Newsletter - Summer 2009 Volunteering Special
Contents of this edition:
Volunteer’s Week
Volunteer’s Week celebrates its 25th birthday this year. It runs from 1st to 7th June, and is an opportunity to thank the many volunteers who freely give their time to help their neighbours, their communities and their local environment, as well as encouraging more people to become volunteers. On Wednesday 3rd June GAVO will host the annual Volunteer Achievement Awards at the Glan yr Afon Hotel at Usk. The award for Environment Volunteer is sponsored this year by Monmouthshire GreenWeb.
A Cabinet Office survey in 1997 found that nearly 60% of the people they questioned had volunteered their time in the previous year, and the most common reason given for volunteering was to improve things, or help people. ICM research from 2004 found that volunteering improves health, particularly mental health and reduces stress levels. Employers view volunteering by their staff positively because it brings new skills to the workforce and demonstrates their commitment to the local community.
Most of the groups that are members of Monmouthshire GreenWeb are reliant to some extent on volunteers. Some of these are campaigners, others get stuck in and collect litter, improve footpaths and manage habitats. Some arrange events to promote Fairtrade arrangements with people far away in other countries and cultures, some make the tea and cakes that keep other volunteers going. All volunteers are equally valued ambassadors for their group, helping to spread the word that our environment; protecting the planet and the people that inhabit it, is important and worth supporting.
Monmouthshire would be a poorer place without them. Thank you to the many, many people who give time freely to make Monmouthshire a better place.
Monmouthshire Countryside Service Volunteers
I have been the Countryside Volunteer Coordinator for Monmouthshire Countryside Service for just over a year now. I work two and a half days a week and in that time I try and cover the huge variety of volunteer-related jobs.
We have about 140 volunteers on our books working on all sorts of projects. Pathcare volunteers check and carry out minor maintenance on promoted routes three or four times a year, while rights of way maintenance volunteers go out one day each week installing gates or undertaking other practical tasks with the field wardens. There are voluntary wardens at Caldicot Castle Country Park, Coastal Access volunteers, people surveying and waymarking paths and others helping with activities or leading guided walks. Many have been volunteering for years, and there have been plenty of new applications recently.
I have an overview of all the different projects, and after a year I think I have just about got to grips with what everyone is doing. Each project has its own supervisor, and I work with them to try to ensure that there is some consistency across all the projects. All new volunteers have to go through the application process, and can then receive training and claim expenses. I am currently working to simplify the paperwork, as I am aware that this is something which puts people off.
I produce a regular newsletter for volunteers and have also run a number of training days for volunteers working on paths. I set up any other training which is required, which currently includes manual handling for the ROW maintenance volunteers, and first aid and leading walks and activities for people who would like to contribute to the countryside events programme.
Mine is a busy job and quite frustrating at times, but ultimately very rewarding. I am very grateful to all the people willing to give their time, energy and expertise to improving Monmouthshire’s countryside. It is not always easy matching up what people want to do with what is available, and it is surprising how much work is required behind the scenes printing out maps and instructions, and ensuring training and health and safety provisions are in place. Is it worth it? Overall I think the answer is ‘yes’. Without volunteers we wouldn’t be able to do nearly as much, and they get benefits too such as exercise in the fresh air, getting out to parts of the county they might not otherwise see and often a great satisfaction in knowing that they are ‘putting something back’.
If you would like to know more about volunteering with Monmouthshire Countryside Service please contact Morag Sinton, Countryside Volunteer Coordinator, Monmouthshire County Council, County Hall, Cwmbran, NP44 2XH. Phone 01633 644663. Email moragsinton@monmouthshire.gov.uk
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Wye Valley Society Litterpick
As part of their campaign to enhance the Wye Valley AONB by keeping it tidy for residents and welcoming to visitors, members of the Wye Valley Society put on their hi-vis jackets and stout gloves and set to work in Monmouth's Chippenham Fields one Sunday in May. With the blessing of Monmouthshire County Council who provided the litterpick sticks and biodegradable bags, the WVS volunteers filled half a dozen sacks.
Matthew Hall, Deputy Chairman of the Wye Valley Society, reported that their efforts were encouraged by many passers-by: "On a sunny Spring morning and with the right equipment it was a pleasure, and so very rewarding to see Chippenham Fields looking so tidy!"
Residents throughout the Wye Valley are encouraged to organise local litter picks. Just ask your Council offices if you can borrow the equipment, and the Wye Valley Society will be delighted to help.
