Wood Like To Meet
Tuesday 24th January 2012
Valentines Volunteers (c) Claire Dovey
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust are hoping potential volunteers will find love at their annual Valentine’s Volunteers event at Tiddesley Wood, near Pershore.
This is the third year of the event that hopes to help local singles find a partner as well as create a long-term relationship between new volunteers and the charity. While a number of previous participants are still volunteering, there has yet to be a long-lasting romance from the event – the Trust are hoping this year will change that.
Mutual Benefit
Anna Bunney, volunteer co-ordinator for the Trust, explained “Volunteers are absolutely essential to the Trust – without them we just couldn’t do the work we do.
“It’s not just about us though. Almost every volunteer survey indicates that people start volunteering because they want to meet new people and make new friends. Whilst it would be great if participants met a future partner, we’d also be really happy if people just made a few new friends while they’re with us.”
Participants will be involved with bagging and selling logs and woodchips as part of the monthly log sales that take place at Tiddesley Wood throughout the winter.
Volunteer-led Sales
Anna continued “Our log sales have been run by a team of volunteers at Tiddesley for many years. The sales are a really important source of income and just go to show how volunteers are involved in almost every aspect of our work. The regular log sales volunteers really look forward to the February event – apart from the fun of it, they also have extra pairs of hands to help!
“Anyone thinking about joining us on the day needs to book ahead so we can work out our speed dating system. No experience is necessary – just plenty of enthusiasm and a love of being outdoors.”
Popular Event
Places for the event are limited and the event is usually over-subscribed. Previous participants have said that the speed dating format works really well – the fact that you’re working while chatting to someone new takes off some of the pressure.
Anna commented “If anyone is interested in volunteering but doesn’t want to join in the dating fun, we’re also running a volunteer taster day at Tiddesley Wood with a more practical conservation bias on Sunday 11th March.”
The event takes place on Sunday 12th February between 9.45am and 1.30pm. The event is free but booking is essential. Anyone looking for Mr or Mrs Right, or wants to know more about the Taster Day in March, should contact Anna Bunney on 01905 754919 or email anna@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org
Valentine’s Volunteers is just one of a number events across the county aimed at encouraging people to get into the outdoors and help wildlife. For more information on these events and other ways to get involved with the Trust visit our volunteering pages.
Tagged with: Tiddesley Wood, Valentine's, Volunteering, Volunteers