A person holding a wooden gate in front of a group of cows.

Volunteer spotlight: Lisa Hoey

So much has happened since joining Kent Wildlife Trust as a Volunteer Trainee Warden on 3 July 2023. My life has done a complete 360 (for the better, I should add!). 8 months ago, I was working as a Graphic Designer leading a very lone existence in my small study at home or making the very sad commute to a grey, industrial, business park on the Medway estate. But now?... my life is surrounded by the calming colours of nature and days are spent either shadowing 2 Estate Wardens, helping out on task days, on training courses, completing wildlife surveys or attending study days.

 

How it began  

Like many others I’m sure, 4 years ago during ‘Covid’, I was home-schooling my 14-year-old son and had a sudden realisation I was enjoying helping him with his science subjects. This gave me time to pause and wander whether I was on the right path in my life and my career. I have always had an interest in wildlife from a very young age being brought up with the wonders of nature showcased to me via the TV by David Bellamy and David Attenborough.

Being brought up opposite a farm and surrounded by countryside also meant my childhood was spent wandering the fields looking for insects and fungi or helping on the farm to collect and grade chicken eggs or stack hay bales. So, after much thought I made the first step by enrolling onto a part time Open University course in Environmental Studies and once this got underway, I would find myself occasionally looking at the Indeed jobs website, just to tease myself with any ideal jobs I might be able to eventually apply for after graduating.

Then one day, one stood out that I thought “Ooh! I might apply for that. Got nothing to lose. If nothing else, it will be a nice day out if I get to join the activity interview day”. I came away from that very enjoyable day thinking “They won’t want me, I’m far too old.” So, it came as quite a surprise when I got the phone call to ask whether I would like the role!

My best memories 

I was asked to pick a memorable day as a trainee warden, but for me most of them are memorable and ones I’ll never forget. It’s the little things that will particularly stay with me though, like my first day out on a task day in July with a small group of gentlemen of a certain age and being asked whether I envisioned that being a Trainee Warden would involve taking pensioners out for the day! This raised a chuckle or two. But what a fantastic group of pensioners you are! Days out with pensioners are the best, as they always have a tale to tell. 

Another day out last summer which will stay with me was being sent to get the cows and their calves up to give them a check over. They chose tototally ignore me and very reluctantly stood after a bit of thigh slapping and Hup Hupping. Checked them over, started walking away and then suddenly it was a case of “oh now you're interested in me!” At first they walked behind me but then just cos they could, they start to trot then run en masse towards me. My solution? Stand inside a small bramble bush. Surely that’s how you keep safe from 20 odd cows running towards you isn’t it?!  Seemed to work anyway, I’m here to tell the tale. Lastly, I’ll always have lasting memories of looking forward to Mervin's cakes on Monday task days (I still need that recipe for your Ginger cake Merv).

Life begins at 57  

So now I am at the stage where I have just over 2 months left with KWT. I’ll be quite sad to leave when I sit and think about it. I’ve met some lovely people along the way, all with that inbuilt passion to care for and support wildlife, that I have myself. All I can say is, thank you KWT for allowing me to rediscover my inner child again and proving to me that you're never too old for new beginnings.  

Can I sign up for another 11 months please? 

Read more blog posts

Pond in garden

How to create a wildlife pond

Blog

Judith Hathrill, Wild About Gardens volunteer, writes all about her garden pond and why it's so vital for wildlife.