The Wye Valley Society works to protect, enhance and promote the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and to increase public involvement in and understanding of our unique landscape. You can find out more about WVS and join the Society by emailing membership@wyevalleysociety.org.uk Back to news index
Volunteering After Redundancy – the antidote to senility
Fifteen years ago, a planner in a rut with no prospects of further promotion, I reached an early retirement deal (euphemism for redundancy) with a County Council that was seeking to make savings, as now. Redundancy in your fifties can be a major setback, and a new job may be your top priority, but if your income is sufficient you might consider volunteering your time and expertise as I did. Even if you aim to get back into work, volunteering is better than golf or gardening for keeping your brain active and inter-personal skills tuned up, and it will strengthen your CV with new experiences.
Thus I first helped to form the Abergavenny Cycle Group, dedicated to promoting safe cycling, and was asked to chair the Gwent Committee for the Environment. This led to a GAVO invitation to be a joint chair of MCC’s liaison committee with the voluntary sector, and that meant getting involved in matters as diverse as planning for health and well-being and assessing bids for European funding. Government nowadays wants to entrust many tasks to partnerships with voluntary sector representation, and willing people with relevant public sector or business experience are hard to find.
I seem to have learned more in fifteen years of volunteering than in the previous fifteen years of work, and it has been much more fun. I hope I have contributed something of value as well. Volunteering is up to you – you decide how much fits your lifestyle, but you should be just as dependable in your voluntary work as if you were being paid. I now give most of my volunteering time to trying to make the Abergavenny area’s Community Forum more effective, helping with the GreenWeb web site and to Adventa, the rural development partnership.
A new Adventa project, replacing Rural Community Action, will be encouraging the creation of more community enterprises, not-for-profit businesses providing local services. With the public sector shrinking, this form of community self-help will become increasingly important, and these enterprises need help in many ways, from van driving to being trustees.
Whether you are planting trees or ideas, volunteering is rewarding in so many ways. Many of GreenWeb’s member organisations want more volunteer help, so give it a go. If you don’t like your first choice, you can easily move on to something else.
Searching for Diamonds in the Landscape - Could this be YOU?
The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was designated in 1971 and recognised some of the most beautiful lowland scenery in Britain, creating a unique protected landscape area which straddles the border between England and Wales. It includes areas within Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. The 44 mile/72km stretch of the River Wye winds down the valley through spectacular limestone gorge scenery and dense ravine woodlands. Superb wildlife, intriguing archaeological and industrial remains and impressive geological features all make it into one of the most fascinating Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The 60th Anniversary of the Act of Parliament that led to the designation of National Parks and AONBs has provided a superb opportunity for a combined ‘Diamonds in the Landscape’ celebration. AONBs and National Parks are using this landmark year to not only look back to past achievements but also to encourage interest in current issues and challenges facing protected landscapes over the next 60 years and beyond.
The Wye Valley AONB Unit is also celebrating this notable date by searching for our own Diamonds in the Landscape. We are looking for people who were born sixty years ago and who live, work or have been concerned with our special area and who are sixty this year. We would like to find people to represent all the counties as well as England and Wales. We intend to publish their achievements and contribution to this special landscape.
To start the celebration we have located two superb diamonds. Author and playwright Jon Hurley and his wife, historian and author Heather from Hoarwithy, Herefordshire are well known for their contribution to the Wye Valley. Heather’s informative and popular walks are valued as is her contribution to local history publications as in the recently published Landscape Origins of the Wye Valley. If you know someone who has made a significant difference to the environment, business, conservation, arts or tourism or has just shown interest and support for the landscape please let us know by contacting Nikki Moore, Information Officer on 01600 710846
Help us cherish our landscape. After all “Diamonds are Forever” - if properly cared for.
Assembly invests £405,000 to get young people volunteering
The Welsh Assembly Government is investing £405,000 in a scheme aimed at making volunteering ‘a natural activity’ for young people. Announcing the award for the GwirVol initiative, Minister for Social Justice and Local Government Dr Brian Gibbons said it was hoped the programme would put youth volunteering on the map and make it a key development for the country’s social and economic future.
GwirVol is a partnership of 20 organisations from the public, private and third sectors including Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), which will administer the scheme.
It will be led by young people themselves through GwirForce - a panel that sits on the partnership and is supported by Youth Volunteer Advisors in each of the 22 Welsh local authority areas.
Dr Gibbons added: ‘The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to supporting young people's involvement in communities. As a Government, we have a great deal of admiration and respect for young people in Wales and know that many already volunteer’.
‘While it is a partnership from the voluntary, community, public and private sectors, it will be led by the views of young people in Wales. The aim of the initiative is to achieve a sustained step change to youth volunteering in Wales through the involvement and leadership of young people.’
Two grant schemes are available; project funding of up to £10,000 for activities that will lead to a wide range of new and innovative opportunities for young people from 16 to 24 to volunteer, and funding of up to £5000 for promoting volunteering to young people by for example holding events or exhibitions or organising visits or websites. Full details and application packs are available on the WCVA website.
