VolunteersNews October 2013

October 2013

VolunteerNews As the autumn mornings start to take on that familiar chill we can look back and say what an excellent summer we have all had.

With the very cold and snowy start to the year, many people were not venturing out to undertake volunteering activities in Lee Valley Regional Park, however the summer has been the reverse and I hope you have all been out in the great weather enjoying the park and all the activities on offer.

We have had another excellent run of events supported by our fantastic volunteers helping out at Lee Valley White Water Centre schools festival, Countryside Live, Bird Fair at Rutland, parkrun and horse ball to mention just a few.

We thank you all for your support and hard work.

With Lee Valley White Water Centre now up and running and proving ever popular we look forward to March next year with the opening of Lee Valley VeloPark on Queen Elizabeth

Great Spotted Woodpecker by John Sellar.

Olympic Park in Stratford, followed by Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. We are sure many of you will be keen to visit these new venues.

We will soon be working on the volunteer programme for Lee Valley VeloPark and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre and if anyone is interested in activities there please register an interest now.

We are already taking names and putting them on a waiting list for Lee Valley VeloPark volunteering as this will be a very popular venue. We will keep you all updated with the latest news through Park life and Volunteer News.

For now enjoy the rest of this newsletter and I hope to see many of you out and about in the park over the winter.

Paul Roper Volunteers and Community Engagement Manager

Volunteers Of the Year Awards 2013

An excellent turn out of nearly 60 volunteers at Myddelton House on 12 September saw the annual awards celebrations enjoyed by all.

Vivien Blacker Director of Parklands and Venues presented the awards.

Volunteer Photographer of the Year

This year’s overall winner was Barry Hooper and congratulations to him for his achievement. Other award winners were: Section Winner Discovery Heather Jacewicz, Myddelton House Gardens Section Winner Nature Tim Cowen, Wildlife Surveying Section Winner Sport Barry Hooper, White Water/Parkrun Group Award The Bittern Information Point Team Outstanding Achievement Alice Pinwell, Youth and Schools Barry Hooper was unable to attend the Volunteer of the Year Awards party however his award was presented at a countryside management task on 30 September

Brenda Chanter receiving prize for 2014 calendar .

Budding photographers can take part in the Volunteer Photographer of the Year competition. Closing date for this year’s competition is 31 July 2014. Full details and terms and conditions can be found on the on the website For the second year running Brenda Chanter won the competition with her picture of a Reed Warbler at the Waterworks Centre nature reserve So come on all you budding photographers, give Brenda some competition!

Articles

Barry Hooper receiving Volunteer of the Year Award.

What are you doing? Do you have a story you want to tell in Volunteer News? Has anything funny or interesting happened whilst you have been volunteering that would be worth sharing? Send articles and pictures to us.

Volunteer of the Year 2014 You can now submit a nomination for the 2014 Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Volunteer of the Year Awards.

There are around 300 active volunteers who provide a tremendous amount of time and enthusiasm to help make the Lee Valley Regional Park a wonderful venue for nature, sport and discovery activities. This year’s nominations will be for the following: • Lee Valley Awards 2014 (Section awards) • Volunteer of the Year Award 2014 • Volunteer Club/Group of the Year Award 2014 • Volunteer Photographer of the Year (deadline 31 March 2014 – details available on website) In addition this year we will be introducing long service awards at five and 10 years.

You can nominate any volunteer as an individual or group of volunteers that you work with. The following are sections that specific volunteer roles will fall under: Sporting Venues Volunteer of the Year Volunteers undertaking ANY role at any of the following venues: • Lee Valley White Water Centre • Lee Valley Riding Centre • Lee Valley Athletics Centre • Lee Valley Ice Centre • Lee Valley VeloPark • Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre Nature / Open Spaces Volunteer of the Year Volunteers undertaking ANY of the following roles: • Conservation Volunteer • Volunteer Honorary Warden • Fisheries Task Force/Baliff Volunteer • Bittern Information Point Volunteer • Wildlife Survey Volunteer Discovery Volunteer of the Year Volunteers undertaking ANY role at any of the following venues: • Myddelton House Gardens • Marinas • Lee Valley Park Farms • Campsites • Youth and Schools service • Event Each Section Winner will receive an award, certificate, badge and prize and will be put forward for the overall Volunteer of the Year Award.

