Wild Work Days

Wild Work Days provide corporate groups with the opportunity to volunteer and take part in practical conservation days which, as well as contributing to YWT's reserve management activities, are a fantastically rewarding way of getting people out into nature during work time. As I was to find out as the day unfolded, they are great for team building too.

The Team

I headed up to Askham Bog Nature Reserve on a cool, sunny May morning to join up with a group of 16 employees from Aviva, drawn largely from their offices in York and Sheffield. As we got talking, I learned that the company offers its employees the opportunity to take part in up to three volunteer community days per year. This is an admirably enlightened attitude which many other employers could well learn from. Wild Work Days strike me as a terrific way of raising awareness of what YWT does, and I was keen to know why team members had chosen to do this over anything else they might have volunteered for, and whether the day met their expectations.

The Place

We were greeted by Dave Powell, who manages the reserve as part of his role as Living Landscapes Officer for East Yorkshire and the Vale of York. He told us something of the natural and human history of Askham Bog and its importance for plant life and the other wildlife this supports. The peat bog that form the heart of the reserve holds some 9% of our native plant species, truly remarkable given that it covers an area of only 44 hectares. No wonder Sir David Attenborough described the reserve as a "cathedral of nature conservation".

The Client

Dave went on to explain that without careful management the bog would quickly evolve into woodland which, although of value, is not what is needed here. Part of this management involves putting a herd of Dexter Cattle on to the reserve, where their grazing helps keep succession vegetation at bay. 

The Project

Thus, the project for the day was to build a wooden post and rail fence sturdy enough to keep a determined 400 kg Dexter cow at bay. The first task was to carry all the tools and materials that would be needed down to the work area....

'Hi ho hi ho, it's off to work we go' - a human chain formed, and the team soon had everything in place.

Dave had already placed out roughly where the posts should be, but this all had to be checked because they have to be placed exactly 6 ft apart to accommodate the cross rails.

There were tree roots to be extracted which often seemed to be exactly where a post should be - so the team had to get to the root of the problem...

All good team building events contain elements of planning, consulting and strategizing and this was no exception. To add an extra frisson, this was - unsurprisingly - the first time any of the team had built a cattle-proof fence. 

Hmmm, how do we do this? Dave was certainly kept busy offering his     expertise...

Help and guidance was always at hand and the team were soon ready to start piling in the fence posts...

This really is better than a gym session! The metal on wood giving a satisfying 'thunk' noise as the posts were driven to a depth of 2 ft.

Next, everything needed to be checked to ensure the posts were set upright and to the correct depth. And, of course - Dave was kept busy helping and offering advice...

There were problems to be solved. Some particular to the task at hand - others, like the way that unattended string ties itself in knots, more universal - now, how on earth do we solve this one? 

Then it was time to relax and refuel, aided by being surrounded by greenery and birdsong. 

Work continued after lunch, with the cross rails being put into place. There is a definite skill to driving a 10cm nail in straight, as the team discovered. Everyone was getting stuck in, whether doing the hammering or providing a helping hand. 

There were adjustments to be made, cutting some of the rails to length. Again with helping hands always available when needed.

And there was more checking to be done to ensure the rails were straight, the team showing admirable attention to detail.

The Experience

There was a genuine buzz around the day, great team work and a real sense of pride and accomplishment for the whole group. Smiles all around as the day came to an end, and when someone said that they would sleep well, there was wide agreement. Tired in a good way. We talked about them coming back to the reserve and being able to point to a post, a rail or a nail and being able to say "that was me, I did that!"

We did it!

Individual reflections bear this out. Naima, who I had a lovely chat with (it turned out that we are fellow foodies), spoke for many when she told me that she was motivated by wanting to do something different, something she could never have imagined doing before. 

I never imagined doing this...

Phoebe was emphatic about her reasons for coming "I just love being outdoors!" I think she enjoyed the hammering too. For both of them, it was the very welcome chance to meet up with their team members away from the office.

This was fun!

I went on countless team building exercises in my time at work - I've built a Saturn rocket out of drinking straws, written and sung a company song (don't ask...), built a life raft (we sank) but I never got to build a cow-proof fence. A pity really, I'd have enjoyed that, not least because it is real life situations such as this that the best examples of effective team work show themselves.

The Result?

Well, you can judge for yourself. But to my eyes it looks really good. I am sure the Dexters will think twice about messing with it.

Summing up, what does it take to do this ? Well, to borrow a phrase "It takes Aviva"...

You can find out more about how your workplace can get involved in our Wild at Work days to take positive action to make a difference to Yorkshire's Wildlife here