Students go green and help transform Auchinstarry Basin

Hard work by students of Cumbernauld College has improved the landscape around the Auchinstarry Basin.

The 14-week voluntary opportunity has been provided by The Scottish Waterways Trust and partner organisation The Conservation Volunteers, and involves young people age 16 to 18 who are volunteering each Friday. They are involved in joinery, painting and landscape work to improve the area and recently took part in an activity to carve the letters “Auchinstarry” into stone. This has been installed as part of a pond feature at the site.

Robert Canevy from Cumbernauld is one of the students taking part. He said: “The Green Action project has been a great chance for me to do something different and learn new skills which will benefit me in the future. I particularly enjoyed taking part in the stone carving as it was really fun and it’s nice to know that my work will be admired by visitors to the area for years to come.”

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Stephen McKnight, senior learning assistant at Cumbernauld College, commented: “The GRFW programme is a pre-employability course and aims to help the students overcome various barriers to allow them to progress into the job market. We have worked with The Scottish Waterways Trust for a couple of years and the feedback from students is always extremely positive. They thoroughly enjoy the chance to do something new and exciting.

“On top of that it allows them to work towards awards in volunteering and environmental work and health and safety modules - all of these are fantastic additions to their CVs.”

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