With nearly 14'000 volunteers across the British Isles, the RSPB really does rely on and value the work put in by those giving their free time to support the charity. As such, staff from the Volunteering department at RSPB HQ recently threw a volunteer thank-you event in the The Lodge gardens. Despite the (very) blustery conditions, the marquee's managed to stay put and a fabulous day was had by all. Here's a quick recap of the event...
The day began, like all good days should, with a welcome tea or coffee for the arriving volunteers, served up by the three staff members who had kindly agreed to run and host the event. After a brief time spent chatting to other volunteers, those in attendance were treated to the first of five talks from guest speakers detailing varying aspects of the RSPB's work and goals.
First up it was the turn of Kate Jennings, Head of Site Conservation Policy, who gave a talk on the Nature Directive's and all the work the RSPB does to protect and maintain the birds, wildlife and habitats most under threat.
Then came Rhoda Ludford, newly appointed Volunteering Development Consultant for the Schools on Reserves project. Having previously worked alongside Sallie Crawley in Volunteering Development, Rhoda actually helped organise the day itself but her talk gave us an insight into her new role and how the RSPB is looking to implement and improve it's volunteer activities for families on reserves. This was swiftly followed by a talk from Suzanne Welch, Education Manager, on the how the RSPB is working with teachers and pupils in the School's on reserves project.
It was then the turn of some volunteer spotlights and talks from some of the volunteers (myself included!) on what they do, why they volunteer, what they like about nature and so on. Two volunteers (Natalie Wren and Colin Gooch) were not in attendance so had their answers read out by Sallie or presented on a short video, whilst Colin Hawkins and myself made the brave (or stupid!) decision to make our speeches from the front of the marquee - but they went down well by all accounts and were over relatively quickly and pain free! (from my POV anyway)
Lunch was just on the horizon (or being laid out in the second marquee anyway!) but there was still time for an interesting talk from the RSPB's Senior Legacy Adviser, Neil Barton, who took us through the processes involved in legacies left to the charity in Will's, including an amusing story about an African Grey Parrot that was part of a bequeathed legacy! Then came a quick group photo before everyone could turn their attention to the lovely spread of sandwiches, snacks and fruit laid on by the canteen staff.
A nice long lunch-break, enough for seconds (and possibly thirds!) was followed by the final talk of the day, a fascinating and engaging look at the RSPB's conservation projects, from Director of Operations Shaun Thomas. He then stuck around to hand out some long-service awards to volunteers and also joined us for a second group photo, this time outside thanks to the Sun popping out for a bit! The day then drew to a close with chats with various line managers chatting to their volunteers, accompanied by a final slice of cake and a hot drink of course.
A lovely day was had by all and many thanks should go to Sallie, Rhoda and all the other staff who helped out and/or gave speeches for their work and organisation of an event to show their appreciation of us, their wonderful volunteers!