Blogger: Annie Sadler, Volunteering Development Officer
I started life as a volunteer aged 17 helping out my local conservation group – Stour Valley Volunteers in the Dedham Vale AONB. I was going to start a conservation course at Otley College and was advised to try practical conservation first, just to make sure it was my cup of tea, and it totally was! I looked forward to helping on the work parties eagerly and loved the real sense of achievement at the end of the day, be that cutting meadow or putting in fence posts, every week was different.
Since then, volunteering has been part of my life, whether as a student or when working full time. At college we went to Denmark for a month to help a student with his thesis on the effects of grazing cattle on trees. That was interesting - being April I thought it might be quite warm in Denmark but was I wrong - I soon learnt that the right clothing is essential for happiness! I will never forget the beautiful woodland, cute-looking cattle, remarkable night skies (there are laws around light pollution in Denmark) and the hospitality of the Danish people.
I started volunteering for the RSPB six years ago, doing the beached bird survey and the Volunteer and Farmer Alliance Project. At the time I was working full time running a volunteer centre and then a befriending, gardening and decorating project, using a brilliant band of volunteers. I saw the Volunteering Development Officer job advertised at the RSPB and saw an opportunity to combine my passion for wildlife, conservation and volunteers. And here I am, nearly four years later! And yes, I still am an RSPB volunteer, helping with Love Nature collections and more recently campaigning! I also volunteer as a befriender with Age UK.
My job is immensely varied and interesting, and challenging each and every day – there is no such thing as a dull day at the RSPB! I might be dealing with a volunteer disciplinary one minute (fortunately there are not many), to writing a nomination for an award for a volunteer/s, to advising staff on managing volunteers, training staff and volunteers on our volunteer database, helping at family events, overseeing and helping run regional thank you events, to editing our regional newsletter and helping our interns with career development. And everything to do with volunteering in between! As The Boss said, the V on my keyboard is now getting worn away!
Basically I love the RSPB and it’s ethos of volunteering. We just couldn’t achieve what we do for nature without volunteers, whether they help in the office, at events, at home or outdoors. Truly inspiring, volunteers are absolutely brilliant! Why not step up and check out our volunteering pages at www.rspb.og.uk/volunteering for more information, we would love to hear from you, whatever your skills, interests and time availability. Who knows where it could lead you!
Photo credit: Adam Murray