GUIDING THE WAY AT WESTONBIRT
“The beauty of being a volunteer is that you can keep the administration to a minimum and the pleasure to a maximum. You can do as much or as little as you like.”
So says John Todd, 66, who lives in Painswick and is the joint team leader of the volunteer guides at the Forestry Commission's National Arboretum, Westonbirt.
John received membership to The Friends of Westonbirt as a retirement gift six years ago, and his interest in the arboretum started to grow from that day on. He attended an induction day and decided to train as a guide, and five years on he’s heading a team of 22 guides who are busy from April to the end of October.
There are more than 16,000 specimens at the 240-hectare (600-acre) arboretum in Gloucestershire, but volunteers are not required to know all of them by heart! John, however, has made it his business to learn about the trees and, on top of his guiding duties, he spends a day each week checking tree labels – this he calls his ‘work’!
“I’ve learned a lot and I really enjoy enhancing people’s experience of the arboretum," he says. "Tomorrow I’ll be taking a group of visually impaired people on a tour, and that means I’ll get to experience the trees through touch, scent and sound, like they do.”
John said he was attracted by the quality of the people and the strength of the partnership between the Forestry Commission, which manages the arboretum, and the Friends of Westonbirt, the 20,000-strong membership body which supports it.
The arboretum benefits from the support of 250 volunteers who assist in all sorts of roles – from visitor information to grounds maintenance and from propagating trees to, like John and his team, leading guided walks in the grounds.
“I don’t volunteer because I need my time filled: I do it because I enjoy it - and Westonbirt’s a really uplifting place to be,” says John.
Find out how you could help by contacting Cheryl Pearson, Volunteer Co-ordinator, the National Arboretum, Westonbirt; tel: 01666 880148; e-mail: volunteering@fowa.org.uk .
Westonbirt is three miles south-west of Tetbury on the A433 Tetbury to Bath road, and is open all year between 9am and 8pm, or dusk if earlier. The normal cost of admission for adults is £5 - £7.50, children £1. Group and concession rates are available. It is 10 miles north-east of Junction 18 of the M4 and south-east of junction 13 of the M5.
For more information, visit www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt or call the arboretum on 01666 880220.
Notes to Editors:
1. Westonbirt - The National Arboretum is world renowned for its tree and shrub collection. It contains nearly 16,000 specimens, including almost half of those woody plants known to grow in the world's temperate climate zone, and is beautifully landscaped. Its importance is recognised by English Heritage's Register of Parks & Gardens of Special Historical Interest as a Grade 1 Listed Landscape. Visitor numbers are almost 350,000 a year, with a membership of more than 19,000.
2. The Arboretum was established in 1829 by wealthy landowner Robert Holford, and further developed by his son, George Holford. Much of its renowned autumn colour is credited to Sir George's plantings of Japanese maples between 1875 and 1900, many of which are still alive. Unlike many arboreta, Westonbirt is laid out according to aesthetic appeal rather than scientific or geographical criteria, and the Holfords' legacy is open for all to enjoy - a beautiful, relaxing and unique day out amongst some of the tallest, oldest and rarest trees and shrubs in Britain.
3. Westonbirt is home to the National Maple (Acer) Collection, with more than 300 different types in the collection. The Forestry Commission opened Westonbirt Arboretum to the public in 1961, and in 1966 a new Acer Glade was established alongside the original one planted by the Holfords in 1870. It is now working to establish the world’s best collection of maples.
4. Forestry Commission England is the government department responsible for protecting, expanding and promoting the sustainable management of woods and forests and increasing their value to society and the environment. Forestry makes a real contribution to sustainable development, providing social and environmental benefits arising from planting and managing attractive, as well as productive, woodlands. Further information can be found at www.forestry.gov.uk
News media contacts:
For further information or images, contact Charlotte Hazelby or Alison Jennings on 0117 9441166 or email info@cspr.uk.com.
e-mail: steve.williams@forestry.gsi.gov.uk |