Update on events

We hope you are all still keeping safe and well. Things continue to move forward positively with the vaccination programme and some easing of restrictions. RTBP is back on the river!
 
It has been busy, in a very good way, getting ready for the restart of our activities. Gunnar now works 3 days a week and Hannah joined the team as our new Education Coordinator on 4^th May.

We were delighted to welcome Collis Primary back onboard for our first School on the River of 2021 on Tuesday 18^th May. Everyone enjoyed their day, and we have more bookings over the coming weeks. Thank you to Gemma Hindi for helping with the training for the education volunteers and for supporting Hannah as she builds her experience.
Cruises restart after June 21^st and the diary is filling up.

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in volunteer training and helped to get things shipshape on the boats and at the dock so that we can make special time on the river possible again.

RTBP Winter Art Competition: We had some very creative entries including a painting, a collage, a poem and a model of a lock. Thank you to everyone who took part and enjoyed sharing memories about the river. The winning entries are:
Sherwood Grange Care Home who will receive a 3 hour cruise on Thames Discoverer. Residents from 3 different floors enjoyed working together to create a collage and a poem to celebrate the river.
Keith Knox, RTBP volunteer and ex Chair of Trustees was runner up with his beautiful painting (shown here).
Terry Kemp, RTBP volunteer and seasonal lock keeper, was runner up with his very creative model of a lock. The model is now onboard Thames Venturer for use with schools. Click here for a video of the lock.
Terry and Keith win 2 tickets each for a short cruise on Thames Discoverer.

Two runners raised over £700 for RTBP! Bob Darke, RTBP Trustee, and Phil Tauwhare completed their half marathon at the end of March. They were due to do the Hampton Court Half Marathon but as this was cancelled, they did their own independent run. Their route took in 2 parks, 2 bridges over the river and a run past the boats at the dock in Kingston. Thank you, Bob and Phil, for your running efforts and thank you everyone who sponsored them!

Running events restarting from July: We have the opportunity to start helping with some running events again over the summer and into the autumn. We receive a donation from the organisers for doing this which contributes to the fundraising pot. The Harry Hawkes Half Marathon will be on 18^th July and the Kingston Half Marathon will be on 24^th October. We plan to resume our water station and marshalling support for these events. It’s a busy, fun few hours by the river and we can have coffee and a bacon buttie onboard Thames Venturer afterwards. If anyone would like to run at either event, please let Kate know kate@thamesboatproject.org as we can get some free entry spaces for RTBP supporters. You can check out the details for both these events at Home - Quicksilver Running (quicksilver-running.co.uk)
 
River Thames Boat Project sponsored river event in September: We have decided to move this big fundraiser to 11^th/12^th September to have more certainty that restrictions will allow it to be the kind of event we would like it to be. The plan is still for a river based sponsored activity – walk/run/cycle/kayak/paddleboard on or along The Thames and we hope to meet for tea and cakes at the dock afterwards. Our 2019 Putney to Kingston sponsored walk raised over £4,000 for the charity. We hope to beat that target and raise much needed funds for the 2021/22 season which will help us rebuild our activities back up to their pre COVID levels. 
If any of you would like to fundraise in any way, do let us know. Every donation makes a difference. Please go to the RTBP website for details on how to support the charity: https://thamesboatproject.org/about/give/
We’ll keep you updated and if you have any ideas for fundraising, please share them by emailing Kate at kate@thamesboatproject.org 

Linking People Afloat Cruise dates: We have planned three dates for the summer and may add more later in the year. These day cruises are for individuals who are not supported by a group, to come by themselves or with a carer or companion. It’s a safe and caring environment with just 12 passengers and a chance to meet new people and share experiences. We know that time on the boats will provide a welcome respite and a positive boost to everyone’s spirits. If you, or anyone you know, would like to join one of these cruises, please contact Pippa pippa@thamesboatproject.org
The dates are: Tuesday 27^th July, Monday 23^rd August and Wednesday 22^nd September. Price is £40/person and includes a full day cruise upstream towards Shepperton, tea and coffee throughout the day and a 2 course lunch.

