Volunteer Newsletter Spring 2016 What s inside? Team changes, updates from the rangers and more...
Lucy Buckingham Countryside News The wet start to the year caused a few access problems but the countryside team persevered with these challenges as they carried out their work. Hedges were laid in the Branscombe Orchard as well as our Lincombe and Lower Halsdon Farm sites and our coppicing work continued at Combe Woods, Honiton. A dead hedge was created along the roadside using some of the material cut during the coppicing work and Ben May (Forest Crafts) joined us in the woods to show us how the remaining material could be used to create charcoal. The charcoal burning course gave a fascinating insight into the craft and some of the challenges that we might face as we carry out this work. This springtime course also allowed the team to admire the fantastic display of bluebells that are blooming in the coppiced coupes (a coupe is the name of a section of wood, each section dated for coppicing work, so that no area being worked on effects surrounding areas, providing reserves for woodland species). As the ground conditions improved, the countryside team began carrying out repair work on the zigzag and Frogstone steps near Salcombe Regis in preparation for the summer walkers. To help visitors find their path, way marker signs have also been refreshed around Salcombe Hill. Now that spring has sprung, the team have started gearing up for the strimming work to ensure that the paths remain accessible for all. A big thank you to all of you that have helped out with these tasks, the sites are looking great as a result of your efforts. Introducing Kate Sparrow Hi! I would just like to take the opportunity to introduce myself properly - I m Kate Sparrow and I m the new seasonal Assistant Ranger at Branscombe. You ll be seeing me out and about undergoing general maintenance at our sites, helping out at events or working at the mill every now and then. I m really looking forward to getting stuck in and working with as many of you as possible over the coming months. I have a degree in Environmental Biology and I ve done lots of volunteering over the past few years with several different conservation organisations. Prior to my start in March, I was volunteering full-time as a ranger with the National Trust up in North Devon. I m hoping this experience will stand me in good stead, but I know that I still have lots to learn! In my spare time I m a keen horse rider and gardener and love to bake. I tend to spend as much time outdoors as possible, but when the weather is truly awful you ll most likely find me kicking back with a good book in front of the fire.
Introducing Megan My name is Megan and I ve just joined the National Trust countryside rangers at Branscombe, as a trainee ranger sponsored by the SVA. It s just been my first week as a volunteer and so far it s been pretty brilliant. I couldn t have asked for better weather on Tuesday. It was sunshine and blue skies, and we were working at Salcombe Hill perfect! The step repairs we were doing made for a really tiring day though Before I started my placement here, I worked as a selfemployed gardener. I think I ve always known that I wanted to work outdoors, and this is what led me to gardening initially. I found working as a gardener a really enjoyable experience, but often it could get a bit lonely. One thing I have really liked about the work I have done with the National Trust so far is being with the other volunteers. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, and it s really nice to talk and work with all kinds of different people. I think recently that I ve come to really appreciate the area in which we live, which I think is partly due to my involvement with Sidmouth gig rowing club. Often when I go out rowing I can see the coastline all the way along to Branscombe. It s amazing and I can t help but feel a real sense of awe at the beauty of it. It s really nice to know that I m helping manage this coastline so that other people can benefit from it and be inspired like I am every time I see it. I m really excited about the training and work I m going to be doing as part of this placement. I think the thing I m looking forward to most is getting my chainsaw license.. that and of course doing more step repairs in the sunshine.
