozen volunteers warded off the after-effects of the night before to complete the jobs necessary to open the towpath.
Some ten days before the work party the Society, together with Arcadis and CRT, won the Community Engagement Award at the 2021 Ground Engineering Awards Ceremony held in London. The winner came from a short list which included a section of the HS2 project, and three other professionally delivered entries. The Ground Engineering Awards Ceremony celebrates the achievements of projects, people, and businesses working across Geotechnical Engineering, and attracts the biggest names in main contracting, engineering consulting, geotechnics and ground Investigation suppliers and manufacturers.
Awards apart, the highlights of the year have been the completion of the remaining banks that required surcharge, the re-profiling of the Hell Hole area, and the lining of a substantial section of channel. The site is beginning to resemble a canal again and the hope is that next year it will actually become one!
