Broads volunteers represented at Downing Street celebration
A Broads Authority volunteer described faggot making to Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a reception at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday July 22nd.
Douglas Vallgren, a retired insurance manager with Norwich Union, represented the Broads Authority’s 250 volunteers at a reception to celebrate the contribution that volunteers make to local environmental projects.
The Broads Authority and four national parks were represented at the 150 strong reception along with other environmental charities.
Douglas, who lives in Norwich, volunteers two days a week with the Broads projects team, building and maintaining bridges, board walks, pathways, seating, gates and fences, coppicing, hedge laying and making faggots which are recycled from woodland material to backfill river banks which have suffered from erosion.
He also works one day a month on the Trinity Broads clearing alder and willow scrub from reedbeds, invasive rhododendron from woodland, and writes newsletter articles. Douglas is also part of a small working group who are organising a special day in September for staff, members and volunteers to celebrate 20 years of volunteering in the Broads.
“I spend half my spare time working in the Broads,” he said. “It’s a great way to de-stress. It’s an opportunity to be out in beautiful, wild countryside, which the public can’t normally reach, enjoy the camaraderie of a team, and to keep fit. I enjoy learning new skills and giving something back to preserve the beautiful Broads for future generations to enjoy.”
16/07/09
