Yeah, would you believe it, Volunteers’ Week happens every year and everyone is supposed to thank volunteers for their efforts this week.

Marcus, Aaron and myself got loads of thanks this week, as we do every week, so we were OK.

But it got me thinking about why I volunteer so much of my time to various different things, to the detriment of the things that I want to do for myself a lot of the time. I guess there is an over-riding factor to make things better, or give people the opportunity to maybe break-out of a situation that they might not be comfortable with, and possibly cannot see a way out themselves? I don’t really know. But I do know that our weekly workdays are there for everyone, no skills required, just turn up, have a bit of a laugh, do a bit of work and enjoy a bit of company over a coffee and a biscuit.

And that is probably it, what I get out of volunteering is probably very different to what other people get out of it, but there is a bit of my story if anyone is interested.

Our mini-meadow looked a bit more “meadowish” this week.

And plenty of wildflowers when we started to look.

Yellow Rattle

Common Vetch

Germander Speedwell

Herb Bennet

Red Campion

Common Dog Violet

There are loads of mini-beasts, too.

Bloody-nosed Beetle

I spotted a bug-hotel that we put up years ago.

We could do with a lot more of these as we move into the summer.

One of our bird-feeder poles, from the observation bench on the opposite bank.

So there it is, volunteering is good for the soul, creating things that help others is also good for the soul. Come along and give it a go. There is always plenty to do and there is always plenty of coffee and cookies to share.

Paul