Meet our volunteers – Gaby & Juanjo

Gaby and Juanjo have been regulars at our volunteer sessions since 2020. They have tried their hands at most of the things we get up to, from coppicing to tree planting.

Photo of Juanjo and Gaby planting a tree in the Miyawaki mini-forest. The sapling sits in its pot waiting for Juanjo to dig the hole, while Gaby supervises.
Juanjo & Gaby helping to plant the Miyawaki Forest in 2022

My husband and I walk daily in this lovely forest and are grateful to all volunteers who look after it. Today we spent a very pleasant afternoon with nature-loving people working together for present and future generations.

Planting a tree is one of the most rewarding things one can do. It is a thrilling experience placing the small tree carefully in its place whilst imagining what it will look like in the future when it reaches its full splendour. Today, we planted many trees and this feeling multiplied.

Gaby
Photo of Gaby, spade in hand, standing posing for the camera.
Gaby
Close-up photo of Juanjo putting the finishing touches to a newly planted tree, patting down the soil with his hand.
Juanjo

I walk in the Hreod Burna Urban Forest and The Venny every day, and I feel privileged to have such wonderful spaces so close to where I live.

Volunteering now and then to plant trees, coppicing or just picking litter up while I walk, is my way of giving a bit back for that privilege.

Juanjo

Juanjo has also used his camera skills to document some of our activities. If you’re part of our Facebook group, you might have seen his video fly-through of the Burna during a session spent battling the invading Himalayan Balsam or his montage of one of our coppicing sessions.

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