Journal of a volunteer
Ever wondered what is involved in becoming a volunteer? read the journal below to find out.
November 2008
| Wed 12th |
Jim and I saw the photos in the cabin and realised that, whilst we had been on holiday, we had missed out on a muddy job that of extending the ice pond in preparation for the creation of the new pond dipping station. Steph drove Frances and me down Marbury Lane to the 'bomb holes'. We walked over to the bird hide on Neumann's Flash and Steph climbed over the adjacent fence. We duly followed with somewhat less agility as befits our more advanced years. Steph nipped down the bund, whilst we found a gentler slope onto the lime beds. Armed with nothing more than gloves three women were ready to pull, weeds that is. To provide a suitable nesting site for waders, the beach needed to be almost clear of vegetation. The main invaders were rose-bay willow herb and hemp agrimony, which lifted from the limestone chippings relatively easily. Birch saplings and young dogwood were more resistant. By the end of the morning, our gloves were wet and slimy, our trousers were wet and spattered with lime and our boots were white, but visitors to the hide commented on our conservation work.
Five of us worked alongside Dave between the main car park and the canal at Anderton as he felled willows that were shading out the young limes that line the approach road. Our task was to load brash onto the trailer, being sure to follow health and safety procedures: wearing hazard jackets, working within the carefully placed traffic cones and warning other members of the public of the dangers.
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| Thur 13th |
Rhody bashing was back near the canal in Hopyards Wood. A couple of rangers, four FoAM volunteers, two very enthusiastic schoolboys and their two staff members worked for most of the day. Drizzle and a complete lack of wind delayed the start of a fire, but energetic fanning by the lads encouraged the flames and we were in business. A lost schnauzer created a diversion in the late afternoon. Luckily his owners had put their mobile numbers on his collar and we were able to reunite them with their pet and put an end to their frantic searching. |
| Wed 19th |
Yesterday a dangerous oak was spotted at the corner of the field near the top of the slipway. The trunk had branched out at about six feet from the ground creating an inclusion. There was a huge crack, through which daylight could be seen, running from that point down towards the ground and it was only a matter of time before the tree split apart. Five volunteers were there to help Chris, firstly to remove the strands of wire fencing that had enclosed the cattle. This would open up some space to receive the falling limbs. The barbed wire proved most difficult, especially when we wanted to coil it tidily away, so that it could be reinstated later. Some nearby sycamores had dead branches hanging perilously over the paths as a result of squirrel damage. Whilst Chris got to work with his chain saw, we stationed ourselves on the surrounding paths to ensure that walkers and horse riders were diverted from the danger. The crack in the trunk closed once it was relieved of its branches. We cleared the paths of brash and logs ready for chipping or transporting with the tractor tomorrow. The two main branches were not going to move without the aid of some more equipment, but Chris had brought them down to lie beside the path and there they will stay for a while. As the light faded a group of us gathered at Neumann's Flash to watch Vernon's estimate of 10 thousand starlings darkening the sky with their swirling aerial dance, before funnelling into the reeds to roost with a mighty whoosh. It was a memorable sight.
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| Thur 20th |
Dave had a special job for me - emptying the charcoal burner. Joanne and Jim volunteered their services and we donned masks and gloves in preparation for the dirtiest of tasks. Jim shovelled the charcoal into our purpose made riddle, which Ray had constructed. Joanne and I riddled, graded and bagged. We stowed the dozen bags in the shed, tidying and stapling those already there. With all the bags neatly stacked, we need some fine barbecue weather to encourage sales of our superior product, perhaps next year. |
| Wed 26th |
The weather was kind, with only a hint of rain. Unfortunately there was very little wind, which isn't helpful when trying to light a bonfire. Chris's "Fire and Aliens" event at the weekend had left a huge pile of rhododendron still to be burnt near the tree-climbing oaks. Four of us worked all morning, but just Vernon and I, the two resident pyromaniacs, were left in the afternoon. We had to remove most of the branches from the smoky heap and it took us more than an hour to bring the fire back to life, so that we could start adding more material. We finally had a blaze and began to complain about the heat as well as the smoke. We had to moan about something. At the end of the day we had a few burning embers and no sign of the rhododendron pile. |
| Thurs 27th |
Peter organised six volunteers on the Carey Park lime beds. This is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and, in order to conserve the particular fauna and flora, we needed to help control the growth of trees. The Hebridean sheep earlier spent six weeks on the site as part of the solution. Pete advised us that creeping willow was one of the special species, but that we should cut back other willow, silver birch and hawthorn. The big problem was identification now that there were no leaves to help us. We were only confident that we knew which ones were hawthorns and they were the nasty ones to handle. Let's hope that the orchids, dingy skippers and unusual snails appreciate our efforts, as it was hard to see what improvements we'd made to this sparse vegetation. With the threat of heavy rain in the afternoon, we looked for tidying and maintenance jobs in the shelter of the yard. Dave got to work with the circular saw to produce logs for the next charcoal burn. Diana, Ian and Maria brought out axes to split the logs into appropriate sizes, whilst I stood well back with the camera. |
Mary - Volunteer
Click here to read July's entry
Click here to read August's entry
Click here to read September's entry
Click here to read October's entry
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A cracking oak - before
And after
Splitting logs
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