Volunteer Handbook Oxfam Trailwalker 23-24 March, 2019 Volunteer contact numbers Pre-event: 09 358 5902 Event week: 0800 420 023 thank you HELLO AND Welcome to THE Oxfam Trailwalker volunteer team! On behalf of the whole team at Oxfam New Zealand, I’d like to express my gratitude for the mahi and aroha you have committed to put to this incredible event. You are part of a team of over 300 volunteers that will undoubtedly help make Oxfam Trailwalker 2019 a huge success. By joining the volunteer crew, you are playing an essential part in making Oxfam Trailwalker a suc- cessful, safe, positive and meaningful experience for all involved. This is Oxfam New Zealand’s biggest annual fundraiser and we simply could not do it without you. This Volunteer Handbook contains everything you need to know to prepare yourself for the event. Please read it through carefully and keep it with you during your shift, so you can refer to it when needed. If you have any questions that are not covered in this Handbook, please don’t hesitate to contact us. A massive THANK YOU to all of you for showing up and helping us campaign for a fair and just world. I wish you an amazing volunteering experience at Oxfam Trailwalker 2019! Ngā mihi nui, Olga & the Oxfam Trailwalker team 1 haere mai Oxfam New Zealand, Whakatāne District Council and local iwi Ngāti Awa warmly welcome you to Whakatāne, the sunshine and kiwi capital of New Zealand, for the fourth Oxfam Trailwaker in the beautiful Bay of Plenty. The 2019 trail once again showcases the very best of eastern Bay of Plenty, passing through stunning native bush, private farmland, places of special significance for local Iwi and the one and only Ōhope Beach. What’s more, we have a new start line: Edgecumbe. After the Edgecumbe flooding in April 2017, a lot of the township was wiped away, including houses and the community spirit. The course starting in Edgecumbe in 2019 is an opportunity for Oxfam NZ and Edgecumbe to support each other, by bringing the community together, raising awareness on climate change, and raising vital funds for communities in the Pacific and South East Asia. the 2019 trail 2 Event Weekend essentials You are a vital part of the smooth running of Oxfam Trailwalker and we rely on you to attend your assigned shift(s). If you can’t make your shift, please let the Signing in/out before and after Volunteer Coordinator know as soon as your shift possible. Prior to event week call 09 358 5902 or, during the event week (March 23- All volunteers must sign in at the 24), call 0800 420 023. Please do this as Volunteer Coordinator’s office before every soon as possible. shift, unless you’re volunteering at a check- point or are part of a service-based group. Please arrive to your shift 15 minutes early If your shift location is not in Whakatāne, for a proper handover and induction. you can sign in over the phone. You also need to sign out at the end of your shift. Be aware of the times and locations of your shifts. It can be particularly cold at night, so come prepared and dress appropriately. When interacting with Oxfam Trailwalker participants, particularly in the later stag- es of the event, please remember that they will be tired. Be encouraging, supportive Oxfam ambassador and cheer walkers on as they pass you. A large number of stakeholders support Volunteer Registration Oxfam Trailwalker including emergency services, local businesses, sponsors, land- All volunteers must register in person at owners as well as participants and support the Volunteer Lounge on Friday 22 March, crew. As an Oxfam Trailwalker volunteer, 3-9pm or on Saturday 6am and onwards, you will be seen as a representative of prior to their first shift. You will receive your Oxfam New Zealand. We ask that you act in volunteer pack as well as any equipment an appropriate manner that upholds our necessary for your role. good-standing in the community. Volunteer Lounge Media The volunteer lounge is located at the Please do not speak to any media Whakatāne War Memorial Hall. It is there representatives during the event, for you to enjoy anytime between 3pm on regardless of the circumstances. The Event Friday to 7pm on Sunday. Feel free to relax Controller and the Media Coordinator at the here between shifts; come get snacks, Event Control Centre are the only people coffee or tea and to say hello and meet authorised to speak with the media. Any other volunteers. media personnel must be referred to the Event Control Centre. 