OfVOL
Office for
standards in volunteering (conservation division)
Making a positive difference to the
environment
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Task
appraisal report
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Date
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26-07- 2016
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OfVOL
appraising officer
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Ms Bea D’Eye
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Volunteer
group
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Nidderdale AONB Conservations
Volunteers (NCVs)
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Task
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Removal of an area of Himalayan balsam
and weed trampling in the newly established Dacre Banks Nature Park.
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Weather
conditions
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Warm and pleasant.
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Judgements
(Please refer to the criteria listed
in the OfVOL appraisal manual, chapter 5 section 3, subsections 1i -10 iii when
making these judgements)
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Volunteer
task leader
James S. is an excellent task leader
with many admirable qualities. It is clear that he is well thought of, as
evidenced by a turn-out of 11 NCVs at a time of year when many are on
holiday.
NB
An alternative reason for the good turn-out could simply be the hope for more
of the excellent cake provided on past visits by the wife of the nature
park’s owner, Michael Emsley. This will need checking via the data
collected from individual NCV interviews.
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Grade:
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Outstanding (pending interview data check)
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Health
and safety
A sound risk assessment was circulated to
all NCVs during the week prior to the task. All NCVs were clad in appropriate
clothing in the main* and I am pleased to report that all NCVs reached the
end of the task in one piece.
*Two NCVs were required to work
alongside a stream but did not have the requisite wellington boots. However
this offered them an opportunity to practise their yoga stances ‘al fresco’ as they straddled the stream. Photographs taken by James failed to be registered on the camera. (See targets for development section below.)
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Grade:
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Good
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Group
morale
James had not mentioned the fact that
Himalayan balsam may have to be pulled until the task briefing. However,
morale appeared to be high in spite of both this and the other aspect of the
task. Areas of ground previously covered only by short grass during a tree
planting project at the start of the year, i.e.
Then
were found to be completely overgrown
by all kinds of vegetation with thistles and nettles very much in evidence.
Now
In spite of this the NCVs maintained a
cheerful disposition throughout, as evidenced below:
Morale was considerably boosted by the
sight of two types of cake at coffee time, which was delicious.
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Grade:
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Outstanding
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Task
achievement
Apart from the Himalayan balsam the main
intention was for unwanted vegetation to be trampled or cut down around each
of the saplings that had been planted in plastic spirals to ensure that they
were not shaded out or pushed over. This will also enable Michael to spot the
trees in order to treat their surrounds with a herbicide.
The balsam occasionally required the NCVs to engage in teamwork, something they manage well. Two managed to work together in a tug of war with one difficult stem which was particularly well rooted:
 
The NCVs used excellent skills of
logic and observation to locate the almost invisible trees. Comments such as:
Like miners digging for coal, whenever
they struck a seam they followed it along until it ran out. At no point were any of the field's fauna hurt - as evidenced by this photograph of one of many masses of Peacock butterfly caterpillars found feasting on the nettles.
As photographs
show the NCVs were successful in their endeavour. By 2pm the job was
complete.
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Grade
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Outstanding
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Overall
Judgement : Outstanding
(Pending
moderation by the national OfVOL moderation body, OfMOD)
NB If this grade is upheld the NAONB NCV team must not become complacent. They should be advised to maintain these high standards and be
prepared for another, unannounced, OfVOL inspection at any time. Targets for development are as follows:
Bea D’Eye
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