Warwick SU cleans up Leamington canals

Warwick students joined local efforts to clean the towpaths of canals in Leamington Spa on Sunday 1 December.

Warwick Students’ Union (SU) partnered with the Canal and River Trust to help clean up the canal in Leamington Spa from 11am as part of their ‘Love Community’ campaign.

Over a dozen students met local representatives at St Mary’s Road bridge to begin the operation.

Over the course of an hour and a half, students and sabbatical officers teamed with Leamington residents to pick litter from the towpath and adjacent undergrowth between bridges at Clemens Street and Southam Road.

Ben Sundell looking happy to be cleaning canals

Lead volunteer of the Canal and River Trust for the West Midlands, Steve Lambert, told the Boar: “We’ve had a super day today. The turnout has been beyond my wildest expectations.”

“When I first came here this morning and saw how bad the litter was along this bit of canal, I didn’t expect to get it all tidied away and cleared up, but we’ve got it all away in the hour or so we’ve been here and it’s all looking fantastic.”

Five of the students who came to aid the day’s operation were from Warwick Salsa, including publicity and marketing officer Charmaine Jin. Miss Jin, a fourth-year Law and Business student, expressed her views on community projects:

“Despite not living in Leamington, I do believe community activities in general are fundamental to the creation of ‘home’ in a greater sense. It allows everyone to play their role in maintaining a safe and pleasant neighbourhood, as well as a close knit local community.”

The SU hopes to get students more involved with community projects in the future, according to SU president Ben Sundell.

Mr Sundell told the Boar: “We’ve been working with the District Council and County Council to try to get more of this done.”

“We’re looking at other potential opportunities and we’re hoping to have at least two or three next term, hoping to have a couple in term three because we really want to establish this as a permanent thing. We don’t just want this to be a one-off. We want the Student’s Union to be investing in our local area.”

Photos: Erin Davies