I Dig Doug

Getting into a Scrape in Norfolk

2009-10-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last week I joined the North Norfolk Workout Team who are a group of students, retirees locals and internationals. We cleared vegetation from a dried out pond to help it hold water and therefore protect what is already there and increase the diversity of species (invertebrates, amphibians, plants etc.) that can use it.

Above: Amelia and I made friends whilst getting into a few scrapes together! I learned that a scrape is a shallow pond!

Above: All my new friends! Visit http://www2.btcv.org.uk/display/findbtcv to find your local group and make some new friends of your own!

Strategic Plan 2009 - 2013

2009-09-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

I have recently been honoured with an invite to the ELSE (Eastern, London & South East region) Strategic Plan event on Friday 18th September. BTCV have launched their strategic plan for 2009 - 2013 this year and I am excited to meet all the people within the region who work so hard to provide opportunities to inspire people and improve places.

You can see me here reading the stragtegic plan! I have even picked out my favourite phrase: 'will reduce food miles and the carbon impact of "field to fork" distribution.'

I am particularly happy that my four pronged colleagues got an honourable mention!

Keep an eye out for more of my adventures but you should know by now that I love a good rhyme so here is my Strategic Rap:

If you be a volunteer, I say, please do hear!
Bring your own food, and you we will include!
Problems we solve, you we will involve!
We love a good fire, it is people we inspire!
We dig a good groove, it is places we improve!
We’d love to see your faces, in lots of places!
Pick up a spade and learn a new trade!
There will be tea, to fill you with glee!
We plant trees and we love the bees!
We like a good fig and we love to dig!
We enjoy the outdoors, even when it pours!
We help plants to flower, it is people we empower!
Yes, it is true, it is you we value!

Cover Boy!

2009-06-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Could this be the start of a new career? Something to fall back on when my BTCV adventure draws to a close? Though I'm not sure I could handle the pressure of 5am starts, and I'd always prefer to be 'au naturel' than spend half the day in make-up. Anyway, what am I thinking? As long as BTCV is around, there will always be people to meet, plots to dig and trees to plant. I think I'll stick to what I was made for.

You can check out BTCV Roots magazine by downloading it from here or, if you want a paper copy, please send a request to information@btcv.org.uk

I have made my way down to the South West of England. Latest adventures coming soon!

Time to Rhyme

2009-04-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

'"Community Allotment"'? What's that?' I said.
'You'll soon find out if you get out of bed'.
Ready and willing, I arrived to find,
fruit and vegetables of every kind.
The onions and garlic in neat little rows,
being tended and weeded by people with hoes.
I was sad to see that the peas had been massacred ,
but happy when Suzy showed me her brassicas.
'Have a look at my leeks' I heard John say,
but I'd seen plenty already and headed the other way.
'Wow! It's a jungle.' 'No don't be silly,
It's a Wildlife Garden' said a boy called Billy.

'We're making a Bog Pond and attracting crop-friendly bugs,
so that we can get rid of pests and slugs'.
I pointed left to what looked like a funnel,
Jean quickly exclaimed, 'It's our polytunnel.
It's great for setting seeds, and avoiding bad weather,you see,
but equally good for enjoying biscuits and tea.
'Come inside Doug'. I did and, my, it was snug,
We laughed, and they roared, IF YOU 'DIG IT', DO IT WITH DOUG!'
My allotment adventure is drawing to a close,
but lots of pictures, I happily did pose.

Click onto http://www.btcvbedfordshire.blogspot.com/and you will see an assortment,of me, Doug 'digging it' down at the allotment.

Doug gets serious, but not for long...

2009-04-07T05:11:00.000-07:00

I awoke from my Bedfordshire slumbers and came down the apples and pears ready for another days hard graft.

Today was a tree planting day, so as you can imagine, I was in my element! I like to flex my muscles and get dug in, sorry, I meant get stuck in, planting trees. Today wasn't about learning new things, for me, it was about reducing my carbon footprint. Trees provide shade, absorb rainfall, dissipate excess water runoff and create cooler micro-climates.

As it is BTCV's 50th birthday this year, my friend Jim Green (not of Green Gym fame) gave me a lend of this piece of BTCV memorabilia, an old BTCV badge. You can see me wearing it with pride.

More bits from BTCV's history

Yet again, it was a humorous day out and I can't resist sharing this joke with you from my mate Bill Hook;

Q: Do you know the difference between weasels and stoats?
A: One is weasily recognisable and the other is stoatily different!