Volunteer Club/Group of the Year The Volunteer Club/Group of the Year award is open to any club or group that volunteers within the park be it a college, a corporate group or community organisation. In the same vein as the Volunteer of the Year we are looking for a group that has made a difference or shown that extra initiative.

Attached to the back of this newsletter is a copy of the nomination form or if you wish to nominate a volunteer you can ask for a form from the volunteers team. Winners will be announced at the Annual Volunteer Celebration later in the year (date to be confirmed).

Nominations must be received by 31 July 2014.

So why do we collect your hours?

It helps enormously to monitor what we get given for Investors in Volunteers. It can also help when submitting funding bids for improvement projects or activities as well as demonstrate the value that volunteers bring to the organisation.

There is lots of great work going on at venues and open spaces and we want to be sure that we include all the hours that you are doing. Please ensure that when volunteering at a venue, you sign in, which will automatically collect your hours, or if you are with a member of staff make sure they have recorded your hours for the days you have helped out.

If you are undertaking a survey and are not directly volunteering with a member of staff or signing in at a venue please let us know what you have done.

From 2007 to 2012 we have increased our volunteering hours from 13428 to 30503, this is through better collection of data as well as an increase in activity. We are now more accurate and confident in our reporting and know we are showing your true value.

Corporate Structure Many of you will know that the Authority has a business objective to review its operating model. The reasons that the Authority is embarking on this are: the current economic climate, increased rates bills due to the opening of the Olympic Legacy venues, reducing the levy and other pressures such as energy and operating costs.

The Authority has a financial strategy which seeks to minimise the rates bill, increase income through investment in existing facilities, explore new investment opportunities across the 4,000 acres of the park and seek sponsorship and naming rights income for some of its sites.

There are three options we could take: • Carry on operating under the current model • Seek a third party charitable leisure trust to operate a range of activities for the Authority • creating its own not-for-profit charitable trust to operate certain activities for the Authority There was a Member workshop on 12 September which focused on a number of areas: procurement (the process for awarding a contract to a new Trust for the management of the Authority’s venues and activities), governance (the level, if any, of Authority Member representation on the Trust and the

process for setting up new Trust Board) and what venues and activities should be transferred into a Trust.

In terms of what venues/activities should be considered for transfer to a Trust the discussion highlighted the importance of initially transferring the major venues: Lee Valley VeloPark, Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Lee Valley White Water Centre and Lee Valley Athletics Centre (to deliver significant financial benefit from business rates relief) but also what the final position for the Trust might be and the timeline for transferring other services/activities.

What did become clear from the workshop is that it needs to be stated from the outset (if this is the direction that Members decide to take) which services are to be transferred and the timeline for achieving this. This will provide certainty to all staff as to the direction and timeframe for their service area.

This is a complex area of work requiring detailed analysis and discussion around the many legal, financial and operational aspects. As a result the earliest date for a Member decision on this is the end of November. Between now and then senior officers will continue to work through the detail with our legal and financial consultants and there will be a further Member workshop on 17 October.

Apprentice The volunteers team is expanding.

We have taken on an apprentice who will be working in the office with us at Myddelton House. Jordanne Hunt started on 23 September and will be based in the volunteers office for four days a week and attending college to undertake a business administration course one day a week.

Although Jordanne will be office based we will find time in the first few months to get her out to meet a number of you around the sites

Jordanne Hunt – Volunteers apprentice.

Supervisor Training The volunteers team have for the last few months been getting out to all the sites and undertaking refresher training and reviewing the roles at each venue and the open spaces.

We have just about finished our rounds and all supervisors and staff you work with should be up to speed on any changes or requirements when working with volunteers. If you have any queries or questions please speak to your venue or specific open space supervisors rangers, fisheries or conservation staff.

The 39 Steps

by Colin Short, Fisheries Along the canal bank of the North Met Pit there are a number of fishing swims, some needing quite a bit of work.

One in particular, about 100 yards downstream from Fishers Green canal bridge, would have challenged a mountain goat, never mind a session carper with his 50kg of tackle on his barrow.

So on a Sunday morning that turned out to be the beginning of a very late spring, the task force removed what was left of the old swim and started digging out the steps together with a boarded area and platform to fish from. The only saving grace was that this is one of the few areas in the park not backfilled with concrete and bricks.

