TheConservationVolunteers

Autumn 2012 | Reclaiming green places since 1959

Supporter Magazine

www.tcv.org.uk

Meet our Green Heroes

Build a Bug Hotel

Green Hubs

GREEN

HEROES

2012

Volunteer of the Year, Pam Evans

JOIN IN, FEEL GOOD.

GREAT GIFT IDEAS FOR A GREEN CHRISTMAS... AND NOT A SOCK IN SIGHT!

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Our online shop is the place to find gifts that are green, unusual and, most importantly, really useful. Encourage your friends and family to get outside and enjoy nature be it feeding the birds, growing their own seedlings or even their own potatoes. You’ll find great Christmas decorations too!

Apple Feeder

£7.95

Herb Planter £4.95

To see more of our range and place your order visit our online shop at www.tcv.org.uk/goodstuff or call 01302 388883

Seedling Starter Set £29.75

Potato Planter £9.95

Cement Shopp

ing

Bag £9.95

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Inside this issue1 Great green gift ideas2 Letter from Rita Clifton, Chair3 News roundup5 Green Heroes: Volunteer of the Year, Pam Evans;6 William Clarke, Green Skills Award; Max Roclawski, Project Leader Award;7 Sefton Green Gym, Community Group Of The Year;8 Camden Council, Parks and Open Spaces; La TEAM, European Award9 Get Involved10 Build a Bug Hotel Roots Meets John Thompson

Rita Clifton, Chair

Rita Clifton, Chair

As we head into the autumn, conservation volunteers all over the UK will be gearing up for this season’s activities.  For the foodies among us, harvesting and foraging will be top of the list – enjoying fresh local produce, and freezing or preserving as much as we can for the winter months.

For The Conservation Volunteers, autumn is also the time when we celebrate all that is best about the people who give so much to local places and communities.  Our Green Heroes awards on October 5th will, once again, recognise some exceptional volunteers and community groups. Not just because their stories are, in their own right, impressive and often moving.  But also because they help us to show why the work of every single conservation volunteer matters – right now, and right across the whole of the UK.

The Green Heroes awards are immediately followed, on 6th and 7th October, by our Big Green Weekend.  This is when conservation volunteers all across Europe celebrate everything that we achieve together.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to show the general public what we do, and to help even more people to see how they can join in, and help make better places to live. 

And remember, join in, feel good!

RitaTheConservationVolunteers

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The Green Gym Haringey volunteers have been restoring a hidden green passage along a historic disused railway line to enable local school children to access and use the site to learn about nature.

The summer work included clearing footpaths, removing invasive, dominating shrubs and opening up steps that link the green gem to St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, which had become so overgrown that it took the volunteers some time to re-discover them!

Peter Keane, Headmaster of St Paul’s Catholic Primary School; says “The Conservation Volunteers have done an amazing job, the teachers are really enthusiastic about getting their pupils engaged with the space after the summer holidays.”

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FROM NATURE RAIL TO NATURE TRAIL

ACCESS NATURE, LEEDSSkelton Grange and HollybushThe Access to Nature in Leeds project is a partnership between two of The Conservation Volunteers Green Hubs, Skelton Grange and Hollybush. Together, they have been working with volunteers to create welcoming, wildlife rich sites across Leeds. The teams are confident of reaching their target of 20,000 people accessing and enjoying nature.

“I am absolutely delighted by the work our teams of staff and volunteers have done to engage so many people.” said Project Manager Caroline Crossley, “It’s not only the huge numbers of people that have been involved, but the feedback from participants has been amazingly positive.”

Across the UK our Green Hubs continue with their invaluable conservation work. Here are just a few snippets about what is going on, but please take the time to visit our website and catch up on so much more great news.

“Green Hubs are a brilliant radical structured way of transforming the way local communities can get together and take charge of their local green spaces. I like the way the Green Hubs build on The Conservation Volunteers’ 50 years of practical organisation and so provides a national movement that is as effective as it is urgent.

We all have a local environment where our children play, where we meet and talk, where we can get back to nature even in the middle of the towns where most of us live or where we just feel better because it’s an oasis of green and calm. These places are a part of our lives that we take for granted but will disappear unless we find new ways of taking care of them.”

Dr Rupert Evenett

The development of Green Hubs has been made possible by a series of funders and partnerships. We would particularly like to acknowledge the generous contributions made by Rupert Evenett and Roger de Freitas.

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For more news check out our website www.tcv.org.uk/news

POOR QUALITY ENVIRONMENTS DAMAGE COMMUNITIES An important report on environmental ‘incivilities’ has been published by the Carnegie UK Trust. The Conservation Volunteers fed in comments, based on our experience with communities where poor quality environments affect quality of life.

The report highlights the negative impact that ‘incivilities’ such as litter, vandalism, graffiti and dog fouling can have upon individual and community wellbeing. It points out that these issues have too frequently been seen as trivial. It goes on to say that these problems are often best tackled by empowering local communities to bring about change in their area.

