On the Advantages of Volunteering

[THOaken]

I've just been for a chat with one of the rangers at Queen Elizabeth Country Park and was shown around the facilities. Previous voluntary experience certainly pays off. It helps to have a fair amount of experience as things become more familiar and one better understands the processes of certain groups and the work that takes place. It used to be a case of having to label myself a novice from the outset, but as time goes by one certainly feels more accustomed to certain circles in which one's interested. In other words, it went quite well and I'll be volunteering at the Park over the summer as a precursor to Sparsholt to keep me from going rusty.

All this is to say that I would thoroughly recommend volunteering to anyone. If you have no experience whatsoever, well, that's what volunteering is for. You can show up on site and you're guaranteed to learn valuable skills and meet new people.

I'd be interested in hearing others' experiences in volunteer groups, mainly from a countryside perspective. It's something that fills my life now and without volunteering opportunities such as East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service and Butser Ancient Farm, I wouldn't have had access to such knowledge people. My acquisition of practical skills and knowledge largely revolves around volunteering so I couldn't do without it. It's a big part of my livelihood. This new volunteer group will be another chapter in my volunteering life, I suppose you could say.

For people with the right mindset, money means nothing. Working for free is valuable and you should try it.

Thanks.

 

[woodsorrel]

Hi ThOaken!

This is an interesting topic!

I definitely get more out of volunteering than I put in. I volunteer in three ways:

I grew up a city kid and did not get outdoors until my twenties. It was not in the culture to be outside. As a child, if I were ever lost in the wilderness, my instructions were to "walk north until you hit a McDonald's and then call a cab!"

So as an adult I have spent more than 15 years doing volunteer work to ensure that urban kids get the chance to explore the outdoors. I lead outdoor trips for a charity in the US called Sierra Club Inner City Outings. We take children day-hiking, backpacking, sea kayaking, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, and car-camping. It has been extremely fun and rewarding. I discovered new places to go and met many terrific people through the volunteer organization. I also benefited from the high level of training that the organization requires for anyone working with the children.

I am also a docent at a state park. I lead day hikes and outdoor workshops for park visitors. It provides an avenue to do nature interpretation and "bushcraft" with the general public. I love that! Besides more training, it also connected me to the community of naturalists and locals who have amazing knowledge.

The last thing I have been doing is more of a short term project. I have been assisting a researcher studying anthropogenic (human caused) effects on small carnivores. It is not glamorous work. Basically, I collect scat. But it is nice to do some animal tracking and get "dirt time" while assisting science for the public good.

- Woodsorrel

 

[THOaken]

Hi ThOaken!

This is an interesting topic!

I definitely get more out of volunteering than I put in. I volunteer in three ways:

I grew up a city kid and did not get outdoors until my twenties. It was not in the culture to be outside. As a child, if I were ever to get lost in the wilderness, my instructions were to "walk north until you hit a McDonald's and then call a cab!"

So as an adult I have spent more than 15 years doing volunteer work to ensure that urban kids get the chance to explore the outdoors. I lead outdoor trips for a charity in the US called Sierra Club Inner City Outings. We take children day-hiking, backpacking, sea kayaking, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, and car-camping. It has been extremely fun and rewarding. I discovered new places to go and met many terrific people through the volunteer organization. I also benefited from the high level of training that the organization requires for anyone working with the children.

I am also a docent at a state park. I lead day hikes and outdoor workshops for park visitors. It provides an avenue to do nature interpretation and "bushcraft" with the general public. I love that! Besides more training, it also connected me to the community of naturalists and locals who have amazing knowledge.

The last thing I have been doing is more of a short term project. I have been assisting a researcher studying anthropogenic (human caused) effects on small carnivores. It is not glamorous work. Basically, I collect scat. But it is nice to do some animal tracking and get "dirt time" while assisting science for the public good.