North Met Pit Walkway

by Colin Short, Fisheries The unexpected work on the North Lagoon at Nazeing last year in conjunction with the Roydon Loop, delayed the Fisheries Task Force plans to renovate the top section of the North Met Pit. Over the last few years nature has taken over, with the paths and swims either disappearing or becoming inaccessible due to fallen and growing trees and brambles. In addition the high water levels resulting from the prolonged wet weather over the last year has introduced a number of large floating logs that have had to be removed. A few of which can be seen by the fence on the east end of the causeway by the Fishers Green canal bridge In the last few months we have cleared all the swims leaving them in their natural state and relocated the pathways back to their original routes. One of the paths was low lying and the increased water levels had eroded it and a walkway was needed to ensure it was usable throughout the year. The task force, with the help of some North Met bailiffs, built the raised walkway over a couple of mornings.

Digging out and boarding the nine steps needed a couple of extra days work and barrowing the ton of gravel needed two cups of tea and a half hour tea break. The result can be seen above and has already received some hard earned praise from the season ticket holders.

North Met Walkway, under completion.

Contact us 08456 770 602 l leevalleypark.org.uk/volunteers volunteers@leevalleypark.org.uk New Swim and access steps on North Met.

Paul Roper Karen Wood Jordanne Hunt

Volunteers Manager Volunteers Officer Volunteers Apprentice

Volunteers Committee Colin Davidson and Terry Wilkins have both been active countryside management volunteers for a number of years, regularly attending weekly planned tasks as well as those done on an adhoc basis at short notice. We were delighted when they both agreed to join the newly reformed volunteer committee in 2011.

During their time on the committee they played a valuable and active part in highlighting the thoughts and views of the other countryside management volunteer to the group and as well as contributing ideas and suggestions on the topics being discussed.

We would like to thank Colin and Terry for their commitment whist serving on the committee and for their continued support to the Authority’s volunteer programme.

After two years’ service on the committee, Colin and Terry have decided it is time to pass the reins to other members of the countryside management volunteers to ensure that the ideas coming through remain fresh and that topics being discussed are looked at from different points of view.

Brian and Valerie have kindly stepped forward to replace Colin and Terry we look forward to seeing them at the next meeting on 14 November.

Countryside Management volunteers should forward any items for discussion to Brian or Val when they arrange the next volunteers meeting.

Volunteers Calendar 2014

Brian Claxton and Valerie Church

Pick up one of our great 2014 calenders which showcases images from the Volunteer Photographer of the Year competition.

On sale at our campsites and Myddelton House Gardens

Volunteers offer

£3.50 Alternatively for an additional p&p fee of £1 per calender we can post one to you, just call 08456 770 602 or email volunteers@leevalleypark.org.uk

Volunteer of the Year Nomination Form The nominations are made in confidence and no information will be shared with third parties outside the judging panel without the consent of the nominee.

Name of Volunteer or Volunteer Group you are nominating Role/section

Sports venue

Nature/Open Spaces

Discovery

Riding

Conservation

MHG Gardens

White water

Bittern Information Point

Campsites

Ice Centre

Wildlife Survey

Marinas

Athletics Centre

Fisheries

Youth & Schools

Other

Other

Hayes Hill & Holyfield Hall Farms Other

Criteria

Tick the box that you feel appropriate to score your volunteer

Regular Attendance - how often has this volunteer helped out?

One hour a week

More than one hour but only one day a week

Up to three days a week

More than three days a week but not weekends

More than three days a week including weekends

Reliability - how would you rate this volunteer with regards to reliability, 1 being low 5 being high

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Punctuality - how would you rate the punctuality of this volunteer 1 being low 5 being high

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How would you rate the difference to your function or venue this volunteer has made this year - 1 being low and 5 being high

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How would you rate the activity of this volunteer under innovation in their volunteering for this year - 1 being low 5 being high

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Now say why you think this volunteer deserves to be Volunteer of the Year for the Lee Valley Regional Park.

Please use as many words as you wish. You may want to highlight here how a volunteer has helped you through their own adversity or what they might have done to go the extra mile. You may also wish to write about any innovative solutions they may have come up with to make things better or how they have worked with other volunteers in a team.

Your Name Your contact number

Please return this form to: FREEPOST Po Box 88

Lee Valley Regional Park Volunteers NW4169

Enfield Middlesex

EN2 9BR