The report emphasises that communities must not be asked to tackle these problems alone – and it makes a number of recommendations to environmental charities, local government and funding bodies. The work of The Conservation Volunteers is highlighted in the report as an example of the type of action that the Trust would like to see more of.

MEMORIAL GARDEN UNVEILEDJune saw the official opening of a community memorial garden at RSPCA Sheffield Animal Centre, Attercliffe. The Conservation Volunteers worked tirelessly to create a new wildlife friendly garden, which includes new hedgerows, trees, footpaths, a pond, willow sculptures and a memorial area for deceased pets. It provides a welcoming green space for the local community to use, acts as an ecological hub for local wildlife, is a tranquil place where people can remember their much loved pets and a great new educational tool for local schools to utilise. We’d like to thank the Veolia Environmental Trust for their generous grant which made this project possible.

If you would like to read the report in further detail it can be found on the Carnegie Trust website: carnegieuktrust.org.uk/publications

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2012

Every year we like to honour the individuals and groups who tirelessly volunteer to help us care for the UK’s green places. Here are this year’s worthy winners.

Volunteer of the YearFor the volunteer who has shown outstanding commitment, innovation or achievement in their volunteering, with demonstrable returns for both the individual and their local community and environment.

Winner: Pam EvansPam Evans is a 70 year old grandmother and great grandmother who, being keen to help her community, joined the Family Employment Initiative in Bridgend.

Since discovering The Conservation Volunteers, her involvement in a variety of important projects has seen her grow in confidence as well as getting to grips with everything from growing seedlings, to tree planting, to turf laying and even dry stone walling.

She happily volunteers in all weathers - helping with the local food co-op and a community garden. She always brings others with her, encouraging younger people to take pride in their local area. She is the first person on site and the last to leave - probably undertaking more work than people half her age.

Despite challenging personal circumstances, including bereavement, arthritis and cataract operations, Pam has set about her conservation work with an energy that puts even the youngest and fittest volunteers to shame.

Her determination to lead a healthy, active lifestyle and to overcome the issues facing her community has earned her the respect of staff, volunteers and everyone she meets.

“The Conservation Volunteers have given me a reason to get up in the morning and keep myself active and healthy while putting something back into my local community”

Pam Evans, Conservation Volunteer of the Year.

Pam Evans

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Green Skills AwardFor the individual who has made significant changes to their life as a result of skills, qualifications and experience acquired through involvement with The Conservation Volunteers.

Winner: William ClarkeWilliam is 36 and has been involved with The Conservation Volunteers for just 18 months. Before getting involved with our New Deal programme in Belfast, William had been long term unemployed. From being a shy individual, finding it hard to mix with other volunteers, William has progressed to being a Volunteer Officer, co-leading groups and mentoring new volunteers. William has gained such confidence that he recently helped host our Chief Executive and Northern Ireland Chairman at a site visit.

Project Leader AwardFor the individual who has shown commitment, innovation or achievement in leading environmental projects; who has also provided others with the inspiration and knowledge to engage with practical projects and grow and develop as individuals and a team.

Winner: Max RoclawskiHaving retired from the Police back in 2001, Max decided that, in order to meet new people and do some meaningful physical work, he would volunteer at Hollybush Conservation Centre in Leeds. Here he enjoyed learning a whole raft of conservation skills but developed a particular passion for walling, tree felling and hedge laying. There is nothing Max likes better than passing these skills on to teams of volunteers at Hollybush and nearby Skelton Grange.

Such is his expertise, Max has become a member of the National Hedge Laying Society. Despite taking part in competitions throughout the country, Max’s greatest pleasure is in teaching his craft to others, whilst ensuring that every volunteer feels valued and appreciated.

Max Roclawski

William Clarke

Community Group of the YearFor the community group that has shown the most outstanding commitment, innovation or achievement in working towards a better environment where people feel valued, included and involved.

Winner: Sefton Green Gym

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Partnership AwardFor the council, company, trust, charity or other group that best works in partnership with The Conservation Volunteers

Winner: Camden Council Parks & Open SpacesCamden Council’s Park and Open Spaces Department have been a fantastic partner since 2008 when they joined the Green Gym steering group. As well as helping with funding they have provided valuable contracts and offered the use of Camden’s vehicles, tools, storage and materials.

Working with The Conservation Volunteers as a conservation volunteering partner has enabled Camden to massively increase volunteering in parks and open spaces, increase biodiversity and access to nature for local schools and reach new audiences by linking with health referrals and local businesses.

From an initial group of just four, Sefton Green Gym has grown to have at least 22 active members. The group includes people with learning disabilities, pensioners, individuals with various health issues and also children. The group works on the Queensway Allotment Site in Waterloo, Merseyside. Local people are encouraged to get involved and there are links with local schools, giving students of all levels of ability the chance to learn about conservation and get their hands dirty.

Sefton Green Gym

Camden

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European AwardFor the volunteer or group that has inspired others, shown outstanding commitment, innovation and achievement in their volunteering, with demonstrable returns for the individual and their local community, organisation and environment.

