Developing our volunteering programme

Our fabulous army of volunteers helps us with all aspects of creating and managing the Forest, including tree planting, wildlife surveying and assisting with our education delivery programmes.

 
During COVID-19, practical volunteering activities had to be suspended, but we used this time to develop and futureproof our programme. As part of this work, we are thrilled to welcome Ian, Ramsay, Steve and Alan, our new Volunteer Leaders who will help to lead volunteer work parties across the Forest. 

All regular Forest volunteers already, they applied and interviewed for the positions, and all demonstrated the enthusiasm, skill, and knowledge to fulfil the requirements of these key roles. With training and support from our Volunteer Manager, Jonathan, to help develop their skills and knowledge to lead volunteers, our Volunteer Leaders are now ready to begin supporting our volunteer activities. 

Meet our Volunteer Leaders

Ian

What inspired you to get involved with the Forest?
“I have worked in education for 30-odd years but have always had a great interest in the natural world, the countryside, and outdoor pursuits like orienteering. When I saw a volunteering opportunity with the Forest advertised in my local area three years ago, it suited me perfectly. I managed to release a bit of time from where I was working so I could volunteer twice a week, and it was just great being out and doing something positive for the environment.”

What is your favourite thing about volunteering here?
“There are so many positive things – I love meeting, working with and learning from people like Jonathan who has such great knowledge of the countryside. I am also so appreciative to do something positive for the world – even on a cold, rainy day like today, you just have a smile on your face at the end of a session knowing you have made a small difference. I also love the variety of tasks we get to do as volunteers, from helping to plant trees to forest maintenance and wildlife surveys – there are so many dimensions to the work we are involved with.” 

Is there anything specific that drew you to the Volunteer Leader position?
“I wanted to bring my education skills to a role that I think is so important. I am excited to have the opportunity to help other volunteers get involved and to experience the great work the charity is doing.” 

How have you found the training for the role?
“Despite most of it being online due to COVID-19, Jonathan has made it really interesting and engaging. As the restrictions have relaxed a little, I was also able to meet with the other three Volunteer Leaders for a first aid course. We have been able to take small groups of five out so far, but I am looking forward to the restrictions easing further and being able to take larger groups into the Forest.”

Ramsay

What inspired you to get involved with the Forest?
“I have always been interested in the natural world and have been supporting wildlife charities in my local area from about 2007. I first heard about the Heart of England Forest when they began planting a woodland behind my house and began volunteering with them in January 2017.”

What is your favourite thing about volunteering here?
“The camaraderie of the volunteers and staff, the variety of jobs we get to do and just getting to be in the outdoors – no matter what the weather!” 

Is there anything specific that drew you to the Volunteer Leader position?
“There is an ever-expanding need for more volunteers to fulfil the amount of activity required to maintain the growing Forest. This role seemed like a great opportunity to support the charity in achieving its long-term goals.”

How have you found the training for the role?
“Jonathan has put a lot of work and thought into the provision of the training. We have all learnt so much that will help us excel in our new roles.” 

Steve

What inspired you to get involved with the Forest?
“I first got into volunteering with the Forest back in 2017 after I retired from full-time work as a finance manager. I was looking for something meaningful and physical to occupy myself with that was a bit different to what I had been doing. 

It may sound like a bit of a cliché, but my generation really messed up the planet and the least I can do with my last few years here is to try and put something right in a tiny way! I will not get to see the benefits of the tree planting we are doing now, but my grandchildren and future generations will.” 

What is your favourite thing about volunteering here?
“I like getting out and about and meeting like-minded people. In terms of the tasks, my favourite is tree planting which I really missed doing this year. I also like removing the tree guards – it is a way of saying to the tree: “Right, we’ve nurtured you for all these years and you’re on your own now, it’s all up to you!”

Is there anything specific that drew you to the Volunteer Leader position?
“I have been in managerial positions in my working life, so the role suited me, and I wanted to become a bit more involved in the volunteering programme.”

How have you found the training for the role?
“It has all been online so far, but it has been great to see the emphasis on safeguarding and health and safety. Our first few volunteering sessions have been quite quiet because of restrictions and the weather, but I am looking forward to putting my training to good use when we can have more people out in different areas of the Forest.” 

Alan

What inspired you to get involved with the Forest?
“I was born in the early years of the 1950’s and raised in the heartland of the post-industrial ‘Black Country’. During this time, I came to observe the way nature, given the opportunity, can return to reclaim the countryside. I spent most of my working years in Birmingham, so any opportunity to get out into the countryside was always taken, therefore being out in the natural environment was and still is very important to me.”

What is your favourite thing about volunteering here?
“It is very hard to narrow it down to one aspect. Meeting and socialising with others, passing on skills and knowledge, working in the Forest and carrying out biodiversity surveys would all be there. But if pushed for one specific it would have to be the surveying and monitoring of dragonflies and damselflies.”

Is there anything specific that drew you to the Volunteer Leader position?
“Over my time with the charity, I have had the opportunity and pleasure of taking small groups of volunteers out whilst undertaking surveys of dragonflies and damselflies, surveying and monitoring the growth of heather and, with another volunteer, assisting the Learning and Skills team by taking work experience students out surveying. So, when the opportunity came up to become a Volunteer Leader and enable more volunteers to get out and about in these trying times, it seemed the ideal next step for me.”

How have you found the training for the role?
“The training we undertook was mostly online due to COVID-19, with only one forestry practical section and a first aid course being undertaken with others. The training was very straight forward and well prepared by the Volunteer Manager. I found it very rewarding and would recommend it to other volunteers if the opportunity arose.”

The future of volunteering

We warmly welcome Ian, Ramsay, Steve, and Alan to the Forest team, and look forward to working together to continue growing and maintaining the Forest.

As part of our Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF) project, we will be shortly looking to recruit and train a further two Volunteer Leaders to continue to grow the scope and potential of our volunteer programme. These important positions will allow us to have dedicated groups of volunteers out working across the entire Forest, enabling us to achieve even more with volunteering in the Forest.