Q. What range of people come to the events?

A. Nature Tots is really popular; it’s for under-fives with a parent or carer. Most will be locals, but some come from a long way. Some are regulars, and some are new.

The other events are mixed – we do family events in the school holidays, which attract a range of people. I started a monthly group with two other volunteers, which we called Wild Connections, but is now known as Nature, Natter, and Nibbles. Charlotte [Howe, Senior Learning Officer (Oxon)] very generously put us forward for a volunteer award, which we were given.

We are open to anyone over 18 who would like a gentle stroll around the site, and a cup of tea, a biscuit, and a chat. That group is also very mixed; there are a few people who are newly retired and exploring what’s going on in the area. We have one regular who comes from Buckinghamshire because she enjoys the company at SCEEC.

Q. How do people know about the group?

A. It’s on the BBOWT events page. When we started, we put out posters and flyers and we use social media. One of the main aims is to attract anyone who might be feeling a bit isolated and feel that some fresh air and good company would help their physical and mental wellbeing.

Q. What initially brought you to volunteering and to BBOWT.

A. My background is in education and about 15 years ago I was job-hunting and saw posts advertised at SCEEC. Although I didn’t have the experience needed for the roles available, I noted that they needed volunteers to help with school visits. Then about five years ago, I had been volunteering with Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), but I gave it up as I had lost my confidence with horses. I remembered SCEEC and I thought I would enjoy volunteering to work with children at BBOWT.

Q. What’s your educational background?

A. I did a first degree in Drama at Manchester University and then went on to teach Drama for four years at a college of Higher Education. I did a PGCE and I went on to become an educational puppeteer in the North West, and I also taught children with special needs. I have done a lot of one-to-one tutoring for local authorities, and I worked part-time at an Immigration Removal Centre teaching English, which I found very rewarding.

Q. That’s all amazing! Do you volunteer anywhere else?

A. I volunteer during the toad migration season for Froglife, which is the amphibian charity. They have a project called Toads on Roads which ‘helps’ toads cross the road during the migration in February to April. This involves going in the early evening, collecting them all from one side of the road, putting them in a bucket and taking them over to the other side of the road.

There’s a scientific base to it as we also keep a tally and try to keep separate list of toads, frogs and newts, for Froglife to collate from the different sites. Lately, I haven’t been good at getting out in the dark, so this season I’m going to be the coordinator of a patrol near me. Toads are very fussy and will only to go back to the pond where they spawned, so if there happens to be a road there, it’s bad news for the toads!

Q. Do you do any paid work?

A. I’m part of the National Tutoring Programme, and I work for a local charity called Quest for Learning. We go into schools and take children in small groups to give them a catch-up programme over a term. I will have three children in a group for about 40 minutes twice a week for the term. I teach literacy, and we try to use books that have connection to the natural world, so that ties up with what I do at BBOWT.

Q. You are also on our Volunteer Voice Forum, so how did that come about?

A. I was asked to be on it by Charlotte as they wanted someone to represent the learning volunteers, and I said I’d be happy to do it. I find it interesting, but I need other learning volunteers from other groups to give me topics that they would like us to talk about.

I can talk to learning volunteers on my site, but I have no connection with the learning volunteers who are on the other BBOWT sites. There’s now a two-year limit to being on the panel, and I think I’ve been on it two years now, so I will miss it.

Q. What do you do during your downtime?

A. I don’t have any outdoor hobbies, but I do go to the theatre a lot, as you would expect. If there’s any puppetry around, I usually go to that. I also enjoy going to exhibitions. And in January 2021 I started having saxophone lessons.

Q. One final thought?

A. I love volunteering at SCEEC as it’s such a delightful place and very friendly. When people come to our events, I feel like I’m welcoming guests into my home - except that I don’t have to tidy up before they come, and after they’ve gone!

As told to Wayne Brown, Volunteering Administrator. With grateful thanks to Liz Gamlin, and to all our wonderful volunteers.

More than 1,700 volunteers help us towards our vision of more nature everywhere, on our nature reserves, at our visitor and education centres, in our offices and more.

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