{"id":68976,"date":"2016-03-24T09:55:57","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T09:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=93603fd2b6c4c8492e90bcc3008b9d9e"},"modified":"2016-03-24T09:55:57","modified_gmt":"2016-03-24T09:55:57","slug":"press-release-calling-all-lovers-of-the-river-thames-to-join-our-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=68976","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Calling all lovers of the River Thames to join our volunteers!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rising near Cirencester in Gloucestershire and tracing a glistening, serpentine route through some of the most gorgeous countryside that England\u2019s home counties have to offer, the freshwater River Thames is an irresistible source of recreational pleasure for walkers, runners, cyclists, anglers and boaters \u2018messing about\u2019 on every type of vessel imaginable. It is the vital and highly valued service it provides boaters and other users and visitors to its locks that the Environment Agency is seeking help with.<\/p>\n

Demetri Somarakis, who manages the Environment Agency\u2019s River Thames Volunteers Team said:<\/p>\n

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The service we provide boaters on the Thames is unrivalled by any other river in the world.<\/p>\n

Our ability to maintain such high standards relies on the significant contribution of our volunteers. They give up their spare time to work under the expert guidance of our full-time professional staff, and do so full of enthusiasm and friendliness. We, and the rest of river\u2019s boating fraternity, are hugely appreciative and we look forward to welcoming back many of our veterans and hopefully lots of new faces to our locks this season.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Peter Le Gros who volunteers at Hurley Lock near Maidenhead in Berkshire said: <\/p>\n

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I used to fish here as a boy, and coming back now that I\u2019ve retired to help boaters is a great fun. The scheme is very well run and it\u2019s lovely being out in the fresh air \u2013 it\u2019s a really lovely thing to do.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sandy Jeffrey from Woodcote, Oxfordshire, works at Goring Lock, also in Berkshire, and said: <\/p>\n

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I popped down to the lock for an ice cream one day and the next thing I know I\u2019ve been volunteering here for four years!<\/p>\n

I love coming on the lock, because the people are so lovely. As a lady volunteer, I share lots of jokes and giggles about the men with women boaters \u2013 of which there are quite a few \u2013 and they like seeing a woman on the lock. So, more lady volunteers please!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Environment Agency is looking for people to offer at least one day per week working at one or more locks of their choice from the 45 that the Environment Agency operates along the 135 miles of non-tidal River Thames. They run from St John\u2019s near Lechlade in Gloucestershire, through Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Surrey to Teddington in south west London<\/p>\n

Most sit within sumptuously beautiful pastoral landscapes, but others are in more urban settings, where they provide a small oasis of tranquillity amongst the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life.<\/p>\n

And though there are opportunities at every lock, the Environment Agency is particularly keen for more people to work at some of the more remote sites in Oxfordshire \u2013 arguably some of the most attractive and serene.<\/p>\n

John Stevenson from Woodstock, Oxfordshire has been volunteering at one such lock in Eynsham near Witney since 2013. He said: <\/p>\n

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I absolutely love it! I work at one of the traditional beam locks, which have to be worked by hand, and it\u2019s a great way to stay fit \u2013 far better than going to the gym! The people you meet are always in a happy mood and the camaraderie is marvellous. I just don\u2019t want to give it up. I thoroughly recommend it!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Environment Agency provides training, workwear and travel expenses. The river environment and the people who use and enjoy it provide everything else volunteers gain from the experience.<\/p>\n

For more information or an application pack, email<\/a> or call 0203 025 9628.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Environment Agency is once again looking for new recruits to join its growing band of volunteers on the non-tidal River Thames.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68976"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}