Pictures taken at the volunteering event for November 2008. Quite a difference! There was a record turnout of 20 for this event, including 5 volunteers (who are or were) members of Fleet Lions. Interestingly, The Lions is the largest voluntary organisation in the world! Anyway, many thanks to all who turned up. The next such volunteer event will be on Sunday 14th December.
Beth Pipe (above) writes:
A few weeks ago three of us (myself and, left to right, Richard Bennett and Steve Pipe below) decided to venture out onto the pond to collect rubbish. So we donned our best wellies and life jackets, grabbed the boat from the workshop and off we went. Well I say we donned our best wellies – one of our number decided to attempt the feat wearing only trainers – which presented many muddy athletic challenges!
We dragged the boat round to the launch point and those of us with wellies pushed the boat out into the water. Those of us wearing only trainers got to sit in the boat and watch all the hard work!
The first thing we realised was how shallow the pond really is. There was only the three of us in a flat bottomed boat, but it was just about impossible to row anywhere near the edges of the pond. The problem was particularly bad around the end of Brookly stream and at Sandy Bay. In fact the picture of Sandy Bay below was taken at a point about as near as we dared try rowing in.
We managed to get right up to the edges of the reed beds though and collected plenty of rubbish – mostly the sorts of things you’d expect; empty beer cans, carrier bags, discarded tennis balls, random bits of wood etc. We did find one birthday balloon still partly inflated and, rather more worryingly, one used syringe.
The worst area for rubbish is at the end of Brookly Stream – but as I mentioned it’s impossible to access this area by boat. Unfortunately it’s also just about impossible to access it from land as well so, sadly, the rubbish in that area will have to remain there for now. In an age when the recycling and save the planet messages are so loud and clear it’s quite sad to see so much litter still discarded and damaging the environment – and especially some of the more vulnerable wildlife.
Whilst we were in the boat we took the opportunity to visit the many islands on the pond – it’s nice to see things from a different angle and it’s clear that these islands provide a wonderful haven to many birds. Talking of birds, at one stage we saw 7 herons in a cluster of treetops. Unfortunately our camera wasn’t of a high enough resolution to capture them all, but it was certainly very impressive to see.
We also checked out the newly installed Tern Islands and evidence of their use was very clear – which is excellent news.
We’ll try to get out in the boat again next year after the nesting season for another litter patrol – maybe if there are fewer of us we can get closer in to the edges – particularly at Brookly Stream. It’s not the most glamorous of jobs, though rowing around the pond was fun (and quite tiring after the first hour or so – maybe we can interest Sir Steve Redgrave in helping out next time?). We landed one big black bag of rubbish so it was a job well worth doing – but if would be so much nicer if there was no litter in the first place.
Fleet Pond Society organises and runs a series of volunteer conservation activities at the Pond. The next conservation task is this coming Sunday, November 9.
If you have never been before and fancy trying it, please just turn up (details here) or else give Colin Gray a call on 01252 616183, who will be delighted to provide additional information.
Speaking from personal experience, new volunteers are made very welcome and there is a very nice friendly atmosphere overall. Tools and advice are available – you even get tea/coffee and cakes in the mid-morning break!
Interestingly the volunteers have a very wide range of ages, backgrounds and interests. To give a flavour of this, we will occasionally provide ’spotlights’ on volunteers to explain their motivations for getting involved and what they get out of it.
Hopefully this will be an additional motivation to readers of the blog to come along and give it a go – it’s a very rewarding way of spending a Sunday morning!
Further information on volunteer events and ‘spotlight’ volunteers can be found by searching this blog.
Pictures taken at the volunteering event for October 2008. Quite a difference!
The first volunteer spotlight is on Binz Chapman. The photo was taken at the volunteering event last Sunday.
In his own words:
“I am one of the regular volunteers with Fleet Pond Society (FPS) and have been working with them for about 3 years. Born and raised in the Weald of Kent, I spent a lot of my childhood out in the local countryside, climbing trees, playing in streams and generally coming home wet and muddy.
I first got involved in conservation in my twenties, when I joined one of BTCV’s (previously The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) mid-week volunteer teams during a period of unemployment. That’s when I caught the bug for conservation work, it gave me the satisfaction of doing something positive in my life and put me back in touch with the simple childhood pleasure of being in nature.
I now volunteer with both the FPS and also a local Hampshire Wildlife Trust group near my home in North Warnborough. Both have given me a greater knowledge and appreciation of the countryside and wildlife around me.
As well as the practical benefits that volunteering brings to the local environment, my employer provides a ‘matched giving’ fund which means that for every hour I spend volunteering they make a financial donation to the charity involved. In my current career (I’m an environmental consultant for a multinational oil company) I spend nearly all my time in front of a computer screen in an office complex with another 4000 of the company’s employees. It’s great to escape from that corporate culture, to be with nature again and to share time with like minded people.
A couple of years ago I decided that as well as working on local reserves I wanted to take on my own conservation project and that led to the purchase of a small woodland in Kent. This was neglected coppice which is now being managed to increase biodiversity, but also provides firewood, a weekend escape and another excuse to be a child again. For more info on that wood, please visit the Ewar Woowar blog”
Update:
This article has been selected to appear in the News section of the BTCV (formerly The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) website – see here.