I've been discussing with one or two members why we in our local group of the Wildlife Trust find it difficult to find volunteers for the many ways in which they can easily help both our local group and also the work on the nature reserves. One way may be to use our summer visit programme , see our diary blog, to get people out and to explain what jobs are there to be done.
The Trust has developed its web site quite well over the last year or so and now has a diary showing where help is required out on the reserves. Here is a copy of the current web page. You can see it and more on the SWT web site. ( see link on this blog):
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| PRACTICAL CONSERVATION AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES | Date | Time | Who | Where | What | March | Sun 30 | 10.30am | SCV | Greylake ST 399 348 | 40,000 reed seedlings to plant. Please bring garden trowels or hand forks. Wellies advised. Meet at main gate on A361. | April | Thu 10 | 10am | TCV | SWT. Fyne Court. | Path and step repairs and surfacing. Meet car park GR 222321. Contacts: Jim & Jean Ayling 01823 337462. | Sun 13 | 10.30am | SCV | Catcott Heath ST 406 413 | Cutting internal paths, internal ditch clearance and flap-valve repair. Meet at end of Higher Ropes Drove. | Thu 24 | 10am | TCV | NT. Wellington Monument. | Step building and access work. Meet car park GR143167. Contacts: Jim & Jean Ayling 01823 337462. | Sun 27 | 10.30am | SCV | Chilton Moor Reserve ST 377 430 | Lowering gutter ends, gate and fence repairs . Meet at end of Plain Heath Drove. | May | Sun 11 | 10.30am | SCV | Street Heath Reserve ST 465 392 | Bracken control, path cutting, fence repair. Meet on approach drove beyond Rose Cottage. | Sun 25 | 10.30am | SCV | Sharpham Moor ST 465 389 | Erect new stile, handrail and sleeper bridge, fence repairs and bramble cutting. Meet at reserve gate, reached from drove at Avalon Farm-Durston's Peat. **This will be led by Mark Blake (07795 147910) | June | Sun 8 | 10.30am | SCV | Westhay Moor ST 453 436 | Bracken control and removal, fencing works in the old mire. Meet at main car park. | Sun 22 | 10.30am | SCV | West Sedgemoor ST 381 264 | Clearing ragwort to allow graziers a hay cut to maintain the fantastic diversity of these meadows. Meet at Dewlands Farm. | July | Sun 6 | 10.30am | SCV | Street Heath ST 465 392 | Bracken control, path cutting, maintenance of rare sedge pits, fence repair. Meet at approach drove beyond Rose Cottage. | Sun 20 | 10.30am | SCV | Stoke Camp ST 483 513 | Helping Chalkhill Blues by removing thistle, nettle and ragwort. Meet at Draycott Sleights entrance, some 600m up New Lane between Old Chapel and Red Lion pub in Draycott. | August | Sun 31 | 10.30am | SCV | Catcott Heath ST 406 413 | Clearance around decoy pond to open flight path for birds and to minimise leaf litter silting pond. A few trees to be felled. Meet at end of Higher Ropes Drove. | | | | | | Contact details: SCV: Sedgemoor Conservation Volunteers:Anne & Norman Lees 01278 641521 P&SCV: Polden Hills and Somerton Conservation Volunteers: Emma Daniel c/o SWT 01823 652400 TCV: Taunton Mid-Week Conservation Volunteers: Margaret Palmer 01823 337570 WSCV: West Somerset Conservation Volunteers: John Dixon 01643 703654 PMCV:Peat Moors Conservation Volunteers: Alan Brown 01458 223067 Swains Lane Residents Group: John Morton 01823 661996 BTCV Somerset : Tel 01935 415255; email: p.sherriff@btcv.org.uk NP: Neroche Project: Sam Winzer: | | |
Clearly there is a great deal that can be done and its obviously a good idea to ask other groups how they go about finding people. We really need a volunteer to volunteer to make a project of researching the problem!!