Today was another fairly short notice volunteering opportunity. There was an organised river ramble to raise funds for the Trust. There was the option of getting sponsored or paying a £10 donation. The Boy changed his shifts at work so he could join me and we pursuaded a couple of friends that they wanted to join us.
I had a very insomnic night last night and after attempting to sleep for 5 hours I gave up and got on with the day. This at least meant I could bake some banana bread to take along with me. Needless to say by 8am, I wasn't looking forward to the prospect of waking nearly 13 miles!
We headed out for a bus at 10am, our friends weren't on it so we just continued on assuming that they had slept in. Reaching Balerno we reigstered and set off on the walk. There were around 30 people and we'd been blessed with a glorious day, clear blue skies and burning sun.
A few miles along the route we realised that our friends had caught the next bus and were on their way. At mile 5 we reached the visitor's centre where lunch had been laid on. We sat in the sun, ate lunch and waited for them to catch up. By now I'd perked up and was really enjoying myself. It was nice to see some of the other volunteers and chat to people.
When the guys had caught up (albeit rather later than expected due to being behind the last walkers and the signs having been gathered in) we continued on the route. It was a really nice walk, wildlife sightings were lacking but in that heat, I don't blame them. I think we walked a bit quickly for the guys but knowing that The Boy needed to be at work for 4:30pm I was hesitant to walk much slower. Also they didn't speak up about the speed until we were at the pub afterwards so really it's their own fault.
By about 9 miles I was starting to tire and there were some aches but surprisingly it was my knee that was bothering me, rather than the tendonitis in my feet. It's always a beautiful walk along the river and I think everyone enjoyed it.
The Boy had to head to work but our two friends joined me at the pub for a well deserved drink.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Friday, 22 July 2011
Getting caught up
I figure if this blog is going to chart my volunteering I should probably include what I've done so far.
I got an email last Thursday from the Trust which included details of a River Clean Up happening the next day. Short notice but I had nothing planned so I decided to go along. It was great. Nice bunch of people. Did an hour of litter picking on and around the river. Quick tea break then it was upriver to pull invasive plants. It was a bit of a scramble to get to the site on the river bank where the Himalayan Basalm was growing. Never having been to a clean up before I wasn't sure what to expect so had chucked my Crocs in my bag just in case I needed to go in the water. Didn't take me long to volunteer to put them on and pull the basalm that was unreachable from the bank. Wading knee deep (thankfully I'd worn shorts) I was in my element. The water was cold at first but I soon aclimatised and my feet were toasty warm.
Absolutely loved it and can't wait until the next session. Really enjoyed the 2 mile stroll there and then back again but I think The Boy will need to get his bike fixed up for me so that I can get to the further away sessions.
On Monday evening I attended my first River Patrol meeting. River Patrol Volunteers adopt a stretch of river and once a week, patrol it to check for any problems (fallen trees, litter, dog poo, pollution, vandalism, overgrown vegetation etc), note position of invasive species (Himalayan Basalm, Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed, Mink) and monitor walkway usage, wildlife and protected species (otters and bats). They then meet up every couple of months to report on what has been happening along the river and look at any areas that need work or more patrols in future. At the meeting I learnt the position of the elusive kingfishers which I have heard so much about but never seen for myself. I also learnt about the stocking of fish in the river and the flood defense works that are currently being carried out. I got a new map of the river and am now looking forward to getting out on my first patrol. My main zones will be 7 and 8 as they're either side of the canal but once my feet improve (or The Boy fixes the bike up) I'll be able to do some other zones too.
I plan to get myself a log book to save constantly printing out the patrol sheets and accumulated photos or pictures of the plants and wildlife I should be looking out for. After all, I have no idea what river lamprey look like or the difference between a water vole and water shrew.
Hopefully soon I'll get a call about volunteering in the visitor's centre.
