Image: Amy Lewis
'Volunteering can be hard work but is very rewarding. I get back far more than I give and I would recommend it to everybody.'
Julia Sier
Julia is the fantastic gardener at our Plumgarths Head Office and a prolific volunteer. When she’s not making our gardens a haven for wildlife, she does everything from helping with a dormouse reintroduction project to growing plants for conservation projects across the county. Here's more from Julia:
'I’ve been interested in conservation for many years, but am really a new kid on the block when it comes to practical volunteering. A few years ago, I began taking a greater interest in the wildlife on my doorstep and realised how vulnerable some species are.
My personal light bulb moment was my first encounter with a Duke of Burgundy butterfly, one of Britain’s rarest butterflies, living a stone’s throw from my home. I wondered how I could help them and so began to grow cowslips, the Dukes’ larval food plant, for local butterfly conservation projects.
One thing led to another and since then I have been involved in lots of exciting projects, growing meadow plants, seed collecting, growing and monitoring rare plants, raising Duke of Burgundy caterpillars and a recent dormouse reintroduction. My cowslips have been planted in the local area and this year I was delighted to find Duke eggs on one of my plants!
Volunteering can be hard work but is very rewarding. I get back far more than I give and I would recommend it to everybody. I have gained new knowledge, learnt new skills, watched a captive reared Duke of Burgundy take its first flight, held a sleeping dormouse and perhaps most importantly, I have made new friends, with shared interests and goals, and had fun! I am only one of a small army of volunteering foot soldiers doing their bit for wildlife, and to me each and every one of them is a nature hero.'
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