The Volunteering Issue Exploring the Benefits of Volunteering and Celebrating Our Froglife Volunteers
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Froglife’s newsletter - amphibians, reptiles & nature news spring/summer 2017 the volunteering issue Exploring the benefits of volunteering and celebrating our Froglife volunteers Plus...An interview with the Froglife Trustees : The volunteers of Froglife nature reserves 1 contents froglifers Chair of Trustees: Lin Wenlock ‘from the CEO’: Kathy Wormald on the Patrons: Mike Dilger & Jules Howard latest developments 3. Chief Executive Officer: Kathy Wormald 10 good reasons to volunteer by Jenny Head of Learning & Communications: Jenny Tse-Leon 4. Tse-Leon Head of Conservation: Dr Laurence Jarvis Finance Manager: Anne Davies My experience as a volunteer by Alex Finance & Administration Officer: Marie Homewood Kirby-Lambert 5. Conservation Officer: Liz Morrison Volunteering for amphibian research by Conservation Youth Worker: Louise Smith 6. Dr. Laurence Jarvis Conservation Youth Worker: Gail Lydall Kirklees Project Officer: Rebecca Houlding An interview with key nature reserves Kirklees Project Officer: Gary Wilkinson 7. volunteer Judith Turner Kirklees Sessional Worker: Mike Sims The volunteers of Froglife nature Conservation Youth Worker: Ross Edgar 8. reserves by Liz Morrison Scottish Dragon Finder Project Manager: Dr Victoria Larcombe / Caroline Griffin My Froglife journey from volunteer to 10. employee by Ashlea Jarvis Scottish Dragon Finder Project Officer: James Stead Scottish Dragon Finder Trainee: Alasdair Lemon Volunteering from an employer’s London Dragon Finder Project Manager: Alan Shearman 12. perspective by Dr Victoria Larcombe London Dragon Finder Project Officer: Emily Millhouse River Nene Dragon Finder Project Manager: James McAdie An interview with the Froglife Trustees 14. River Nene Dragon Finder Project Officer: Catherine Duerden Toads are a major asset for your garden, River Nene Trainee: Alex Kirby-Lambert so why not join in the fight to stop Trainee Conservation Youth Worker: Ashlea Jarvis 16. millions being killed on our roads every Ecologist: Katie Rowberry year? by Nick Larkin Froglife Intern: Michael Hartup Eye of newt, and toe of frog, adder’s fork and lizard’s leg: the lore and mythology contact us 18. of amphibians and reptiles by Prof Roger Froglife Downie 1 Loxley, Werrington 19. Why I volunteer... by John Bailey Peterborough PE4 5BW e Phone: 01733 602102 Frogalogue if 20. frogl Email: [email protected] Design by Dr Victoria Larcombe; Illustrations by Sam Taylor Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps www.froglife.org froglife @froglifers froglifers +froglife froglife Froglife is the campaign title for The Froglife Trust. Registered Charity Number 1093372 (in England & Wales) & SC041854 (in Scotland); Registered Company Number 438714 (in England & Wales). The views expressed in Natterchat are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Froglife. To advertise in or to sponsor an edition of Natterchat please contact Jenny Tse-Leon on [email protected]. Help us find dragons... Grab your phone, get your wellies, and go out dragon hunting this spring to help us map amphibians and reptiles. The new version of our free Dragon Finder smartphone app will help you to identify all the different amphibians and reptiles you might spot in the UK. You can also use it to record your sightings, adding to our Living Atlas of where the animals can be found. 2 I once started off habitat management and also sites. We get lots of requests to my introduction ensure that a wide range of species help at patrol sites, to give media Lin Wenlock to a Natterchat including amphibians, reptiles, bats, interviews and just general enquiries Mike Dilger & Jules Howard edition by saying butterflies, birds and mammals from concerned members of the Kathy Wormald ‘well spring is are recorded and monitored for public. We are indebted to our Jenny Tse-Leon here again’ and conservation purposes. One of toad patrollers who during the Dr Laurence Jarvis asked a writer our volunteers, and trustee, Frank 2016 season rescued 54,148 toads. Anne Davies friend of mine, Clark has set up cameras across the Our guest writer, Nick Larkin, has Marie Homewood to review it for reserve to record the wildlife using it, featured the Norfolk toad patrols, Liz Morrison me. He instantly and it is fascinating to see how much Toadwatch, in this newsletter. I am Louise Smith burst into laughter saying ‘it is and varied wildlife there is on this sure you will be equally impressed Gail Lydall such a boring, but also the most urban reserve which is surrounded with the number of toads that they Rebecca Houlding common way to introduce a seasonal by housing. Not to mention the are rescuing. Gary Wilkinson newsletter, and quite frankly it is amount of human