- Woodsorrel

That certainly is a great amount of experience you have, very interesting. Volunteering is just one of those things that you have to try to understand the benefits. If you're willing to put the work in, there is so much to be learnt. Again, it's all about mindset for me. I remember a time when I would refuse to volunteer because I wouldn't be paid, but then again, that was in a time when I wasn't interested in the natural world at all. Countryside volunteering in particular is great in many respects, but I like to think the three main reasons, for me anyway, are that you get to improve your knowledge, meet like minded people and maintain your health.

Honestly, just the simple fact that I'm helping the land itself and making people's trips to nature spots more pleasant is enough for me.

 

[presterjohn]

I am a big believer in actually taking part in life. By that I mean from helping with your kids schools day trips to voting in elections to the big stuff like being scout leaders and such like. I have never met anyone that did not think they did not get something worthwhile out of it. It is far to easy to get bogged down in your job (or sat in front of the TV if you don't work) and letting one day roll into another. The next thing you know you are an old fella in a wheelchair that was never more than one of lifes drones. What a waste. I am guilty of slipping into that scenario sometimes and have to boot myself up the backside and start doing stuff again.

 

[THOaken]

I am a big believer in actually taking part in life. By that I mean from helping with your kids schools day trips to voting in elections to the big stuff like being scout leaders and such like. I have never met anyone that did not think they did not get something worthwhile out of it. It is far to easy to get bogged down in your job (or sat in front of the TV if you don't work) and letting one day roll into another. The next thing you know you are an old fella in a wheelchair that was never more than one of lifes drones. What a waste. I am guilty of slipping into that scenario sometimes and have to boot myself up the backside and start doing stuff again.

Indeed, I agree with you. That's a topic quite dear to me, actually.
If it weren't for my initial interest in the natural world I wouldn't have had the experiences for which I'm so grateful now. It's these experiences, these activities we do, that make life valuable, that sets each day apart. I was guilty of sitting around all day doing nothing and just having a generally poisonous view of things and each day felt the same as the other. But as I started to go out more and do things, my mindset changed and I actually crave activity in general and in fact I now become depressed when I stagnate too much. I now always have a list of things to do, and volunteering is one such activity that makes me feel like a better, healthier person. I'm doing it for a very big reason: I'm helping the land. The work may be small and some might see it as insignificant, but I'd much rather say at the end of the day I in some way conserved and maintained the countryside. For me, that's the main thing.

 

[woodsorrel]

... All this is to say that I would thoroughly recommend volunteering to anyone. If you have no experience whatsoever, well, that's what volunteering is for. You can show up on site and you're guaranteed to learn valuable skills and meet new people...

... For people with the right mindset, money means nothing. Working for free is valuable and you should try it.

Hi THOaken,

I very much appreciate this post based on your blog entry (Queen Elizabeth County Park Volunteering). Many extol the benefits to the community of doing volunteer work. But this is the first time in a while that I heard someone discuss how much volunteering benefits the volunteer.

I went ahead and wrote some thoughts of my own in my blog along the lines of your thought. Thank you very much for articulating the idea.

- Woodsorrel

 

[roger-uk]

Having been a Leader in Scouting for 18+ years [ 6-8 and now 8-11] its a brillaint hobby and I've acheived more than I would hav edone NGB leader qualifications in Archery, Air rifles and scouting permit in traditional rafting.

To see the kids faces as they acheive is a reward no money can buy

I would reccomend it to anyone

 

[THOaken]

Hi THOaken,

I very much appreciate this post based on your blog entry (Queen Elizabeth County Park Volunteering). Many extol the benefits to the community of doing volunteer work. But this is the first time in a while that I heard someone discuss how much volunteering benefits the volunteer.

I went ahead and wrote some thoughts of my own in my blog along the lines of your thought. Thank you very much for articulating the idea.

- Woodsorrel

I really enjoyed your article, Woodsorrel, and I particularly liked the style in which you wrote it. The photos were a great addition too.

My blog can sometimes be a bit spartan...