Environment – Rewarding work

Volunteers are the lifeblood of conservation fieldwork in controlling pest weeds and animals. They decide to give freely of their time because they want to work for a higher cause that provides lasting benefits beyond their personal sphere and even beyond their lifetime. One chap said to me, while working in the bush, “there’s got to be some fun in it”. Next time I turned round, he had gone. It was a bit damp at the time and we weren’t having much fun. But there was work to be done; the satisfaction was intangible that day. The reward is more direct if you can see an increase in bird life, or new seedlings popping up all over the place in the spring. Simply seeing seed lying on the ground that you know would usually have been taken by possums or rats for food is rewarding. Many enjoy seeing the tally of the number of pests killed creeping up – leaping up at times – while also accepting that an absence of kill or bait take means they are on top of the problem, at least for the time being. An appreciative comment by a passer-by can lift one’s spirits too.

Often people volunteer later in life when time pressures from work and family have lessened. Ironically, they may end up undertaking physical work that is tougher than they ever did earning a living when younger. That was certainly true in my case. Compensation for that is the ‘occasional’ nature of the job, with only half a day’s effort once a month, or six weekly, often being all that is required.

Organisations accept a responsibility for safety when they send people out using tools and poisons, traps and bait stations and so training is provided that gives reassurance for the trainer and trainee that new skills relevant to the job have been learned. Tasks range from hand pulling weeds and picking up rubbish to learning how to navigate using a GPS and recording data in statistical programmes for research purposes. However much is taught, once you get going you quickly learn more about your own patch than anyone, if you keep at it.

There are also opportunities to use your initiative and come up with enterprising ideas. One guy got hold of an infra-red camera, at his own expense, and set it up overnight capturing the goings-on at a box trap set up on Fairhaven Walk. The number of vermin he saw and what he learnt about their behaviour gave him a huge incentive to get stuck in and get rid of them.

There are lots of groups with an environmental focus that are seeking volunteers in our area including Forest & Bird with planting and predator-free peninsula projects, the regional parks at Shakespeare and Wenderholm, The Friends of Okura Bush and local care groups such as the Eaves Bush Appreciation Group. So whatever your background, give volunteering a go and make a difference for the natural world of the Hibiscus Coast.