In our second blog celebrating Volunteers’ Week 2017 we hear from Lesley McCue who has been volunteering for RSPB Scotland since 2009 and leads the food foraging and healing plants events at one of our newest reserves, Loch Lomond.
Foraging Fun at Loch Lomond
I first became involved in volunteering for RSPB Scotland at the Lochwinnoch nature reserve in 2009. I used to take my daughter Nina to the reserve on a regular basis and staff and other volunteers suggested I volunteer myself. I have always been happy to turn my hand to anything and learn new skills. When the new RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond Reserve opened I was delighted when I was asked if I would like to volunteer there.
I love the wildness and peace and tranquillity of Loch Lomond Reserve and it has been a great privilege to watch it evolve over the past couple of years. It was when I started volunteering at Loch Lomond that I became involved with the John Muir Award. I had developed an interest in food foraging and I was asked if I could lead a food foraging walk and event. This was quite an exciting challenge for me and although I was a bit nervous of leading the walk the support and encouragement from staff at the reserve gave me the confidence to do this. I linked in the learning, preparation and the event itself with the John Muir Discovery Award.
Since completing the Discovery award I have gone onto complete the next two award levels, with the final Conserve award focussing on Healing plants and linked to a Healing Plants Guided walk and workshop I led at RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond in 2016.
Both the food foraging and healing plants events are being repeated again this year so with visitor volunteer duties at the new nature hub on the reserve and helping with family and external events I spend a lot of my spare time at Loch Lomond Reserve. As well as this last year I was able to help out at RSPB Scotland Baron’s Haugh reserve with a couple of family and external events and hope to spend time there again this year.
I have learned so much since I started volunteering with RSPB Scotland. My knowledge of bird and wildlife has increased greatly but I have rediscovered a childhood love for wild flowers and plants and could spend many an hour wandering through the fields looking for flowers.
While volunteering I have met many lovely people – staff, volunteers and members of the public. Recently I accompanied staff on a public guided walk of the reserve and there was a young girl there who was taking lots of photos. She told me that she preferred flowers to birds and wanted to take pictures of flowers. I spent a lot of time pointing out all the different spring flowers on the reserve and lent her my hand lens to see them closer. At the end she came up to me and thanked me very much and said that before the walk she had thought all yellow flowers were the same and that her dad was getting her a lens of her own. It is so special when you witness nature really touching someone’s life.
To read our first blog celebrating Volunteers' Week 2017 click here. If you'd like to find out how you can become involved in volunteering for us head over to our website here.