Conservation, history, green living and local self-sufficiency are the priorities for these volunteers.

All | Charlotte | Jessica | Laura

« Previous month (Jan 2010) | Main | Next month (Mar 2010) »

Wednesday Feb 17, 2010

We came, we dug, we conquered

Weilding a mattock like a lame but determined workman wasn't the obvious choice of activity for this year's Valentine's day, but I embraced it nonetheless. Waking up grumpy from a long week involving too much work and not enough sleep, I arrived with trepidation at the portacabin of choice. Not for the first time the kindly and ever-inviting host/station supervisor made cups of tea, coaxing my sleepy head to life.

We chatted for a while until a few more people arrived, and eventually we poured out of the cabin like clowns out of a mini, to get to work. We unloaded Jo's granny trolley with spades, forks, lopping shears and the mighty mattock, all kindly loaned from BTCV (the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers). The only man among us went at a Mallow stump with the kind of gusto you can't help but admire, especially as he had not had much sleep either. There was no stopping him after that.

I started more slowly at one of the buddleias with a fork, trying to lever it straight out of the ground, and soon realised the only thing likely to give was the fork. Then I was introduced to the mattock. Essentially a sculpted post with a double-edged and fairly blunt axe on one end, it's amazing for rattling through unsuspecting soil at a rate of knots. In the right hands. In my hands it smacked into the ground with surprisingly little effect for quite a bit of effort. While I was a sorry excuse for a digger, Jo, a lot smaller in frame than me, was an impressive excavating machine. I thought I'd make up for my lack of mattock prowess by murmuring enthusiastic approval at her efforts. Yes, I was the cheerleading party.

As the land had been abandoned for so long the plants which had taken root there made it abundantly clear they weren't about to give up without a fight. Many had roots like the trunk of a small tree, and pulling them up was like an archaeological dig teamed with a war of wills. Digging down, you work out which direction the root goes, and start chopping off the underground branches. Then when it's all wobbly you heave and twist and hack (and maybe curse a little), and I even jumped up and down on one, while holding onto a nearby lamp post to stop myself breaking an ankle, before finally holding up the slain shrub like a victorious warrior. At least I hoisted it as far as my shoulder, it was extremely heavy.

The land cleared, we tied back a bramble we're hoping to cultivate for blackberries, we swept away litter to discover an old path and before long the space looked about twice its original size. With rainclouds looming we went off for a big lunch at a local cafe, and next week we hope to finally plant our trees.

After all the preparation, endless email strings and general co-ordination of efforts it seems like the end of a little era is approaching, but I feel really proud to have championed an idea that became something tangible, and that hopefully a lot of people will enjoy in the years to come.

Posted by Laura ( 12:00 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Tuesday Feb 02, 2010

Finding my career through volunteering

I lost count of the times people told me: 'Journalism is so competitive.' 'You'll never make it,' they might as well have said.

This week I'm glad I followed my heart, because I've just been given two more commissions to write articles for a national publication about what I love: the environment and green food production.

It's interesting at the turn of a new decade to look back and see how the decisions I've made carved a path to where I am today. I decided in 2005 after years of doing jobs where I felt unmotivated, that I needed do what I felt passionate about if I wanted to be happy. I decided journalism was for me: I love writing and I love to learn and to share my knowledge with others.

After finishing my degree and a journalism course I worked unpaid in various publications for almost a year, filling in the gaps with part-time temping jobs. Although the hours were changeable and pay varied from month to month, I decided it was worth it to pursue my dream - this was now the only thing I was willing to settle for.

Trying out things that I was interested in gave me invaluable experience, and contacts. Even in 12 months volunteering has focused my career ambitions.

Last January I applied for an internship at The Ecologist magazine. I wasn't sure, when they finally called me up with a month-long full-time slot, whether I wanted this. Luckily friends told me just go for it, I hadn't done environmental stuff before and it would show I'm adaptable. After all, my degree was in nutrition. Good advice, I thought.

During that month I uploaded archive articles on The Ecologist's website about anything from deep sea fishing methods and their impact on fish stocks, to the often toxic chemicals used in furniture and textiles production. I was hooked. What these people were writing about felt like what I wanted from life, it felt like by highlighting these issues these writers were really making a difference. After that there was no turning back.

After I'd finished there an old journalism lecturer sent out an email about a communications internship with the London Cycling Campaign. I'd done some work for them a year or two before, and liked what they did so I called them up and went along for an interview. I spent the next six months working one day a week as their newsletter editor interviewing people, writing news stories and uploading articles on the website. It was great experience, with amazing people. Through this work I made a contact at the Guardian and ended up writing a piece for their Bike Blog. After 11 months of working for free this was my first paid article.

I loved the idea of writing freelance: the fact you can choose what to write about, and for whom. I had been pitching story ideas at various publications for months, without success. It was really daunting and the 'Thanks but no thanks' weren't easy to deal with. Finally, last month I pitched a couple to The Ecologist, and they were accepted. It finally started to feel like all that work was paying off.

If I hadn't developed such a passion for the environment through my volunteer work I wouldn't have found out about the events and projects I am now writing about (I won't give the game away until they're finished, though). The various groups and events I have got involved in have made for good writing practice, even if no-one accepted the articles!

I remember thinking towards the end of last year: wouldn't it be amazing if I could be paid to write about all these amazing projects, and suddenly, it's happening. I know it's early days still and there's a long way to go, but it feels like a really good start.

The same people who said: 'You'll never make it' will probably say: 'You're lucky.' After all that hard work, though, I know different.

Posted by Laura ( 10:00 AM )
Link to this post Comments[9]