This week we are turning the spotlight on Hazeley Heath volunteers. Hazeley Heath is a surviving vestige of a once sprawling lowland heathland of south England.
Isabel Morgan, the Project officer from Hazeley Heath, tells us what volunteers and volunteering means to her...
"Last month my ‘practical conservation’ volunteers moved a mountain, then they helped little terns at Langstone and at some time in the future they will be building a wildlife garden (although they don’t know about that bit yet). No doubt the ‘events team’ volunteers are hoping for good weather for the first off-site event of the year. ‘Do everything Dave’ has been out surveying reptiles, walking the butterfly transect and putting his photography skills to good use. Whilst (volunteer) volunteer co-ordinator Emily will be the first person you speak to about volunteering at Hazeley.
My volunteers do a lot for me and they all form part of a growing team full of different skills and personalities. They are all important to me as without them it simply just doesn’t work.
Everybody asks the question at some point. Why do you do it? Often there is a pause a moment of introspection before there is an answer - a change in career, the start of a career, recent retirement, staying active, something to do, a hobby. Everybody has a slightly different reason one that is personal to them.
Even as a member of staff I still volunteer (and I don’t just mean the over-time). For me volunteering was initially about deciding what to do after graduating from university. A couple of days a week spent as a guide in hide and a bit of practical work. Then it became a way of gaining experience to compete for conservation jobs. I started volunteering between paid contracts using them for opportunities of networking and training. Now I volunteer because it’s something I enjoy and I have the opportunity to do something different to my usual day-job.
During one of our training courses we’re taught that one of the top reasons people volunteer is because somebody asked them...
So I’d like to ask you to have a look at what you could do for Hazeley and give a little bit of your time to us. There are lots of opportunities from helping with events, getting your hands dirty with some practical work out on the reserve and survey work for those with good id skills or a specific interest. In a few months time we’ll be open for residential volunteers as well see the website for more details: www.rspb.org.uk/residentialvolunteering.
We hope to hear from you soon."
Want to Volunteer? Ask me!