A Day in the Life of Sarah-Jane - Practical Reserves Volunteer
Steart has been one of my favourite stamping grounds for quite some time now. The openness and tranquillity make it the perfect place to restore the soul, fill your lungs with clean air and, of course, see some of our amazing wildlife.
It had never really occurred to me just how much planning, effort and sheer hard labour goes into running a site like Steart. Between land management, hedging, strimming and general maintenance, there is an enormous amount that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that the site is not only the best it can be for the birds, animals and plant life that populate the site, but also to make sure that it is safe for visitors and that they have the best experience possible.
I signed up as a volunteer [and coerced my sister into joining too!] at the beginning of the summer this year. Working alongside the staff has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I have taken part in several activities as a volunteer so far - hedge de-strangling, cleaning the hides, putting up time-lapse cameras and clearing the ground around the bug hotels for example. I know that every bit of help us volunteers give is appreciated and integral to the success of the site.
Whenever I spend time volunteering, there is something new to learn and do. Being able to go behind the scenes is wonderful. You get the low down on where the badger sets are, where the otters come in and out of the site and where the best spots are to see nesting visitors. Just this week when cleaning the windows in Quantock Hide, we were lucky enough to see a cormorant hunting for eels. He was having an amazing hit rate - but the eels were fighting back hard and making it as difficult as possible for him to finish them off. It was quite a battle to watch!
For anyone that loves Steart Marshes and enjoys spending time there, I would highly recommend volunteering as a way to get closer to nature and find out more about how this amazing place is developing and changing. You can give as little or as much of your time as you want, uniform is provided [as are tea and biscuits!] and it gives a great feeling of achievement and satisfaction knowing that you've done your bit to help.
To find out more about volunteering opportunities look at the dedicated volunteering pages of the WWT website.
