The Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) has completed two highly productive weeks of summer camps at Darnford Moors Ecology Park, delivering significant progress on the Lichfield Canal restoration.
Canal camps are week‑long volunteering experiences run by WRG, bringing together people from across the country to learn practical heritage construction skills while supporting canal restoration projects. Volunteers live, work, and learn together, taking on tasks such as bricklaying, vegetation clearance, structural repairs, and concrete work. These camps are a cornerstone of WRG’s contribution to the national waterways movement, providing skilled, enthusiastic teams who make rapid progress possible on sites like Darnford Moors.
During week one on the Lichfield Canal, volunteers worked with impressive energy and skill to complete four concrete bases, laying essential groundwork for the next phase of construction.
Week two saw the walls constructed using Stepoc blocks, carefully positioned along both sides, followed by two concrete pours into the Stepoc blocks, marking a substantial step forward in forming the new supporting walls.
Colin Hobbs, WRG camp leader, said:
“I would like to thank LHCRT for hosting WRG again this year. I felt very proud of the work we have done in the two weeks. Big thank you to Paul, Derek and Tony, plus Colin for the doughnuts and Bob for sorting out the bills.
“See you next year.”
It was lovely for us to see Jack and Michael, two of our Gold DofE volunteers, attending week two of the canal camp at Darnford Moors Ecology Park, thanks to a recommendation by our Green team leader, Philip. Their time on site counts as the residential section of their award, alongside the volunteering section they complete with our Green and Grounds team on Saturday mornings.
The progress at Darnford Moors represents a meaningful push towards the long‑term goal of connecting the restored canal through to Darnford Lane. The dedication and hard work of the Waterway Recovery Group volunteers have moved the project forward in a big way.
A huge thank you to all WRG volunteers for their commitment, enthusiasm, and outstanding contribution over the past fortnight.
Camp stats
- Approx 60 cubic meters of concrete in the base
- Approx 15ton of rebar steel
- 28 sheets A393 10mm mesh
- 1500 Stepoc.
- 19 cubic meters of 10mm concrete fill
- Lots of wire ties
- Some blood and tears
- Pre camp: 40 hours of paperwork
- Pre camp dig: 80 volunteers hours
- Week one: 19 volunteers 1,064 hours
- Week two: 20 volunteers 1,040 hours
