Lucy Woodward, the University’s Employment and Enterprise Manager for Volunteering and Third Sector, recently took part in a team development day that included an opportunity to volunteer. She reflects on her experience.

Two weeks ago, I put down my ‘To Do’ list and stepped away from my computer, for an afternoon of volunteering at The Bay Trust. I was joined by the rest of my team for a Team Away Day at the charity’s stunning ecological venue, Pines Calyx in St. Margaret’s Bay. It was the first time we had all been together for any length of time since our restructure when we merged into Employability Enterprise: Research Development last November and the aim of the away day was to bring us together to work in a different environment, away from the pull of emails and meetings.

We spent the morning in one of the venue’s meeting rooms, for a development session facilitated by Amanda Maclean from Organisational Development, during which we discussed our shared values, visions and projects.  Then, after refuelling with a delicious wholesome lunch provided by the charity’s events team, we gave our brains a rest and stepped outside to be allocated our jobs for the afternoon.

The Bay Trust team is a charity on a mission to improve lives through outdoor learning and connections with the natural world, and regularly host local schools for educational days at Pines Calyx and their other venue, Rippledown. Our jobs for the afternoon were designed to support that work and we were divided into three teams to tackle different tasks ranging from removing debris and foliage, to creating learning resources such as bug hotels and informational signage for visitors.

Now, I may not strike you as your typical construction worker, but I didn’t let my lack of DIY prowess hold me back as I donned my gloves and picked up a hammer to get to work building a roof for our boutique abode for bugs and mini-beasts. Enjoying the mild and sunny October weather – and the mid-afternoon cake and tea break – the team got stuck into their jobs with great gusto and left feeling a sense of satisfaction that we had actually made a difference. Mick Pott, Project and Logistic Manager at the Trust thanked us all on behalf of the team and told us that that the work we had completed in just one afternoon would have taken their teams weeks to do. That is why the support of volunteers and organisations is so valuable to them.
As a community-facing and serving University, I think it is crucial that we support third sector organisations such as The Bay Trust, who deliver such vital services. But the benefits go beyond even that – corporate volunteering days, like ours, help build stronger teams, develop leadership and other skills and improve staff morale and productivity. It’s also eye-opening on a personal level to have these different experiences.

I know that I for one, went home feeling more energised, positive and motivated than I had been in weeks and I have plans to bring this experience into my day-job, by planning Experience Days for students wishing to try out volunteering for a day.

If you are interested in hosting your own team volunteering away day or would like to work with The Bay Trust, please email volunteer@canterbury.ac.uk and I’d be happy to pass on more information.