“volunteer (vɒləntɪəʳ) (countable noun)
A volunteer is someone who does work without being paid for it, because they want to do it.”
We’ve had 3 win win days this week – wins for us, wins for the environment and wins (we hope) for Canal and River Trust, the charity that looks after most of the inland waterways we travel and live on.
We have managed to volunteer for 3 days this week – Monday in the Milton Keynes area, Wednesday in Leighton Buzzard, and Thursday back in Blisworth in Northamptonshire. The locations necessitated getting hold of a car to ensure we could make them all, but it was worth it.
Each day was totally different, valuable in its own way, the tasks, the people we met, the exercise we got, and the environment we worked in. Each day brought new delights – new people to meet, an old friend to see in one instance, and wildlife to make us catch our breath in wonder.
On one of the days, a number of our fellow volunteers were corporate volunteers, on paid for days away from their offices. One group were remote working colleagues, and it was a brilliant opportunity for them to come together doing something different, to catch up with each other and enjoy a day working. Another chap was a lawyer who also works remotely for a large city law firm and enjoys taking his annual corporate volunteering day near his home. He said for him, and his firm, volunteering is an annual MUST.
Corporate employee volunteering is increasingly being encouraged. As we are self-employed, maybe we both encourage ourselves! Studies and literature show that not only do organisations benefit from the altruistic impact of lending their employees to socially responsible projects, particularly within local communities, but their employees demonstrate enhanced team spirit and wellness as a result.
The wellness element chimes with me and is evident.
The health benefits are certainly physical for me, with all activities conducted out in the fresh air. This week, we’ve had glorious sunshine, too.
On Monday, I was walking, bending, stretching, and undertaking gentle lifting as I collected litter, carrying quite heavy bags by the end of the session. I was also helping to dig holes to plant small saplings and sowing wildflowers.
On Wednesday, I was bending and straightening for four hours, pulling invasive Himalayan Balsam plants out by their roots.
I also had the unexpected bonus of a mud bath! Somehow, I was the only one taking such a dip, although I was very rapidly and good-humouredly extracted.
On Thursday I was again walking, stretching, lifting and bending as we filled holes in the towpath, picked up litter (in a CRT car park where there is actually a bin this HAS to be car drivers rather than boaters who aren’t angels either judging from what we find on towpaths sometimes). I do wonder why if someone has a car that has space in it and will presumably take them home where they have a bin, they can’t just keep their litter in it until they get home…
But crucially, at least for me, is the mental benefit of volunteering with CRT.
Surrounded by nature with its myriad greens, close to water with its peaceful calming reflections (when the willows haven’t shed their seed fluff so thickly it coats the canal), with the gentle rustling of breeze in the leaves of the trees around, there can be few better places to spend a day. This is forest bathing in some environments and certainly nature immersion whatever location you’re in. Wildlife abound to entertain, fascinate, and astonish. This week grey herons have been fishing and flying alongside us, mallard ducks have been parading tiny groups of fluffy brown and blonde ducklings, swans have been sitting on eggs as we pass and geese have been shepherding gaggles of yellow goslings on towpaths and along the canal. A mandarin drake added vivid colour (and proved very territorial). He may be small, but boy, is he aggressive!
Vital advice for anyone wanting to improve their mental health is to surround themselves with nature, to walk and look, to wonder and watch. This takes you out of yourself to the wider world and enables that sense of being part of something bigger, something that endures struggles and difficulties but which has continued for centuries and will continue for many more. CRT volunteering provides all of this for me, plus stimulation in conversations, learning new skills, and meeting new people.
The other part of volunteering is the knowledge that you have value, worth even, that what you do matters and is recognised. However small the task, volunteering makes a difference. It counts. It makes the world a better place. Whether that’s mending a bridge, removing litter, restoring an old building, or washing signs. Every single task makes a positive difference, often to people you will never meet.
Isolation is a huge problem for many people’s mental health, and working from home only exacerbates that. Volunteering for CRT means meeting people, some new, some existing friends and acquaintances. This week I’ve met a delightful lady from Hong Kong now living in the UK permanently with her son and daughter-in-law, a lawyer from Northampton, a project manager from Chesterfield, and some fascinating people people from the areas we’ve been working in. They’ve been an invaluable source of historic knowledge, advice on good pubs and information about the area. They’ve generously shared with us their insight into where they live, and that’s enriched our time there.
So I and the Skipper have benefitted from our time volunteering, Boatdog too. She has been stroked and fussed, patted, and at lunchtime found volunteering groups a source of tasty snacks.
Wherever you live, there will be volunteering opportunities and we’d highly recommend taking them up on a regular basis whether once a year, once a quarter, once a month or once a week. We find we benefit as much if not more than the environment and charity (CRT) we are supporting. It really is a win win win win situation – a win for CRT saving the charity money on maintenance that needs doing, getting the work done and improving the environment. A win for us for our physical well-being and a big win for our mental health knowing we’ve made a positive difference and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves too.
Pickingupducks 