Volunteering keeps you healthy
The Wye Valley offers a great opportunity to any volunteer wishing not only to work on conservation tasks but also to help with a wide range of activities undertaken by the AONB Unit based in Monmouth. Over 16 conservation volunteers already help with a variety of tasks throughout the area.
‘There is a lot out there to do – so why not do it!’ are words expressed with real feeling by Martin Setchel, a volunteer who works alongside Sarah Sawyer Wye Valley AONB Community Links Officer working on conservation tasks and projects within the Wye Valley AONB. Volunteers can work on a range of landscape and wildlife conservation tasks, including scrub clearance, tree planting, hedging, stone walling and meadow management. During the last year volunteers have been involved in coppicing at Coppett Hill, stonewalling at Brockweir Common and management of scrub for adder conservation at Wet Meadow, Monmouthshire. Conservation volunteer tasks are held once a month which can be an excellent way to learn a new skill, keep fit and healthy, meet new people and increase knowledge about the landscape and wildlife that make it so special.
Morris Jones, a conservation volunteer for seven years described what motivates him, ‘Giving something back,’ he says without hesitation ‘I have also formed great friendships with other volunteers who I may not otherwise have met.’
If you enjoy walking, the AONB Unit are currently seeking a dedicated volunteer team who would like to focus on the popular Walk this Wye book. The walks described are varied but commonly start and end with a link to public transport. As a ‘Walk this Wye’ volunteer you can help by suggesting new routes, checking the routes regularly and form part of a group that focus on creating new walks for the 2010 publication.
Occasionally there are other opportunities to help within the Unit organisation throughout the year. These can include; helping at events, exhibitions and promotions; assisting as a back marker on guided walks; or aiding with marketing, publicity or the distribution of our publications. Liz and Dave Berry are volunteers who have been indispensable in helping distribute publications for several years. We are always looking for new contacts and venues for distributing all our publications.
If you have spare time, an inclination to keep fit and a desire make your contribution to one of the most beautiful lowland landscapes in Great Britain then please contact us. Volunteers are highly regarded for the contribution they make and we feel gain a lot from their fantastic efforts. You could also make a difference and we might well make a huge difference to you.
For more details about volunteering contact the Community Links Officer Sarah Sawyer on 01600710844 or email community@wyevalleyaonb.org.uk
Work Placements for Environment Jobs
Are you interested in the environment? Do you want to find out about how environmental organisations work? Would you like to try working in the environmental field? Are you thinking of joining a committee?
The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) offers support to work placements, shadowing and volunteering in the environmental sector for minority groups. A variety of activities are available, for example visitor survey; conservation surveys; communications; events; interpretation & information; office administration; footpaths; committees and sustainable development.
Brecon Beacons National Park Authority are delivering the scheme on behalf of CCW for further information please contact work.placement@breconbeacons.org or Clare Parsons 01874 620434.
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***Stop Press *** Training for Volunteer Walk Leaders
Monmouthshire County Council is running training days for volunteers who would like to help to lead walks or activities. They are keen to expand the pool of people who can do this so that more can be offered in the Countryside Events programme and perhaps also contribute to the 2010 Monmouthshire Walking Festival.
They are very keen to hear from anyone who has a favourite route that they would like to share with others, or have a specialist subject or local knowledge they could pass on. Or volunteers may be happy to help with a walk or to run an activity for families. There is plenty of scope for getting involved as two people are needed for each activity or walk, and at least one of those must have first aid training.
The training currently planned is:
· 18th June 2009 Emergency First Aid, 9.15am – 5pm, Bridges Community Centre, Monmouth. Leader Sarah Jones, First Aid International. · 20th June 2009 Activities and Guided Walk Leaders training, 9.30am – 3pm, Bridges Community Centre, Monmouth. Leader Anney Thornton Wood, Cambium Sustainable Landscapes and Training.
Volunteers can attend either day or both, and it is hoped that it will be possible to run them again later in the year if these dates aren’t possible.
Walk or activity leaders must generally attend the Activities and Guided Walk Leaders training. The first aid training is optional, but will give you greater choice for a second person for the activity.
If you don’t want to lead an activity but would be happy to help as the second person, MCC would like you to attend the Activities and Walk Leaders training so that you are aware of what is expected of an activity. Again, the first aid training is optional, but it would be helpful to have it as there must be at least one first aider on each walk or activity.
The first aid training meets the HSE regulations for Appointed Persons. If you can provide us with a copy of a valid first aid certificate at this level or above, you will not need to attend this training as well. Please let me know if this is the case.
Please contact Morag Sinton Countryside Volunteer Coordinator, 01633 644663 or email moragsinton@monmouthshire.gov.uk by Tuesday 9th June if you would like to attend these training days. Please also contact me if you would like further information or have any questions or if you are interested but can’t come this time.
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