Meet the Wildflower Nursery Volunteers
Sonja | Leoni | Luis | Eva | John | George | Shona
SONJA WAGNER - Munich, Germany
July to October 2002 - Wildflower and Tree Nurseries
I liked volunteering in the Nurseries because I felt like doing something useful for the environment. Northern Ireland has a man-made lack of trees and Conservation Volunteers is trying to restore the natural environment. The atmosphere was really positive and we were not just working hard but had also good fun! Some highlights were going seed collecting to the coast and having a barbecue for the volunteers. Not to forget the leaders' good sense of humour....!
LEONI ZAKARIAS - Adelaide, Australia
November 2002 to September 2003 - Tree and Wildflower Nurseries, Environments for All
Hello, hiya, and g’day!
I arrived in Northern Ireland on a windy blustery rainy November evening. Soon to learn the weather will stay like this for quite sometime. But, full of enthusiasm, I joined a group of 10 people from all parts of the planet to begin a working holiday week. We began work in a Country Park called Delamont, near Killyleagh, hedge laying. The spectacular scenery I instantly fell in love with, an environment with many rolling hills into the sea and so many shades of green!
My plan was only to stay in Belfast for a few months this extended to almost a year.
I am one who is interested in Nature globally and is always willing to help and to learn, being part of such an organisation as Conservation Volunteers is such a real, relevant and relaxed place, whether you know anything about flora or not - it’s fun! I had a brilliant time and met some beautiful and amazing people that I found to have open honest hearts and strange humor.
My day at the tree nursery would begin when I would hear a loud beep from a big red bus at some ungodly hour to take me away to possibly an unknown hillside to collect hazelnuts, or just enjoy the perfect ray of sunlight at the tree nursery at Clandeboye. As the birds sing their tunes and we dig at the ground relieving the seedlings from their lush summer beds, to be placed in bunches with 20 or so others to lay dormant for winter.
If I could not bring myself to wake up for the 8 o’clock pick up, I would allow myself an extra half an hour sleep and spend the day with the smaller of species at the wildflower nursery. I yet still had the option of which wildflower nursery I would like to go to. A friend I met, Gordon, had begun creating a pond at the wildflower nursery at Knockbracken, and he asked me if I would like to help. As the nursery is on hospital grounds we were hoping it would be of use to the patients, to walk or even be pushed along the soon-to-be-made boardwalk and have the opportunity to see some native wildlife and plants. I‘ll never forget standing in a pond on a winters day in thigh high water collecting water plants - so many little adventures.
I also committed myself to 1 or 2 days a week attending St. Gabriel's school taking part in some environmental teaching as well as hands on action with the children. A small group of us would spend 2-3 hours outside constructing what the kids would like in their school grounds, out of the many fabulously adventurous ideas they came up with. We built with the kids for the kids a pond with a boardwalk which we added pond plants grown from the wildflower nursery. We also constructed a living willow tree dome, which you can actually walk in and out of. This was very rewarding and it is so wonderful to start something and see the end results!
I can tell you now being back in Australia that I still miss the place. I loved the fact I could walk everywhere or cycle anywhere. Climb a mountain in the Mournes; listen to some traditional music at the local pub. I met and worked with so many people of different nationalities it was a wonderful to be able chat, or maybe learn German from a flatmate. Oh I learnt why the people of Ireland drink Guinness, because it is good for you!
What an experience, I learnt so much about Belfast and of course many new skills, so the easiest thing I can do is round up everything I had the opportunity to do. Create a pond (well actually a couple), build a ramp for wheelchair access, cultivate, transplant, propagate plants, water seeds, learn bricklaying (a friend Simona and I built a low wall), paint the new seed lab at the tree nursery green. Go seed collecting, walk, talk, even sleep on some of those seriously freezing days, create a willow dome (a few), learn the world and the ways of Northern Ireland, watch the plants grow and have a wonderful time.
LUIS MARTINEZ - Tuy, Spain
September 2003 to March 2004 - Wildflower Nursery
My name is Luis and I am from a small town in North West Spain called Tuy, which is on the Portuguese border. I have been a volunteer with Conservation Volunteers since September last year, when I started as a Volunteer Officer in the Wildflower Nursery. Once there, I worked on seed collecting, sowing, pricking out, potting, and lots of exciting projects throughout the country.
