Submitted by: Will Hatzar My average Sunday usually consists of three things. Sleeping, eating and my PlayStation. Though a creature of habit, one Sunday I […]By wfechoadmin

Submitted by: Will Hatzar

My average Sunday usually consists of three things. Sleeping, eating and my PlayStation.

Though a creature of habit, one Sunday I decided to break tradition and join community based voluntary group Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers (LBCV) to carry out some practical conservational tasks in my local area.

Made up of a diverse cross section of our community, the LBCV meet on the first Sunday of every month to work together with a shared aim of improving our surroundings.

With work on the East India Dock Basin and Coppermill Fields already under their belts, I was excited to find out what my Sunday had in store.

This month’s task saw us venturing out to Sewardstone Marsh, where we were faced with clearing a stream running from Epping Forest to the River Lea.

Evidently, I’m no expert in this field (no pun intended) so before we were able to begin working we were given a full health and safety check and taught how to work with the tools we were given.

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It quickly became apparent that this was going to be dirty work, in the most literal sense of the term. I began my day removing weeds from the stream and gave a helping hand in the cutting back of brambles and tree branches.

Though these were both challenging jobs, with the help of some fellow volunteers we were able to get them done in record time.

Of course the day was interspersed with very welcome tea and lunch breaks which also served as a great time to get to know my fellow workers.

While the day proved itself to be hard and thirsty work, (the trip to the local pub afterwards suggests the latter), I found volunteering with the LBCV a rewarding experience that others could benefit from too.

If this is something that you’re interested in doing then please visit www.lbcv.co.uk for more information.

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