Vision Parks

I am Jan, proud to say I am a Vision volunteer, spending my days mainly in our beautiful Claybury Park, litterpicking and doing nature conservation work.  I work on organised days with the Ranger team and on my own the rest of the time.  When I am out working in the park I quite often get asked questions. The other day a lady asked me “why are you doing that?” and jokingly, I was tempted to reply “I often ask myself that question”, but she gave me pause for thought: why do I volunteer?  Why do I happily spend over 800 hours a year working for no pay, and why for Vision?  The short answer is that the greatest gift you can give, whether it is to another person, or to the community at large, is yourself and your time.  When you volunteer, rewards to you in other ways.

So what do I get in return?  Where to start?  The feeling of a job well done and making a difference to the park and its environment. The camaraderie of the other volunteers and the fun of the teamwork.  The banter between us and our lovely Rangers.  The way the Rangers look out for us, make sure we are safe, give us hot drinks and biscuits at break time, make it obvious how much they appreciate what we do and generally make us feel very valued.  Yes there are days when it’s wet and cold, and others when it’s oppressively hot, but I go home glad I made the effort.

Then there is the joy of being outside and watching the seasons change as the year rolls round.  I am out in Claybury Park almost every day and yet no two days are the same.  In spring I listen out for the songs of the migrant birds and in autumn watch the squirrels and jays busy storing acorns for the winter.  The woods are timeless, and it is a joy to see the first bluebells coming out in spring.  I could, of course, see all this just by going for a daily walk, but when I am volunteering on a specific task,  I am more acutely aware of what is around me.  You know, I sometimes liken myself to an archaeologist – I go out to litterpick and never know what treasures, or otherwise, I am going to find.  Over the years I have got to know so many regular park users and dogwalkers.  I have made some very good friends and it’s nice to know that what I do is appreciated by them.  I never know what each volunteering session might lead to, but I do know how satisfying it is.

So if you are reading this and thinking well, that is something I’d like to do, please come and join us; and if you are out of work and have time on your hands, just think how good it would look to have volunteering on your CV. It is a fact that volunteering can sometimes lead to paid employment, so why not have a look on Vision’s website volunteer page and find out how you, too, can help.