Rye Harbour Nature Reserve staff and volunteers learning together
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is a wonderful place to walk and enjoy wildlife, birdlife and scenic views and once a month staff and volunteers enjoy the opportunity to walk together. RHNR Volunteer Coordinator, Katherine Crowther, shares the benefits of these collective walks.
Each monthly walk is led by Phil Jones, who’s both a volunteer and a member of staff at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Phil’s also a qualified bird-ringer, member of the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and regular visitor for many years, all of which means he has an astounding knowledge of the reserve’s various habitats, plants and wildlife species. Keen to share his knowledge and joy, Phil volunteers to lead the walks: 'I love taking the monthly walks. It is a great opportunity to point out and identify some of the birds. More importantly for me is the chatting that goes on! We all get a chance to talk to staff and other volunteers and learn what else is going on around our wonderful reserve.'
Across the reserve
Depending on weather and season, Phil’s walks vary to feature different routes, giving staff and volunteers the opportunity to learn more about the various habitats for species which they might not be familiar with. This is extremely valuable in boosting knowledge - staff and volunteers alike - which helps us answer questions from the visiting public.
Across the year
These walks are scheduled once a month throughout the year, which means staff and volunteers can see seasonal changes across the reserve and learn to identify seasonally migrating birds and other species visitors may ask about. For instance, February’s staff and volunteer walk gave us a chance to see a group of Snipe off the Gooder’s Hide, and also meant Phil could share hints and tips for bird identification.
Across the roles
As a blended group of both staff and volunteers, another benefit from these monthly walks is spending time together away from rotas and usual roles. There's the chance to bond as a team, share anecdotes and learning experiences about being part of the RNHR community. This aspect of the walks is hugely beneficial to new staff and volunteers, who are encouraged to come on walks as part of their induction period.
Linda Wren, who has volunteered at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve for many years, attends these walks regularly and was particularly pleased to see so many new volunteers on February's walk: “the walk was great, Phil is brilliant at it. And a great turn out, lovely to see all the volunteers getting to know each other and so obviously interested in the reserve.”
During bird hide visits, Phil also has a fun feature of spotlighting staff to speak to the group about aspects of their work and what the focus for the coming season might be. This is a great way for everyone to find out more about what’s involved in other teams’ roles and to find out about events and activities coming up.
A huge thank you to Phil Jones and Lucy Bowyer for organising these walks, and to all staff and volunteers who take the time to come along and make these walks such a success.
To find out more about volunteering at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, please contact [email protected].