Just sat down to write a new blog post about what's new on the reserve when Kerry and I hear a whistling outside the office. Upon investigating, we see a guy propping up his rather unusual bike against the wall...
It turned out to be Gary Prescott, a special needs teacher, who is cycling to all the RSPB's reserves in a year. He started on January 1st from his local reserve, Sandwell Valley, and is planning to finish, a year and some 5,000 miles later, in Sandy at the RSPB's UK headquarters...before heading back to Sandwell to complete the circle. In doing this amazing trip, he's raising money for the RSPB, Asthma UK and the WWT. He's also visiting EcoSchools along the way and hoping to see over 250 bird species in order to break the current non-motorised UK year list. I believe he's now on 196!
Gary arrived at Coombes (his 77th reserve so far) right on schedule. He volunteered here for 8 weeks in 1979, when the residential volunteers lived in the cottage at Clough meadow. It was great to chat to him and hear his stories. What a trip! Really inspirational.
We wish him all the best for the rest of his trip! Bon voyage Gary!
(L-R: Kerry, Gary and Heather)
Have a look at Gary's website for more info including details of his route:
http://www.bikingbirder.co.uk/
You can also read about Gary's trip on his blog http://bikingbirder2010.blogspot.com/
Looking forward to seeing what he writes about Coombes Valley and how it's changed since he volunteered here!