Field Notes: Joy of volunteering

Long-term conservation volunteer and Trust supporter Enid Forsyth shares the wonderful sights and sounds of an autumn work party at Glenlude.

It’s Thursday, mid-September. Dipping in and out of autumn mist, all the way from Edinburgh to Traquair, I move through the village of Kirkhouse and on to Newhall Farm and begin the slow ascent. I turn a corner and Glenlude Hill appears glittering in the morning sunshine. 

Robinsong welcomes me as I go up the track. Distant ravensound follows. After opening up the hut, I see something moving inside the tree nursery - a red squirrel shinning up onto the table that holds all the root-tubed young trees. Later, magical goosemusic draws me outside - a large skein of pinkfoots, with their wink, wink sound, are flying westwards. Going back to the car to pick up a heavy hammer, before heading up the hill to do some tree maintenance, I hear chat, chat, chat - a stonechat in autumn plumage flitting from tree stake to tree stake. Midday, working out on the hot, hot hill, two ravens do a flypast then give a phenomenal aerobatic display. I am in heaven! And for the first time, I am aware of different raven calls.

In the afternoon, in need of a bit of shade, I finish painting the exterior of the composting toilet and muse on all the morning’s encounters with wildlife.

To be rewarded by nature’s riches in such profusion makes me almost dizzy.

Two days later, the endorphins are still coursing through my veins…

Five days later, I am back, with robinsong greeting me again. As I set about extracting rose seeds from wild rosehips, I hear geese. It takes me a while to locate them, high, high up in the sky.

As the other volunteers trek over to collect rowan berries, I head over to an open part of the hill to check on a new woodland of native species growing on the north-side of the hill. A friend has asked me to take some photographs to pass on to a family who knew Jamie Gardiner (1994 – 2017). Jamie died in a mountain accident in Norway and his friends and family have been actively involved in fund-raising and planting trees at Glenlude in his memory. Jamie’s Wood is doing well.

As I walk back through the edge of the spruce plantation to the hut, I notice the forest floor is covered in small (less-than-1-cm-across) pale cream fungi fruiting bodies. Fairy lights lighting the way.

If we look after the land, I firmly believe the land looks after us.

• Find out more about Glenlude and join us for a work party there in October. Or check out other volunteering oportunities and events.