Parklife Autumn

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A decade of volunteering at Nene Park Trust It is hard to believe that we have been welcoming volunteers to Nene Park Trust for the last ten years. Where has the time gone? Over the last decade, volunteers have become integral to the day-to-day running of Nene Park Trust. We can do more for our visitors and wildlife because of their dedicated support and we can’t thank them enough! Let’s go back to the beginning... Just over ten years’ ago, Nene Park Trust started to think about working with and alongside volunteers and conservation volunteering seemed a good place to start. The very first session took place on 5 October 2011. The day of the first session arrived and we were a bit nervous. Would the volunteers turn up? What would they be like? Would they like it? Within five minutes, the volunteers’ enthusiasm, hard work and banter was plain to see and we haven’t looked back since. We were up and running with a team of 5 volunteers. Due to its popularity, conservation volunteering expanded rapidly from one session a month to now three session a week. We now have over 60 conservation volunteers and this is by far our most popular volunteer role at the Trust. These volunteers support the Park Management Team with the day to day upkeep and maintenance of the Park. Over the years they have helped replace the Boardwalk in Bluebell Wood, coppiced hazel and willow, felled and planted trees, and cut, raked and burned reeds on Ham Mere, to name but a few tasks. Perhaps you have seen our volunteers in their blue polo shirts and fleeces working hard in and around Nene Park. New volunteer roles have followed over the years and we now have 150 volunteers supporting us across 17 roles. We are very proud that we still have a good number of our original volunteers as well as making new volunteers very welcome. Here is what some of our volunteers say about their volunteering experience at Nene Park Trust: Rachel Hill said “I am a conservation volunteer. We meet every two weeks for conservation projects throughout the Park. I’ve been part of the team since last summer and I really enjoy it. You don’t always know what you’re going to be doing till you get there (sometimes it’s weather dependent!) but I really love getting stuck in and seeing the difference a small group of us can make to an area in just a few hours. It’s great to meet people from all walks of life and I’d recommend getting involved to anyone.” Lilian Paine said “We are fortunate to have such a beautiful park, so to give something back makes me feel happy. A friend asked about becoming a volunteer and what it was like and my reply was that it’s great camaraderie and banter and also a great sense of achievement. I look forward to the variety of roles and have met some lovely people.” 6
Thank you so much to all our volunteers, past and present – you bring so much to the Park. Education volunteers support our youngest visitors in Nature Tots sessions. Volunteer Rangers patrol across the Nene Park estate; they are our eyes and ears in the Park, reporting any issues to the Duty Rangers. Wildlife Survey volunteers go out on their weekly walks looking for birds, butterflies, moths and wildflowers. This is vital work in understanding the biodiversity within Nene Park and helps us plan for the Park’s future. Visitor Centre and Deli/Farm shop volunteers play an important role, as they are very much the face of Nene Park Trust helping our visitors with enquires and selling merchandise and products. Audio volunteers record readings of our written publications to make them accessible for those who would prefer to listen to our news rather than read it! Our Hit Squad work with our Park Management Team on more specialist Park maintenance tasks. Other volunteer roles include Photography, Firewood, Woodcrafts, Events, Administration, Longthorpe Tower Guide Leaders and Housekeepers, Nene Outdoors and Woodlands site support. And the opportunities will continue to grow! Over the years, we have tried hard to create a sense of community among Nene Park Volunteers. We do not take our volunteers for granted and are extremely grateful for their time, energy and expertise; we offer volunteers training courses to upskill within their volunteer roles. It is great to be able to offer our volunteers a chance to meet other volunteers from different roles and so over the years we have been on visits to National Trust sites, looked behind the scenes at other Country Parks, held quizzes and curry nights, offered dawn chorus and bat walks and more recently held a picnic and rounders match on Coney Meadow. A firm favourite with our volunteers is the annual summer BBQ and Christmas meal. We look forward to the next 10 years and the growth of volunteering opportunities in the Park, through the Your Community Greenspace project. Carol Rosbrook said “It’s lovely to hear people around the Park say ‘thank you’ for what you are doing to keep the Park clean and tidy. I often get asked what it is like volunteering at Nene Park Trust.” In 2019 we were proud to be awarded the Investing in Volunteers quality standard mark where our work in volunteer management was assessed and recognised. 7
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Parklife Autumn

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