Suffolk Wildlife Trust would be lost without its army of regular voluntary helpers. Yet it means commitment, hard work - and no pay! We asked four volunteers why they think it's all worthwhile.

Richard Young - Volunteer on Reserves

"I remember my first day as a volunteer on Redgrave and Lopham Fen very clearly. - It was pouring with rain and I was sorely tempted to return back home! However, I needed to gain practical work experience after graduating in Environmental Sciences; so on the first Sunday in February 2001, there I was being prepared by Andrew Excell, the Reserve Manager, for a hard day's fencing on the Fen."

While the rain continued to fall, the work team struggled to put up a fence in a saturated field. By mid-morning break, everyone was thoroughly soaked and they adjourned to the Visitor Centre for a welcome hot drink. Andrew urged Richard to try and gain as much 'hands-on' experience as possible and, to his delight, offered him the chance to apply for a voluntary post at the Fen.

So, in May, amazed at his good luck, Richard found himself officially helping with the day-to-day management of the site. "After temporary work in a warehouse, it was great to be out in the open-air, working with wildlife." Highlights of his time at Redgrave include catching his first glimpse of the rare Raft Spider and helping with the sedge harvest.

"It was an exciting time to be at the Fen, as it was the first year that water levels remained stable, after the borehole had been removed. It felt very rewarding to work at such an award-winning site and I came away with a whole range of practical skills to complement my degree." As a result, SWT was able to offer Richard a winter contract at the Sandlings Project.

More information on opportunities with the Trust's reserves team

Kate Lucking - Wildlife Watch Leader

Kate has a busy full-time job with Colchester Borough Council as a Recycling Officer but she is also deeply committed to helping children learn about local wildlife and the environment in which they live.

Like Richard, Kate first considered volunteering for the Trust while she was at college studying for a degree in conservation management. " I started helping out at Landguard nature reserve, both with practical conservation and with a range of children's activities.
I believe that the valuable experience which I gained as a volunteer helped me to focus my ideas and provided a good basis for developing my current career."

Kate also discovered that working with children could prove very rewarding. She had greatly enjoyed being a member of 'Wildlife Watch' - the junior branch of SWT- when she herself was a child. In 1998, unable to find a local Watch group for her brother to join, Kate, together with Marilyn Blowers, set up the Felixstowe and Trimley Wildlife Watch group for children aged between 7 to 12 .

In the past four years, they have taken the children beach-combing at Landguard, looking for moths at Newbourne Springs and exploring Nacton Shores. They also work closely with the Landguard warden, using the classroom for indoor craftwork activites, such as plate painting. "Children represent our hope for the future in safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and its environment," says Kate. " I feel very privileged to be able to help."

More information on opportunities with the Trust's education team

John Marsham - Voluntary Warden

John was invited to join a work party in the early 1980s and from that time he has never looked back. By 1986 he was leading regular work teams for Mildenhall Local Group. For many years he also supervised candidates for the Duke of Edinburgh Award who, as part of their community activity, were undertaking conservation work

As a Voluntary Warden, John has looked after a number of smaller sites with delightful names, such as Pashford Poors, Brandon's Artemesia and Wangford Warren. His favourite, in the early days, was the Rex Graham Reserve, an unique site for military orchids, tucked away in Thetford Forest. It needs regular mowing to allow the orchids and other rare shrubs to flourish in the early summer.

However, he now spends the majority of his time at Lackford Lakes, where he assists the Warden, Joe Davis, to manage the site. John compares the skills needed to those required for running a small rural estate. "This big site offers so many challenges - there's a wide variety of work involved in creating wildlife habitats - reed cutting, coppicing, sallow cutting, scrub clearance, fencing and tree planting."

He also believes in keeping up with the times. "Basically, I like machinery! At first the work was hard and progress slow because we only had hand tools available. But I was thrilled when I got the chance to train to use a brushcutter and a chainsaw! - It gave me a huge sense of satisfaction and we were able to achieve much more."

John believes that many more people would like to volunteer for work parties but are unsure of what they can contribute - however, it is not necessary to have a detailed knowledge of wildlife or land management. He stresses that they will get lots of support from the team and, once they come regularly, they will receive further training.

"We meet on the first Sunday of every month from September to April. It's a good way of keeping fit and making friends - we have a wide cross-section of people, from all walks of life - male and female - pharmacists, office workers and retired school-teachers - some people have been coming for over 12 years now! All you need is enthusiasm and the ability to commit time on a regular basis." Despite hard work, John still finds time to enjoy the abundance of wildlife and takes part in the annual bird count.

More information about being a Voluntary Warden