Earlier this year, not one, not two, but three Local Groups celebrated momentous birthdays, helping to triumph the cause of nature and wildlife in their communities and beyond for 40 years!
July saw Leeds LG gather at Rodley Nature Reserve in the city to celebrate achieving their 40 years, whilst September brought two more birthdays with Derby and Exeter LG's both marking theirs with celebration. All three groups marked their celebrations with a collection of talks from special guests, a look back at the history and achievements of the groups themselves and of course the obligatory birthday cake!
Derby LG produced a six page history of the foundation of the group. This came about after an announcement earlier in the year of the passing of the first group leader, Albert Kent, and the realisation that many members of the group knew very little about the formation and the early years of the group. Included in the history was a time line from the first meeting, entrance fee 20p, to the present day.There were four long service awards presented, including to Pauline Alcock for 40 years of volunteering - Pauline was the first secretary of the group, a position she still holds today!
The meeting was entertained by Dr Michael Leach who gave an informative and entertaining talk entitled ‘In search of the Flower Kissers’ - a talk about humming birds.
Leeds LG held their event in the great outdoors (see above), the reserve volunteers laying on a series of nature activities including dragonfly identification at specially made dragonfly ponds. The Leeds Group Treasurer, David Hatfield, started off the formal part of the event by summing up the achievements of the group over the last 40 years. He estimated that they had raised at least £100,000 for the RSPB over that time! The event was then officially opened by Carol Tresadern, the Local Groups Co-ordinator for the Northern Region, who outlined the challenges faced by the RSPB and the vital role played by the local groups. And finally, long standing member Majorie Simpson gave a short speech saying how much the group had meant to her and her late husband, Norman, over the years and then cut the stunning avocet cake made by group member Duanne Watson.
And last but not least Exeter LG, who staggered their celebrations - a talk by Stan Davies, the first SW Regional Manager who took office in 1974, on the history of the RSPB in the SW kicked things off in September followed, a month later, with an open talk by Nick Baker about his fascination with bugs, which attracted lots of young visitors. Their AGM saw Dr Tim Stowe, Director of International Operations, give a talk on overseas work, followed by a delicious buffet and a celebration cake baked by Cilla Ingram. Finally they combined with the Royal Albert Museum in Exeter to host a Wildlife Event, attended by over 1000 people!
Some fantastic celebrations from some fantastic RSPB supporters and volunteers I'm sure you'll agree! If your Local Group has any birthday celebrations coming up and you would like to share them with us, send us an email to VolunteeringDevelopment@rspb.org.uk