This piece was written by one of our volunteers a few years ago, and sadly he has since passed away. We thought it would be a fitting tribute to the time he spent volunteering with us to include it here.

The benefits of assisting and working with various environmental projects.

I have been helping with conservation for about 15 years on and off with the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership as well as the Kent Wildlife Trust and BTCV.

I find this kind of work very rewarding when I see what kind of work has been done. I also have met various people to do with the countryside like various wardens. When I first started doing conservation I saw an advert in the Kentish Gazette about the project and I went across to Wye and met Jon Shelton and Martin Hall. The volunteer group ran for one day on a Wednesday. We did a lot of work around the Canterbury area at places like Old Park. In the Ashford area we did a lot of work at Conningbrook where the Julie rose Stadium was built. It was a quarry when I worked there. We also did a lot of work at Peene near Folkestone where we used to help cut some of the grass after the wildflowers had finished. While we were having our lunch we watched the channel tunnel being built. We also had a look out for various bits of wildlife.

We still go to places that I first visited when I started doing voluntary work with the project. One of the benefits of doing this work is that we see all kinds of wildlife. We have people who know about wildflowers and butterflies and fungi and birds.

I have also been across to France about three times with the project and the French volunteers come across to England . The look after us when we go and we stay in a Gite. When the French come over they stay at Kipps which is a boarding house in Canterbury . Some of the work I have done with the French people is very good, for instance, last time we were clearing some trees that were overgrown. I have also done pond management with the project and coppicing.

I would recommend anyone to do conservation as it has been so rewarding for me.

Aiden Regan, 2009