During Volunteers Week, High Life Highland is taking the opportunity to thank all its volunteers, particularly those green fingered heroes and nature enthusiasts who are helping to Make Life Better.
At the Inverness Botanic Gardens there are volunteers working hard to keep this oasis of colour and tranquillity looking beautiful for visitors – as well as individuals who volunteer with the GROW project, a vocational gardening initiative for adults with additional support needs.
Volunteering with the GROW gardeners, Carol Greer says she does it for a variety of reasons from the social element to the opportunity to learn about gardening and growing – and of course lots of fresh air!
“I love the social contact with the GROW Gardeners and with fellow volunteers. I have met some wonderful and interesting people. Every day is a school day at the GROW project – I never knew about vegetable growing when I first started five years ago but I have learnt so much and find it endlessly fascinating and life enhancing. I simply love it here.”
Like Carol, it’s the interaction and the learning opportunities that come with any volunteering role that drives Uisdean McLennan to volunteer in the Botanic Gardens. He said: “It’s great to chat with people, both locals and those on holiday, with many surprised to find botanic gardens this far north and it’s absolutely beautiful in their eyes – and mine!
“I volunteer because I enjoy increasing my knowledge and learning new skills and of course there’s lots of interesting colleagues and staff. I also love the rewarding feeling of a job well done!”
Mary Russell is probably High Life Highland’s furthest travelling volunteer – coming over from the USA every summer!
“I’ve been volunteering at the Inverness Botanic Gardens for two years now and I have to say, it’s the best volunteering job I’ve ever, ever had”, said Mary.
“I volunteer because I love working with beautiful material and I enjoy the interaction with the visitors – they are always grateful for the work that we do and I have made wonderful friends, including a little robin that’s really tame, it’s just so good being this close to nature.”
And there is lots of nature to be had as a volunteer with the High Life Highland Countryside Rangers! Like many service areas within the charity, the Ranger Service relies on volunteers. They help with a host of activities from path maintenance and habitat monitoring to beach cleans and tackling invasive species.
For Ranger Service volunteer Chris, it’s not just about giving back to her local community of Strontian in the present day, but future proofing the local paths group by training the next generations of volunteers.
“I love being hands on and getting involved in practical tasks, which is why I am involved in volunteering with the local paths group, supported by our local High Life Ranger Eilidh-Ann.
“As well as directly giving something back myself, I value training others so they have the skills, knowledge and understanding of what’s involved in keeping our local path network open and up to scratch for everyone to enjoy and become able to train new recruits themselves. We have an older population in the village so it’s important that our paths are accessible so they can feel confident and safe when out walking.”
Fellow path volunteer Liz McLure agrees, she said: “These are beautiful walks but they often need some TLC to keep them safe for all to enjoy. It’s good to do something like this for others. I’m invariably tired after digging culverts and chopping back undergrowth but always invigorated at the end of the day.”
Steve Walsh, Chief Executive of High Life Highland said: “Our sincere thanks to all our wonderful volunteers right across the organisation. They play a vital role in helping us deliver so many activities – they truly are helping to Make Life Better for people every single day.”
If you are interested in volunteering with High Life Highland – whether that’s environmental volunteering, helping in archives, libraries or as a sports or music volunteer please contact the relevant service at High Life Highland.
