In Yorkshire, nobody does “summat for nowt”, so what do we get out of volunteering at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. To answer this question, I looked no further than the group I’ve been volunteering with on Barlow Common task days since November last year. I spent a day chatting with like-minded volunteers about their experiences. Everyone was saying that the reward of volunteering far exceeded their expectations.
The Volunteering Difference - A visit to Barlow Common Task Day
Telling our Story volunteer and Barlow Common Task Day Volunteer, Howard Roddie finds out why the Barlow Common task day volunteering team keeps coming back for more each fortnight.
Barlow Common Task Day Volunteers - Howard Roddie
Making it work for you
Keith Lister, has been volunteering with the YWT for 3 years. In addition to the fortnightly volunteer task days at Barlow, he is also the Barlow Common volunteer warden and leads task days when Dave Powell, our Living Landscape Officer, is not available. In his spare time, he also volunteers on task days at Sherburn Willows and Ledsham Bank. So, what does Keith get out of it?
Keith says the important thing is to make sure that volunteering works for you. So, unlike a “real” job you’re not compelled to be there all day, or even at all. You can start early, leave early, say “no” and take a break to chat with your fellow volunteers. This is something that is echoed in conversations with the other volunteers who look forward to the task day and enjoy the work but might not want to do it 5 days a week for the foreseeable future. It is not a chore, but something to look forward to.
Task Day Leader, Keith at Barlow Common - Howard Roddie
When he’s not volunteering on Task Days, Keith comes back to Barlow Common on other days as part of his volunteer warden role. On these days he does a bit of litter picking, meet and greet and “poo bag management” and an endless variety of other tasks.
Towards the end of the day, Keith told us he had chopped down his last tree. However, his enthusiasm got the better of him and we heard him shout ‘Timber’ several times more before we actually finished. Whilst chopping trees down might sound drastic, we were actually coppicing Hazel, Hawthorn and Alder that had grown tall and straggly to encourage more ground level growth. This will provide better habitat for wildlife and let more light through to ground level.
Barlow Common Task Day Volunteers - Howard Roddie
It's great for your health
If anyone says 'You can’t be doing it for t’good of your health' then most volunteers would disagree! Being able to get outside in all weather and work in beautiful natural spaces with like-minded people from different backgrounds is good for both physical and mental health. This is a point made by almost everybody. The combination of fresh air and physical work means you’ll sleep well for a start!
Most of the volunteers at Barlow Common are retired or semi-retired but all are full of energy and interested in nature. They can choose how they spend their time, and they choose to spend it here. The motivations for joining as volunteers vary amongst the group, for example, some heard a friend suggest it, others want to “give something back”, improve their mental health or just do their bit for nature.
People stay at Barlow Common because they get much more from it than they first expected. They may start volunteering for one reason, but quickly discover many other benefits!
Keith shares his knowledge of the geolocation tag - Howard Roddie
Connecting with nature
Volunteering with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on task days teaches us so much about nature. On our most recent Task day, we learnt about the best height to coppice Hawthorn, Alder and Hazel as well as how to identify the trees. This was new, even to Keith who found a geo-location tag in one of the trees and shared his knowledge with us before signing it.
By attending regularly, you get a feel for the rhythm of the seasons. On the previous task day, we coppiced some Hawthorn and we could see the new buds starting to shoot on the coppiced trees. Two weeks before, there would have been no green, two weeks later, there would be more to clear.
Volunteers work as a team to move logs - Howard Roddie
Being part of a team
There’s also the sense of teamwork and the feeling of a job well done, and also personal legacy. On a recent task day, Keith and I were carrying a large log to create a path boundary and we saw a branch sticking out over the path. Keith said we should probably cut it back. By the time we brought the next log, someone had already done it. We really are a team!
Finally, there are other opportunities - training courses and other roles for volunteers are highlighted on the website and in newsletters. Keith has taken full advantage to become a taskday leader and to learn Butterfly identification, Dry stone walling and Brush cutting amongst others. The experience you can gain volunteering for YWT would be impressive on anyone’s CV.
After a busy day the volunteers head home - Howard Roddie
What a difference a day makes
It always amazes me how much we’ve got done at the end of each volunteering Task Day. We always look back and see a real difference, Dave always explains the task at the beginning of the day, the reasons for doing it and how it fits into the ten-year plan for the site. We have created piles of wood that will not be broken down for at least 20 years, providing wildlife habitats for a long time to come.
We will be able to come back to see how it develops, and one day, maybe our grandchildren might be showing their grandchildren the difference we have made.