At OnSite, we’re passionate about protecting and maintaining the UK’s inland waterways. Our PortaDam team regularly works with charities to support vital maintenance and restoration projects that help preserve waterways, such as canals, rivers and lakes, for local communities to enjoy.
We recognise that many charitable organisations depend heavily on volunteers, donations and fundraising efforts to deliver their work. By providing our services at a reduced rate wherever possible, we’re proud to play a small part in helping them undertake projects that might otherwise be difficult to complete.
One recent project saw us support Three Counties, an agricultural society dedicated to promoting agriculture, horticulture, arboriculture, apiculture, rural skills and crafts and conservation across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
The charity needed to replace its ageing fishing platform, which is used to provide free ‘have a go at fishing’ sessions to introduce school children and visitors to this popular countryside leisure activity during Royal Three Counties Show each year. To facilitate the works, a dry working area was required, and the charity approached OnSite for a solution.
We were pleased to provide a PortaDam installation and worked alongside Selwood, a local pump supplier, which generously supplied pumping equipment free of charge to support the project.
The installation also provided a valuable training opportunity, with three trainee installers completing the works under the supervision of senior members of the team.
David Wedgbury, PortaDam Operations Manager, commented: “We’re proud to support charities and not-for-profit organisations that make a real difference in their local communities. By providing a practical solution at a reduced cost, we were able to help the Three Counties Agricultural Society install a brand new, accessible fishing platform which will safely support a greater range of visitor needs. Projects like this demonstrate how collaboration between businesses, charities and local suppliers can deliver results that matter.”
Ben Russel, Head of Operations at Three Counties Agricultural Society, added: We’re extremely grateful to OnSite and Selwood for their support with this project. Maintaining and improving facilities across our site is incredibly important to us, particularly where those facilities enable people of all abilities to enjoy the countryside and outdoor activities. The PortaDam solution allowed us to upgrade the fishing platform safely and effectively, while the support offered by both organisations helped make the project achievable for us as a charity. Their support has helped us deliver an important improvement that will ensure this facility can continue to be enjoyed by the community for years to come.
This is one of several charity projects completed by our PortaDam team in recent months. We have also supported two canal restoration charities, creating dry working environments to enable essential repair and restoration works to be carried out safely and efficiently.
