Girl Fridays celebrate 10 years' work on the Broads
The Broads Authority’s Girl Fridays celebrated 10 years of nature conservation on the Broads at an anniversary lunch and re-enactment of their first day on Friday 24 February at Ludham.
Three founder members of the voluntary Friday Ladies Group were among the 15 members who regularly help conserve the Broadland habitat and make it accessible for visitors.
Maggie Engledow, Volunteer Co-ordinator, said: “The group attracts women of all ages who do some wonderful work for nature conservation so people can come and enjoy the Broads. They work very hard in all weathers and get really stuck in. The work is great at keeping you fit and they enjoy the camaraderie as well as feeling they are achieving something really worthwhile. A lot of the Broads Authority’s work is labour intensive so our volunteers make a very significant contribution to the management of the Broads.”
The group was formed on 2 February 1996 when 33 women turned up for the opening on a freezing cold day. Three new members have started in the last four weeks.
Founder member Nancy Coleman who is 77 continues to volunteer despite health problems.
“I have done anything and everything from coppicing, planting trees, clearing scrub and ponds, mending boardwalks, to making faggots to support banks and - my favourite - bonfires. I adore the countryside and it gets me out of the city centre where I live. I love the work, the company and seeing the wildlife. It’s one of the best things I have ever done. I look forward to my Fridays. When I come home I have a bath and a cup of tea - and I feel wonderful.”
Doreen Stone, of Sprowston, who joined the group six months after it started said she wanted to undertake voluntary work which got her outside.
“I love going to spots to which we wouldn’t normally go and do something to help the environment,” she said. “It’s good exercise - much better than aerobics. It’s nice to meet up once a week and have a good chat at lunchtime.”
Irene Woodward, 58, of Wymondham moved to Norfolk from Kent to be close to the Broads. She joined the Ladies Group in 2003 and trained to use a brushcutter. Coming from a boating family she was also keen to get out on the water and became a Broads Authority Auxiliary Navigation Ranger in 2004. Now fully trained in boat handling, first aid and VHF radio training she patrols the Broads in an official launch, providing additional help and advice to the public once a week.
“I love the Broads and volunteering gets me out into the countryside to places where the public cannot normally go,” she enthused. “The teamwork and friendship in the Ladies Group is a strong motivator. Getting out and about, meeting people and getting new experiences is my idea of life and volunteering on the Broads offers all this."
The group works at different times with the countryside, conservation and project teams in a variety of Broads locations.
Their current schedule until April includes grass seeding and vegetation management at Upton Dyke, hedge management, osier planting, reed-bed and pond management at Hoveton Viaduct, hedge laying at Barton car park, coppicing and clearance work on a new Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Claxton, and tree clearance and putting up bird boxes on Womack Island.
Maggie Engledow has been overwhelmed with enquiries to volunteer, receiving 67 in the last four weeks.
“It’s so therapeutic,” she says. “We have seen people’s lives transformed by volunteering. It appeals to people who have a little bit of time on their hands and want to do something worthwhile without any commitment.”
The Broads Authority may have a few vacancies for volunteers and will be taking enquiries for the Ladies Group after 21 April.”
27/02/2006
