Norfolk-based UK charity, the Hawk and Owl Trust, welcomed a team of Help for Heroes (H4H) members on Monday 22 October to its Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve outside Fakenham, Norfolk. A group from the UK Armed Forces and Military Veterans Charity and their families visited to find out more about volunteering opportunities for its local members in the area, and Sculthorpe Moor offers the perfect place!
The Help for Heroes group enjoyed a guided tour around the reserve and meeting the existing volunteers to discover just what they and their members could get involved in. Physical and mental rehabilitation for injured Service personnel is a key aim for Help for Heroes, empowering members to look beyond their illnesses and injuries and helping them to reach their potential, regain their purpose and have a positive impact on society. Hawk and Owl Trust at Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve will be able to offer increasing numbers of volunteering opportunities to Help for Heroes members as the reserve expands following the on-going land purchase appeal.
Volunteers are at the heart of Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve, and they help out with a huge range of activities, from administration to practical habitat management. Some roles are more physical than others, but all offer a wonderful sense of doing a good job for wildlife, conservation and the local community. The Sculthorpe volunteers have an amazing camaraderie and many say their roles offer a life-line as well as friendship and a sense of purpose. The reserve simply wouldn’t exist without them. Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve is one of the most accessible reserves in the country, all routes on the reserve are board-walked, and all hides are accessible by wheelchair – even the tree top hide! The entire infrastructure, including all the reserve buildings, the hides and the boardwalks have all been built by a team of volunteers. The Help for Heroes group enjoyed a beautiful sunny day, and lots of wildlife on a leisurely wander around the reserve, seeing Red Kites, dragonflies, frogs and fungi, all amongst beautiful autumn colours and sun filtering through the trees. The group of 25 consisted of Band of Brothers (Service personnel) and Band of Sisters (their families). As the reserve expands, following its Sculthorpe Fen Land Purchase Appeal which is still on-going, even more volunteers will be needed to build the new infrastructure, manage and develop the land in a way that will benefit wildlife and meet and greet an increased number of visitors. A key part of the £1.7m Hawk and Owl Trust Sculthorpe Fen Land Purchase Appeal presently underway to purchase additional land to extend the reserve is to be working with local community groups. Offer opportunities in volunteering, gardening for health, exercise and making new friendships is a part of this goal – all in the glorious surroundings of this lovely nature reserve. Help for Heroes knows that those who serve together, recover better together – supporting each other, enjoying a sense of fellowship once more. Hawk and Owl Trust is proud that there is such a close fit between the reserve and the aims of H4H.
Neil Chadwick, Volunteer Coordinator at Sculthorpe Moor, said “Having a group of local volunteers from Help for Heroes will be amazing for the reserve, and the timing couldn’t be better as we prepare for all the additional work that will be needed following a successful appeal. I think the reserve will work its magic on the volunteers as well, and they will benefit hugely, not just from the ‘work’ but also from the friendships and sense of a job well done that volunteering here guarantees.”
One Help for Heroes member, said “This is a fantastic place, although I didn’t previously know it was here. I will definitely be returning, and I have taken the volunteering information away with me. Getting involved with volunteering here is something I am seriously considering!”
Contact information
Su Gough (Communication and PR Officer) Office: 01328 850598 (8am to 4pm) Mobile: 07769 270994 (anytime) Email: [email protected]
Lindsay Hutton (Help for Heroes, Band of Brothers and Band of Sisters Co-ordinator) Office: 01206 814887 Mobile: 07854 379038 Email: [email protected]
