I first heard about Hollybush when volunteering with the University of Leeds Conservation Volunteers, doing joint practical task days with Richard and Jenny around 2005…. little did I know it would be the start of a decade long love affair. Shortly after finishing University I returned to start as a VO, joining a crew of like minded people who wanted to be outside, learn about conservation, get some much needed skills and have a ruddy good time. Soon after, the BTCV international department advertised for a European Voluntary Service placement to Iceland to work with the Iceland Conservation Volunteers, spending time building trails in small teams deployed all over the remote, rugged but beautiful wilderness of the Icelandic National Parks. Luckily my application was successful (including a telephone interview whilst in bed!) and spent the summer grafting, building steps in dormant volcanic craters, swimming in thermal hot springs and hiking in the midnight sun. In the autumn I returned to continue developing skills and experience with the Schools Team, working with Stuart and Phil building wildlife gardens, hundreds of raised beds and seating areas across West Yorkshire. It was during this winter I really felt like Hollybush was going to play a big part of my life. The atmosphere was brilliant, everyone was welcome, no one was judged, endless football was played at lunch time, the Friday Fab Four won hearts and minds, and everyone went home with a smile on their face, often via the Bridge Inn or West End Pub. After another summer leading teams in Iceland it was the autumn of 2008 when my efforts were rewarded and I was lucky enough to gain my first ‘proper job’ as the Schools Assistant Project Officer, wow! It was an exciting time for the team with national awards in London, new staff coming on board, epic pool competition wins 🙂 and a real buzz around the centre. There were battles over making the brew kits; who would remember the milk? How many people would turn up? Who would sit in the front of the minibus? How much gravel would come and at what time? Which awful CD was jammed in the van radio? These were all delightful challenges to overcome on any given task day. After a few years, times moved on and I became Project Officer, Senior Project Officer then Team Leader, helping deliver some amazing projects including walling residential trips on the Pennine Moors, dozens of tree planting schemes, epic footpath improvements (Meanwood Valley Trail) and the flagship Hirst Wood Nature Reserve. This couldn’t have been done without the help of a practical dream team of Col and Andy, a stream of dedicated VO’s and hundreds of awesome volunteers.
It was with a heavy heart, a lifetime of memories and friends, and the best leaving cake in history that I finally departed Hollybush in 2016 for pastures new.
Written by Dougie Watson