The Joy of Volunteering - by Alison Copland

I have just completed five years of volunteering in Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Urban Wildlife Centre office in Beacon Hill Lane, Corfe Mullen. Most Tuesday mornings, I travel the short distance from my home to help out with admin and other tasks, such as creating the monthly e-news bulletin for The Great Heath area. I was a book editor in my former life, so this utilises my publishing skills as well as keeping my brain ticking over!

Every minute has been enjoyable. The people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made through this volunteering role are very precious to me, and the few hours of respite each week also helped me through a difficult time when the problems of elderly relatives were taking up a lot of my time and sapping my energy.

To know that in some small way I am contributing to the vital activities of a brilliant wildlife charity working in the area of Dorset that I cherish, having been brought up in Purbeck, gives me much joy, as does the often plentiful supply of cake at the office!

Here’s to the next five years... 

Find out more about how you can volunteer for Dorset Wildlife Trust here.