Volunteering is something Dave Prebble enjoys doing with members of his family.
The power and potential of volunteering To help inspire and celebrate the work of our many volunteers Judene Edgar speaks to three people who share their stories of hope and experiences in cultivating good.
D
ave Prebble doesn’t really remember when he first started volunteering, but it goes hand-in-hand with his love of the bush, native plants, tramping, and all things outdoors. A volunteer for Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, Dave has been part of the track-cutting team for around 10 years, helping with track maintenance, pest monitoring, checking trapping lines, and supporting the Wasp Wipeout programme. But as well as being a volunteer himself, Dave has also helped recruit the next generation of volunteers, taking his sons Thomas and Nick with him. “We’ve always done stuff together as a family, so volunteering was just another thing,” he says. “After school, weekends and during the holidays I’d take the boys up the Brook with me, weeding old man’s beard.” His son Thomas has fond memories of weeding with his dad and brother as well as tree planting with Forest and Bird and helping with DOC’s Battle for the Bird pest control programme. And then, once he was old enough, Thomas joined the Brook Sanctuary as a volunteer himself, track building and pest monitoring. “It’s a pretty special place and such a good bunch of people to work with,” says Thomas. “It’s a good excuse to get outside, get a bit grubby, and do something positive at the same time.”
Thomas says that it’s cool to be involved in a project that is making such a significant long-term difference to the community and to the wildlife. He’s also impressed with the stamina of some of the volunteers, even if they do show him up! “It’s inspiring to see old dudes out-performing the young fit guys – it certainly puts you in your place a wee bit,” laughs Thomas. “It’s much better than going to a gym to keep fit!” Dave adds that despite it being pretty physical work, it’s a lot of fun, and “we always have a good chinwag and share a few jokes.” And while Dave spends full days with grubber, axe, and saw in hand clearing bush, hauling rocks and track-cutting, he says that there are plenty of different opportunities for people to join in for as little or as much time as they want. And now the third generation of Prebble-men has started volunteering. Three-year-old Archie has joined his granddad Dave, uncle Thomas and dad Nick up at the Sanctuary a few times to help with skink and lizard surveying. You can find Dave up there most weeks, and despite currently living away from Nelson for work, Thomas still finds time to pop up to the Brook to volunteer whenever he’s back in the region and loves being able to create new family memories with Archie.
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