About Canal & River Trust

Canals need many hands to look after them and by volunteering with us you can help make even more miles of canal blue, green and better.

Volunteering is a great way to get active and meet new people, all against the backdrop of our country's stunning canals and rivers. With your help we can help wildlife thrive, and people can find health, happiness and wellbeing on their doorstep.

No other charity brings so much free, open, and accessible blue and green space to the doorstep of so many. With your support, we can continue our work. Our vision is to have living waterways that transform places and enrich lives.

We care for a 2,000-mile-long, 200-year-old, network of canals, rivers, reservoirs and docks because we believe that life is better by water. We provide a space where people can feel happier and healthier, nature is recovering and history is alive. A space for boating, angling, cycling, walking, paddling or just watching the world drift by. Our research shows that spending time by water, whether it be your lunchbreak, daily commute or just a weekend stroll, really can make us feel happier and healthier.

That’s why, here at the Trust, we're working with volunteers and communities across England and Wales to transform canals and rivers into spaces where local people want to spend time and feel better. We know this will bring wellbeing opportunities to millions.