3 Gear Checklists Kai (food) What to bring: You will receive a meal voucher for each • Volunteer pack, including your shift you have signed up for, which you Volunteer Handbook with emergency can redeem at the designated dining area contact numbers, role descriptions and in the basketball court, located inside the any other role-specific instructions Whakatāne War Memorial Hall. • Reusable cup • Reusable water bottle All meals and snacks for each day • Your personal mobile phone (fully will be available from 5am–10pm on charged) Saturday, 5am–6pm on Sunday. Friday • A torch for early morning, late afternoon dinner will be available from 5pm until 10pm. and night shifts - those portaloos get dark! We are catering for a lot of wonderful • Extra layers for the evening and gloves, volunteers, so please be mindful of your if desired choices and other volunteers’ dietary • Extra socks requirements. • Sunscreen • Insect repellent *Community Groups at checkpoints are • Fancy dress! Feel free to wear a self-sufficient costume to encourage our walkers • Personal supplies – anything to make Please bring your own reusable container you comfortable on the job and cutlery, should you wish to pack a meal for your shift. What to wear, weather dependent: • Enclosed, practical footwear Rights and Responsibilities • Sun protection: sunscreen, sunglasses and hat (day shifts) Oxfam’s work to find lasting solutions to • Sweater, scarf, extra socks and a warm poverty and injustice is a partnership hat (night shift) between volunteers and staff. As a • Rain gear volunteer, the gift of your time, skills and experience is an essential part of our work. If you are a trail volunteer (Trail Marshals, When you join us as a volunteer, you have Trail Clearing Team, Tail End Charlies), wear certain rights and responsibilities. comfortable footwear and bring a back- pack along with a torch and batteries, cell Know your rights as a volunteer by visiting phone, snacks and water. www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz/page/ rights---responsibilities There may be long periods between walkers on some shifts. Think about bringing books, a newspaper, music, podcasts or any other entertainment you see fit. 4 sustainability Here at Oxfam, sustainability is at the heart of Avoid single-use plastics everything we do. Single-use plastics include plastic shopping bags, Oxfam Trailwalker aims to ‘walk the talk’ when it plastic cups, straws, food packaging, comes to demonstrating Oxfam New Zealand’s coffee cups and lids - any plastic item intended to commitment to environmental sustainability. We be used once then discarded. Please don’t bring aim to minimise the negative environmental single-use plastic items to the event. effects of the event in every way possible – from minimising our energy consumption to being a Bring your own water bottle disposable-cup-free event. This year, we are particularly focusing on the major reduction of Please BYO reusable water bottle and fill it up at plastic bags and plastic packaging. Our planet is our free water stations, or purchase a reusable drowning in single use plastic, with large islands Oxfam Trailwalker bottle onsite. of plastic floating in our oceans, destroying our ecosystems and causing the extinction of species. Carpooling We really encourage you to take some important Each year, we ask our volunteers to consider but simple steps to be part of the solution! Join us carpooling to bring less cars to Whakatāne. in making Oxfam Trailwalker a zero-waste event! Did you know that 20 percent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transport? SIX STEPS TO BEING PART OF Ninety percent of us drive to work alone. THE SOLUTION What can we do to be part of the solution? Pre-cycle - Reduce waste from packaging The obvious answer is to take shared transport to Oxfam Trailwalker. “Pre-cycling” is the practice of seeking to reduce consumer waste by buying unpackaged, reusable Shop Local and Shop Fairtrade or recyclable products and using your own bags and containers to package food. When in Whakatāne, try to buy local products and give back to the community that supports our A great way to reduce waste generation at the event, while reducing food transport emissions. event is to unpack any food you’re bringing before you leave and put them into reusable containers or A basket of imported food creates more CO2 than produce bags. cooking for six months! As a general rule, you can reduce the impact of your purchasing by Don’t forget your reusable cup choosing products that are Fairtrade certified, organic or free-range. All the tea and coffee at In 2014, Oxfam Trailwalker went disposable cup the Oxfam Trailwalker start, finish line and check- free - what a success! Our teams, support crews points is certified Fairtrade. and volunteers reduced total event waste by a third! To keep a good thing going, Oxfam Trailwalk- er is now proudly disposable cup free every year. For hot and cold drinks, everyone will need to bring their own mug or container.