I got an email last Thursday from the Trust which included details of a River Clean Up happening the next day. Short notice but I had nothing planned so I decided to go along. It was great. Nice bunch of people. Did an hour of litter picking on and around the river. Quick tea break then it was upriver to pull invasive plants. It was a bit of a scramble to get to the site on the river bank where the Himalayan Basalm was growing. Never having been to a clean up before I wasn't sure what to expect so had chucked my Crocs in my bag just in case I needed to go in the water. Didn't take me long to volunteer to put them on and pull the basalm that was unreachable from the bank. Wading knee deep (thankfully I'd worn shorts) I was in my element. The water was cold at first but I soon aclimatised and my feet were toasty warm.
Absolutely loved it and can't wait until the next session. Really enjoyed the 2 mile stroll there and then back again but I think The Boy will need to get his bike fixed up for me so that I can get to the further away sessions.
On Monday evening I attended my first River Patrol meeting. River Patrol Volunteers adopt a stretch of river and once a week, patrol it to check for any problems (fallen trees, litter, dog poo, pollution, vandalism, overgrown vegetation etc), note position of invasive species (Himalayan Basalm, Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed, Mink) and monitor walkway usage, wildlife and protected species (otters and bats). They then meet up every couple of months to report on what has been happening along the river and look at any areas that need work or more patrols in future. At the meeting I learnt the position of the elusive kingfishers which I have heard so much about but never seen for myself. I also learnt about the stocking of fish in the river and the flood defense works that are currently being carried out. I got a new map of the river and am now looking forward to getting out on my first patrol. My main zones will be 7 and 8 as they're either side of the canal but once my feet improve (or The Boy fixes the bike up) I'll be able to do some other zones too.
I plan to get myself a log book to save constantly printing out the patrol sheets and accumulated photos or pictures of the plants and wildlife I should be looking out for. After all, I have no idea what river lamprey look like or the difference between a water vole and water shrew.
Hopefully soon I'll get a call about volunteering in the visitor's centre.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
So what's this all about?
Hello,
Welcome to my blog, it's so nice of you to stop by. I've been keeping a blog of my marathon training and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately my training has been temporarily stopped due to tendonitis and shin splints and I began to miss blogging. I found myself wanting to write about other things so I've started this blog to do just that.
Within the last week I have taken my first tiny steps back towards employment after many years of ill health by signing up to volunteer with my local river Conservation Trust. I'm still studying part time so I'm easing myself in to the responsibilities of working life slowly whilst I finish my degree. I'll be attending clean up sessions, adopting a stretch of river to keep an eye on and hopefully (when they get back to me) I'll get some shifts in the visitor centre too.
I've also just heard today that the funding has finally been sorted for a garden share scheme which will allow me to tend and grow vegetables in the garden of a lovely elderly lady who can no longer tend the garden herself.
I plan to use this blog to chart my progress in these two areas and will be updating a couple of times a week. I may sometimes stray off the path, you might get treated to a nice recipe or an anecdote about something else but the main purpose is volunteering. I hope you'll come back and visit me again soon.
Welcome to my blog, it's so nice of you to stop by. I've been keeping a blog of my marathon training and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately my training has been temporarily stopped due to tendonitis and shin splints and I began to miss blogging. I found myself wanting to write about other things so I've started this blog to do just that.
Within the last week I have taken my first tiny steps back towards employment after many years of ill health by signing up to volunteer with my local river Conservation Trust. I'm still studying part time so I'm easing myself in to the responsibilities of working life slowly whilst I finish my degree. I'll be attending clean up sessions, adopting a stretch of river to keep an eye on and hopefully (when they get back to me) I'll get some shifts in the visitor centre too.
I've also just heard today that the funding has finally been sorted for a garden share scheme which will allow me to tend and grow vegetables in the garden of a lovely elderly lady who can no longer tend the garden herself.
I plan to use this blog to chart my progress in these two areas and will be updating a couple of times a week. I may sometimes stray off the path, you might get treated to a nice recipe or an anecdote about something else but the main purpose is volunteering. I hope you'll come back and visit me again soon.
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