action, mostly Mike Sims In this newsletter we have brought a non-statement’. Well I don’t like inappropriate, that has also been Ross Edgar together articles written by to think of myself as either boring, recorded. Dr Victoria Larcombe / volunteers who have contributed common or making non-statements Caroline Griffin All of our projects rely heavily on in different ways to nature so I am not going to mention the James Stead volunteers. Our Dragon Finder and conservation. The options are huge season. Actually that same friend of Alasdair Lemon Living Water programmes would and as you will see some want to mine has written the Toads on Roads Alan Shearman not have managed to improve the focus on physical habitat work whilst article for this edition. Have a look at Emily Millhouse habitats of some 544 wildlife sites others have guided young people page 16 and please feel free to laugh James McAdie in 2015/16 without droves of people who have strayed off the track to out loud at any ‘boring, common or Catherine Duerden turning out, from volunteer groups, get back on it with a new interest in non-statements’. Alex Kirby-Lambert friends of and community groups wildlife conservation. At Froglife Ashlea Jarvis This edition is focusing on the to companies sending out teams everyone is welcome to volunteer Katie Rowberry dedication, commitment and hard of their staff. Together they have in whatever way suits them. This Michael Hartup work of an enormous volunteer transformed 511 hectares of land may be hard core conservation but task force that achieves so much for wildlife, and completed 1,530 equally as important is creative contact us for nature conservation in this species surveys. In total during this input such as artwork, photography, Froglife country and abroad. Froglife, like period 3,589 volunteers gave a total literature or film making. So a very 1 Loxley, Werrington every other wildlife conservation of 28,453 hours helping Froglife. It is big thank you to all of our volunteers. Peterborough PE4 5BW charity, would not be able to achieve quite unbelievable. NATURE CONSERVATION NEEDS anywhere near as much as we do YOU NOW and more than it has ever Phone: 01733 602102 The Toads on Roads project always without our volunteers. We have done in the past. Email: [email protected] generates a lot of interest at this volunteers helping us on Hampton time of the year. Not surprising as Kathy Wormald, CEO and Boardwalks Nature Reserves. it is the time that people are most [email protected] www.froglife.org On both reserves the volunteers likely to see the armies of toads assist with a huge amount of crawling along to their breeding 10 good reasons to volunteer by Jenny Tse-Leon Your hard work can change the just for fun (although life of a young person, improve learning new skills in 1. Makes you feel good a habitat for wildlife or even later life is also linked You get to meet other people, help a charity to achieve more to reducing the risk socialise and try something by supporting them behind the of dementia) there’s different. Not to mention the scenes in the office. always something new to warm fuzzy feeling of making a discover. difference. 3. Learn new skills and knowledge 4. Improve your 2. Help to make the Whether it’s to improve your CV health world a better place and chance of employment or Volunteering can help to improve your health and wellbeing by getting you active and hopefully outside! 5. Get to know your local area better Whether you are new to an area or have lived there for decades it’s amazing what you can discover on your doorstep. 6. Allows you to give back to a cause that ’s important to you You may have grown up exploring the countryside or watching David Attenborough documentaries and want to do your bit to protect the environment or you might have had a tough start in life and want to support other young people finding their way in life. 7. Make real connections Meet other people from all sorts of different backgrounds who share similar interests and values. 8. Get inspired By trying out new things you may get ideas for improving your garden for wildlife, activities to do with friends and family, or places to visit. 9. Have a new outlook By having a greater understanding of the world around you and other people’s lives you might find that you get a whole new perspective on life. 10. It ’s fun! To find out how you can volunteer with Froglife please visit www.froglife.org/ 4 volunteering/ My experience as a volunteer by Alex Kirby-Lambert searches had to be carried out, which into the correlation involved scrabbling around in the between the When I was around 14 or 15 I cold mud on hands and knees looking management of decided to take my lifelong interest for newts, ensuring they weren’t ponds at Hampton Nature Reserve in conservation and the natural world harmed during the restoration.