HydroCitizens…In The Making! 

“Running right through the middle of our region, through our cities, towns, villages and countryside we have a unique resource that stops time, stills minds, opens up uncharted spaces and reconnects us with ourselves and every function of our lives and environment.”

These are the thoughts of people who have run boats and discovered themselves working boats. People who have skillful ways of reaching those of us who are disorientated through a simple approach of being on a boat together, listening and letting go of the tiller when we decide we want to lend a hand.

People who know boats get you into life and that when you step off the boat with the confidence and responsibility working a boat gives you, you choose where you want to go next.

“That first time I stepped on a boat changed me as a person, destiny changing, as soon as I stepped on I felt this is where I belong.” Peter

This online space has been created to share the journeys, progress and achievement of the young people who have joined us on the waterways and the staff and volunteer development that has been done in partnership with Ignite Yorkshire. Between 2018 and 2022 Canal Connections CIC was a delivery partner in Ignite Yorkshire, a project in National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Kick The Dust programme which aimed to try out new ways for young people and heritage to work together. Led by IVE, Ignite Yorkshire was a consortium of heritage, community and youth sector partners with a mission to start a revolution in how Yorkshire’s industrial heritage is viewed, understood, enjoyed and looked after by young people aged 14-25, taking inspiration from the past to build skills for the future.