Teaming up with the Sid Vale Association Griselda Shipp My position as a Volunteer Ranger is funded by the Sid Vale Association (SVA), a society that aims to protect the unique charm of Sidmouth and the surrounding area. So as part of my role, every Monday morning (except if it is really pouring it down!), I help out with a group of SVA volunteers who look after three fields in The Byes; Margaret s Meadow, Gilchrist Field and Livonia Field. The fields are very popular with locals and dog walkers, so it is important that we keep the area open and accessible to the public. We carry out a large range of work throughout the year, including tree planting, strimming, footpath maintenance, fence repairs and hedgelaying. During the summer months we tackle the invasive Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed that grows all along the river banks. We also maintain the Golden Copse, an area of trees planted in 2003 to celebrate the Queen s Golden Jubilee. In the winter, as well as the maintenance of The Byes, we carry out work at Soldier s Hill, a lovely area of woodland on the hill above Salcombe Regis. Usually this involves clearing bracken and brambles in order to make way for the wonderful display of bluebells in the spring. We are always looking for volunteers. Whether you would like to have a go at designing this newsletter, or would prefer getting out with one of our work parties looking after the coast paths, please do get in contact if you are interested in finding out more. We re also keen to recruit guides for Shute Barton and Manor Mill (Branscombe), alongside volunteer beach rangers. lucy.buckingham@nationaltrust.org.uk or 01297 680507
Team Talk Peter Blyth Lead Ranger The last few months have been a time of change for our team with some familiar faces leaving and new people joining. Some of these are covered elsewhere but I thought it would be useful to swiftly recap. Volunteer Ranger Chris Eyles (pony tail Chris) has secured an assistant ranger position with the Plym Bridge Raptor Watch point team. We have not yet replaced him but are currently recruiting for volunteer rangers. Assistant Ranger Suzie Robson has moved on, initially returning to Surrey and then we believe going travelling, she has been replaced in the team by Assistant Ranger Kate Sparrow who will be with us until the end of the October. Griselda Shipp will shortly come to the end of her placement as our SVA trainee ranger, though she will remain with the team for a few months yet, and we have recently welcomed Megan Rodgers as our new trainee. As Ruby remains on long term sick leave and will not return before mid June at the earliest, we are now joined by Leigh Philp who is on an 8 month secondment from Cragside to cover for Ruby and then share duties with her for a few months. In the wider team our Marcomms officer Sarah Jones will shortly be leaving to focus on her consultancy business, and this role is being recruited as I write. And lastly following a Trust wide review of Rural Surveying, we are very pleased to be joined by Sophie Fitzgerald the new Estates Manager for South and East Devon and the English Riveria. The EM s job is to manage the let estate (ie houses and farms) the income from which is an important part of the funding of our work. Leigh is joining us for 8 months
Peter Blyth You said / we did You will probably remember the volunteer survey that some of you filled in last September. When we looked at the results I was really glad to see that most of you seem happy in your volunteering, in fact we had nearly 100% (combined agree and strongly agree) for the would you recommend volunteering with the Trust to a friend which was excellent to see. That said we are very aware that no one is perfect and there is always room for improvement, and since the survey returned we have been working to address any concerns raised, which I will briefly cover here. You said: You d like more training to help you perform your role We did: Charcoal training for our practical volunteers, a first aid course for everybody, and tour guide training for our mill and shute volunteers. There is also a supplementary questionnaire included with this newsletter to help us get a clearer picture of who needs what. The one word of caution I d give is that training is really expensive ( for example a chainsaw course costs 700 for the training and assessment plus another 400 for the PPE), and I sadly don t have a magical money tree growing in my office so we will have to make some hard choices about what we spend our limited resources on, and we won t necessarily be able to give everyone everything they ask for. You said: The strimming overalls are often dirty, smelly and badly fitting, and generally not fit for purpose We did: We have just placed an order for new overalls for each of strimmer operators, these will be issued to you so you can take them home and wash and dry them as necessary. You said: The gloves are too big for those with small hands (in particular ladies) and also are often not in good condition We did: We have ordered some ladies gloves as well as new men s ones, and again each of you will be issued a pair to keep and take care of, which will avoid the problems with them being put away wet You said: The tools aren t always fit for purpose We did: we ve bought new blades throughout and will replace these much more regularly, we ve also ordered more tools where we are short. With the more expensive kit like strimmers and chainsaws it simply isn t practical to replace these as often as some of you suggest, but we have a program of phased replacement and are buying a new saw and a new strimmer each year so kit should never be more than 5 years old. You can also help us address this by making sure tools aren t left wet or dirty at the end of a task, and by making sure everything is put away properly at the end of each day.
You said / we did You said: There is too much strimming and grass cutting in the summer We did: We ve looked at this, but in all honesty there isn t much that we can do, there is a lot of grass cutting true, but this is simply because a lot is necessary to maintain access and ensure standards of presentation. Lucy is producing the task diary two months ahead now, so that those of you who don t like certain activities can pick and choose which tasks you attend. You said: I d like to be more involved with planning work We did: It s a tricky one this as we aren t sure who said or if they were even an East Devon volunteer (our results are combined with South Devon s). We have involved beach ranger Di and Georgie in the planning of the summer events, we have involved both Shute and Mill volunteers in planning changes to the respective tours and/or interpretation/leaflets. If anyone else feels they d like to be involved in planning work or indeed any other aspect please do get in touch so we can have a chat. We will repeat the you said / we did next time to keep the discussion live, but in the meantime if there s anything else you d like to talk about please do feel free to give me a call. Questions? Let us know what you think... Whatever it is we always love to hear from you, you can call us on 01297 680507 or email any member of the team using firstname.surname@nationaltrust.org.uk. Good at design? Are you creative? We would like to appoint a volunteer editor for this newsletter so that it can really be by volunteers, for volunteers. The right candidate will be someone who has access to indesign at home, so they can edit the branded template easily. Training can be provided if necessary. If you think you fit the bill give us a call on 01297 680507 to discuss further. Until next time!