Swansea Canal Society
Pending display name
We wish to furnish and equip our newly built Swansea Canal Centre to enable us to both use it as a base for our environmental work on the canal, and as resource for the local community.
About this cause
The aims of the Swansea Canal Society are to promote the history and heritage of the 225 year old canal, to protect its wildlife, and to restore the canal to navigable standards. We work to improve the canal environment for the health (both physical and mental) of all visitors. We carry out maintenance of the canal and the towpath to allow safe access to canoes, kayaks, runners, cyclists and walkers to encourage healthy outdoor physical activity. We also offer volunteering opportunities, which can reduce social isolation, and have an active education programme with local schools dealing with water safety, historical aspects of the canal and environmental issues. We are working on adaptive, accessible canoeing solutions for disabled and less mobile people.
How this cause brings people in the community together
Swansea Canal Centre will be a hub of operations for the Canal Society, providing a workshop space, boat store, wet room and meeting space/classroom. The building was a derelict sawmill which we are rebuilding with the environment in mind; it is powered by solar panels, and has a green roof and a bat hotel. The outside space is planted with wildflowers and fruit trees, all of which will all be open to all community members, will be fully accessible, and will enable us to get more people involved with the society and visiting the canal. We will use the centre to drive forward our "Access for All" canoeing project. Funding would be used for the internal fitting out and equipping of the centre, including educational resources and an office space.