Winner: La TEAMFor two years, members of five organisations from the Conservation Volunteer Alliance have been working together to establish a programme called ‘La TEAM’. Their aim has been to develop opportunities for teams of international volunteers to work on environmental projects throughout Europe. So far these teams have been working in Estonia, Italy, France, Greece and the UK.

Text Costs £3.00 plus network charge. The Conservation Volunteers receives 100% of your donation. Obtain bill payers permission. Customer care 08448479800. Charity No in England (261009) and Scotland (SC039302)

Each year we work with hundreds of thousands of inspirational volunteers. Please help support our future Green Heroes by donating £3, by texting

‘TCV HERO’ to 70444

Alternatively, scan here to make a donation:

SUPPORT OUR GREEN HEROES

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WHY NOT ORGANISE AN EVENT IN YOUR AREA?There are many ways to support our work and one of the most enjoyable is to organise an event in your area. It could be a coffee morning or jumble sale, perhaps a disco or bingo night. For the more adventurous there is always a sponsored challenge. Here is an example of the fun that can be had while raising money for a great cause.

Get involved… Recycle your old phones and cartridgesShP has been in the mobile phone recycling business for over ten years and fully understands the importance of the secure handling of mobile phone devices. Importance is placed not only on the recycling and reuse aspects but also on the security of the data held within the devices being recycled. To date they have helped a variety of charities raise over £5million by passing on the market value of a recycled phone or ink cartridge to the charity of the recycler’s choice, meaning the greatly need funds are allocated exactly where the recycler wishes.

So please help us by labelling your old phone ‘TCV’ and post it to: TCV c/o SHP for Charity and continue to help TCV and SHP continue their great green and charitable work through the donation of mobile phones and ink cartridges.

Coniston SwimCumbrian staff and volunteers raised funds by taking part in this legendary event. Phil King, Charlotte Robinson, Carla Searle, Sian Mullen and Fran Richardson, along with volunteers Jessica and Dan have raised funds for their CLIP project which places young people into volunteering opportunities across Cumbria.

Please check our website for more details tcv.org.uk/news

The Conservation Volunteers have worked with ShP, one of the country’s leading recycling companies, for many years and together we have really made a difference.

It’s a Bug’s LifeSpoil the insects in your garden by building them a boutique hotel!

STEP 1 Find a suitable place to locate your hotel. A level surface under a tree or by a hedge is ideal.

STEP 2 Find yourself up to seven pieces of strong plywood, measuring approximately 45cm x 45cm. One square will become the roof of your hotel so needs wrapping in roofing felt, or covering with slate.

STEP 3 Collect a good supply of bricks to support the various floors, or levels, of your hotel. Arrange the first bricks on your flat piece of ground to make the foundations of the hotel. On top of them place your first square of wood. Continue to build up your hotel alternating bricks and floors.

STEP 4 Then it’s time to fill the gaps between the floors of your hotel. There are

lots of readily available materials with which to furnish your hotel, but here are some ideas.

• Straw and hay for hibernation

• Loose bark and leaves to encourage beetles, spiders and woodlice

• Bamboo canes or holes drilled into blocks of wood for nesting bees. You can also use hollow plant stems and plastic pipes

• Stones, tiles and old plant pots on the lower levels appeal to frogs and toads

• Dry sticks for ladybirds.

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John Thompson (centre, laying down) Senior Project Officer

ROOTS MEETS … JOHN THOMPSON PROJECT OFFICER

How are you involved with The Conservation Volunteers? I’m the Senior Field Project Officer in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. I initially came to The Conservation Volunteers as a Volunteer Officer after graduating and then managed Local Nature Reserves in Derby as part of a project called Wildspace!

What are you looking forward this coming season? Autumn is a gem of a time of year! The colours of the woodlands are fantastic so I’m particularly looking forward to walking and working in our local woods.

What green space means a lot to you and why? It would have to be somewhere like the rugged coastline of Robin Hood’s Bay. It’s dramatic, inspiring and there’s some great wildlife plus the seafood is fantastic!

I recently spent time in Estonia doing conservation work through our international team and the wildlife watching was fantastic. Strolling out into the wetlands of Matsalu and spotting wild beaver is a must.

Printed on paper manufactured from 100% recycled fibre

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT USDonate - As a charity we rely on your donations to help the support the work we do. By making a donation no matter how big or small your contribution really will make a difference to green places throughout the UK.

Volunteer - If you have the time, then we have the tools. Join us and make a difference to an area near you while learning new skills, enjoying the benefits of nature and forming new friendships.

Holidays - Choose from an extensive range of conservation holidays, in the UK and worldwide and enjoy the experience of a lifetime.

Shop - From books to bulbs to boots, you’ll find a huge variety of goods to help you improve your own garden or the local environment.

Recycle - If you have an old mobile phone, used printer cartridges or even an unwanted car we can help you get rid of them and get some money back for The Conservation Volunteers!

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