Summer cruises: We have put some dates in the diary for some short cruises for Friends of RTBP and volunteers and will share the details on how to book soon. These will be morning 10 - 12.30 or afternoon 3 - 5.30 and there will be tea, coffee and cake – of course. It’s the chance to enjoy some time on the boats and to catch up with people. The dates are: Friday June 25^th 10am - 12.30, Monday 19^th July 3 - 5.30pm and Thursday 22^nd July 10am - 12.30. Private hire opportunities are also available after 21^stJune so please get in touch with Pippa pippa@thamesboatproject.org if you would like to enjoy a cruise onboard Thames Discoverer.
 
Kate Dodds, Marketing and Fundraising Manager

With a degree in Zoology from Sheffield University under her belt, and later a post-grad degree in Endangered Species Recovery at Kent, Hannah has done a fair bit of globe-hopping. Many of her post-grad months were spent in Mauritius under the auspices of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, which she felt privileged to be part of, albeit helping ‘though I shouldn’t say it, a rather dumb species’: the Pink Pigeon, once virtually extinct because of its poor survival skills, is now merely ‘Endangered’. Another focus of her work was the Echo Parakeet, a relative of our own Ring-Necked Parakeet.

So Hannah will feel quite at home at the UK epicentre of these naturalised love ‘em or hate ‘em parrots as she gets stuck into developing the RTBP education programme. Many of the lesson plans are similar to her teaching experience in Thailand, where she took primary school aged children into the mangrove forests, most of whom were bright-eyed and keen to learn but right out of their comfort zone. She enjoyed supporting children to actively engage and develop a connection with the natural world, and is enthusiastic about doing the same at RTBP. She is working on the content of lessons and adding in more activities for greater flexibility, happy that school education bookings before the summer holidays are already looking rather good.

After a month of waiting to start the education coordinator role I was delighted to join the training day on May 4^th (the last of 3 training days). I enjoyed getting to grips with the teaching modules I’ll be delivering as well as meeting some of our fantastic volunteers. Although the weather left a little to be desired it was a great day overall and my thanks goes to Gemma for organising and delivering this. Since the training day I’ve met more of our volunteers whilst on board Thames Venturer and Thames Discoverer and look forward to meeting, and working with, the rest of the team over the coming weeks and months.
 
Last week we had our first school groups of 2021 – Collis Primary School had trips on Tuesday and Wednesday and this was an opportunity for myself and some of the new volunteers to begin our practical training. We began by shadowing teachers on our respective modules and then started to lead on parts of the lessons. Collis are back again on Tuesday and Wednesday this week (25^th and 26^th) and I’m nervously looking forward to delivering the sessions solo.
 

Half term is fast approaching but June sees a further 12 school trips with still more schools interested in booking. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we are thrilled to have so many bookings and to once again help school children enjoy outdoor learning and to connect with the Thames.

 
At the other end of the phone was a man on a high, having just passed one of his trainee assessments on the way to becoming a crew member with the Teddington RNLI. At its base near Teddington Lock, Ian is learning all the shoreside theory, how to drive the tractor and how to launch the lifeboat in all weathers. This river-based branch sees fewer incidents that involve boats adrift than its coastal counterparts, but responds mainly to police-initiated calls concerning people in difficulty of some sort.
 

Ian is a man of energy. A friend kept on and on at him to join the Teddington Bluetits open water swimming group, and Ian eventually agreed, as long as he could wear a wetsuit in winter temperatures of 2 degrees. Now the wetsuit’s gone, and the convert joins the group three times a week to wrestle with the Thames just above the Lock. ‘It’s great for physical exercise as well as the social side, good for the immune system and helped me to get through the recent Lockdown.’
 
Another outfit that benefits from Ian’s enthusiasm is the local Stragglers running club. It was here that he spotted the opportunity  for RTBP to be involved in supporting local road races – we could offer volunteers to supply water and cheering supp

 
Welcome to new Trustee Richard Boult