Last month I was offered a job as an Environments for All Project Officer, which now, I love very much. We work with schools and disadvantaged communities building willow domes, planting trees and flowers, and delivering nature education through arts and crafts etc. It is a lot of fun and the staff I am working with are great. Everyone is very helpful and there is plenty to do - no time to get bored (!) There are also lots of friends to make and the best of all, I am doing my bit to build a better world.
EVA KAGIRI - Nairobi, Kenya
March to August 2004 - Wildflower Nursery
Hi. My name is Eva Kagiri from Nairobi, Kenya. The experience and satisfaction I have obtained from working with Conservation Volunteers is worth far much more than any four years spent doing a degree!
I worked with the Environments for All Community Projects for a while and through this I learnt the essence of existence and at the Wildflower Nursery I discovered the true joy of living.
Apart from widening your educational know how, you find yourself in a multi cultural environment full of fun. ‘Discrimination’ is not a word in the Conservation Volunteers dictionary – everyone is given the opportunity to do what they do best. If flowers interest you, try the Wildflower Nursery. It has a diverse range of indigenous Northern Irish flowers. It’s not all about pricking out and working at the Nursery - always be prepared for exciting trips during the seed collecting season!!
For those with Health issues at heart, try the Green Gym Projects and if you want to be directly involved with minority groups and the community, spend some time with the EfA projects.
The idea is to conserve what nature has given to us, because it is who we are. After all "What is the good of having a nice house, without a decent planet to put it on??" (Henry David Thoreau)
JOHN GITARI - Nairobi, Kenya
March to August 2004 - Wildflower Nursery
Hallo, I am John Gitari, an environmental student studying in Tampere, Finland. I am doing my work placement with Conservation Volunteers and it is a great experience. It is nice to learn about wildflowers and it is also a great place for anyone who wants to work with communities and learn a bit about local culture.
It's not all about work, work, work - it is more work, play, work and it was a great experience for me.
GEORGE MATOVU - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
March to September 2004 - Wildflower Nursery
Hi! My Name is George J. Matovu from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I am an ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING student studying in Tampere, Finland. I started working with Conservation Volunteers in March 2004 and I will work here for seven months. As a practical training this is part of my studies.
I have been to different projects, such as the community project Green Gym. Now I am working in the Wildflower Nursery doing seed collecting, sowing, pricking out, potting etc. Working with Conservation Volunteers is a great experience.
I participated in a project named 'GREEN ROOF' which I am going to use at my final thesis. For those who want to serve the planet I can advise to join Conservation Volunteers.
"WATU WAFANYAO KAZI / KUJALI KWA AJILI YA MAZINGIRA BORA" (Swahili) People working for a better environment.
SHONA MILLER - Blackpool, England
May to July 2005 - Wildflower Nursery
Hi my name is Shona and I'm from Blackpool in the North West of England.
I first decided to become a volunteer for Conservation Volunteers after reading the comments from the other volunteers on this webpage. I am currently a university student on a gap year from a Psychiatric Nursing course when I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to do some volunteering for such a worthwhile organisation. I have always wanted to visit Ireland and Belfast was the one city that I was drawn to because of its history. I also wanted to experience work in a field which I have never before considered so volunteering for Conservation Volunteers seemed a perfect way to go about it.
Although my visit was only a brief one, two and a half months to be exact, I have never learnt so much in such a small space of time. The staff were so friendly and supportive, if I had any worries or queries there was always someone there ready to listen to me. Mostly I have volunteered for the Wildflower Nursery but there was always a chance to go out with other staff members to volunteer for their projects. I loved this opportunity because it gave me a broad range of knowledge of the work Conservation Volunteers does and it added some variation to the work I was doing.
My social life was also great because I shared flats with some of the other volunteers who were German, Italian and Spanish and it was a great experience to share different cultures and lifestyles with them.
I couldn't recommend Conservation Volunteers enough to anyone out there considering doing something different and fantastic. It was a truly wonderful experience for me and I am so happy that I did volunteer.