Interim Chair's New Year message

What a year that was, both on and away from our canal line!

As we leave 2022 behind, I’d like to thank Justin Lewis for his time as Interim Chair of the Board of Trustees, Gordon Olson for his incredible contribution as our CEO and as a Trustee (Gordon is standing down as a Trustee to focus on fundraising), and you all for your energy and commitment throughout the year. Covid is not yet behind us as a nation, but we are now making substantial progress in ways that was not previously possible.

The Trust is becoming hungry for faster progress on our canal restoration mission and, using the fruits of Gordon’s fundraising activity, I’m confident that we’ll be able to start several new restoration projects during 2023.

As well as encouraging people to join the Trust as Members, a major initiative for all of us is to persuade more people to volunteer with the Trust, especially those with professional expertise (e.g. engineering, environmental/ecological, finance, planning, project management, etc). This will help ensure that we have depth and breadth of volunteer skills (“volunteer resilience”) as we start restoring new lengths of towpath and canal.

Here’s to a very happy and successful 2023, for you and all those around you. Onwards and upwards!

Martin Holliss
Interim Chair of Trustees