Hmmm...Not sure comedy is his strong point. I think he should stick to cutting through shrubs and branches!

A long days work in Bedfordshire sends Doug happily up the wooden hills

2009-04-03T02:29:00.000-07:00

I was keen to meet the volunteers and see what kind of work they get up to in this new county, so within half an hour of arriving I'd made myself comfortable in the mini-bus.

I met BTCV Ed, Bedfordshire Practical Project Officer (and fellow blogger!). I said, "You know, these volunteers really are a good bunch. They think it's a hoot having me along on project. Everywhere I go, people have a great sense of humour!"

BTCV Ed said "Humour is just one of many things that you will find makes BTCV projects so good."

"I'm beginning to realise that," I said, "I learn something new everywhere I go. What do you think I will learn today?"

BTCV Ed said "A traditional skill, Doug. Hedgelaying"

I said, "Wow, isn't that really difficult?"

BTCV Ed said "Ha, ha, ha!! That's where you will have to find out for yourself!"

Afterwards, I said to Ed, "That was a hard days work. Laying a tree is not as hard as you might think but laying a whole hedge needs experience!"

BTCV Ed said "That's why we have experienced leaders to train people and offer advice."

I said "Cool. I think more people should be told about BTCV, but right now I'm cream crackered. When are we going home?"

BTCV Ed said "Now Doug!"

I said "I call Shotgun!"

I can't wait to meet more of the volunteers from this neck of the woods. After a good nights rest, I'll be ready for another BTCV adventure - but with all this excitement, I just hope I can sleep!

To see Bedfordshire volunteering opportunities, click here.

Doug ja vu?

2009-03-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

I was looking through BTCV's Photo Archive and found this photo. Looks familiar, doesn't it? It's my friend, Professor Bellamy, planting the One Millionth Tree of BTCV's Million Tree Campaign on a windswept Lancashire hill in February 1991.

And just have a look at that lovely looking spade he's got! With looks like that, we must be related.

Doug and Dave Forever

2009-02-23T02:44:00.000-08:00

I'm too young to remember when David Bellamy was on TV in the 1980s, bringing environmental debates and concerns to the masses, so had to ask my friends at BTCV Head Office to fill me in and show me clips of him on YouTube. Well, what a brilliant bloke he is!

When I heard he was joining BTCV in a reuinion at Box Hill (the site of BTCV's first ever conservation task where Professor David met them whilst carrying out surveys for his PhD back in 1959) I rushed down to join the party.

Volunteers from those early days got to work with a bunch of VOs removing scrub from the wooded area - it was more sawing and lopping than digging, so not really my area of expertees, so I made the most of the celebrity presence and got my photo taken with David B!

It was quite an exciting day overall, I got so many pictures it was hard to decide what to post up.

Find out what it was like being part of BTCV all those decades ago

(P.S. Note my new look!)
Doug on the Hill

Tool Envy?

David Bellamy wishes BTCV Happy 50 years! from Doug BTCV on Vimeo.

Sheffield puts a smile on Doug's face!

2009-02-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

I really took a shine to the LLDD (Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities) students at BTCV's Bessemer House in Sheffield, they're a really creative bunch!

Here I am with just some of the LLDD students at Bessemer House with the display that they have made to commemorate 50 years of BTCV. The other pic is of me showing off with the display they made - I think the owl in particular found me useful while I was around.

All 24 of the students were involved in deciding what the theme would be and what would be needed to complete the display. Every student (and some members of staff) has a piece of artwork displayed. These include a wise old owl, a stone wall, mushrooms, wildflower meadow, friendly snail and even a BTCV gremlin - I hope I don't meet one of those for real!

Everyone is proud of their contribution and the part that they have played in helping to celebrate the 50 years anniversary. Students were involved in deciding what the theme would be and what would be needed to complete the display. Every student (and some members of staff) has a piece of artwork displayed. These include a wise old owl, a stone wall, mushrooms, wildflower meadow, friendly snail and even a BTCV gremlin.

Everyone is proud of their contribution and the part that they have played in helping to celebrate the 50 years anniversary. Thanks for having me, Sheffield!

Doug makes a mark in Yorkshire

2009-02-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

At the BTCV Wakefield office, I met Glyn* – he wasn’t what I expected! Here he is with his arm around me.
*Glyn is the Area Manager for BTCV in the Yorkshire region. This picture is not a true representation!

I went to Pugneys Country Park to help out with footpath work – here I am with some of the volunteers, John Thompson and Trevor Healey. The job seemed to involve a lot of barrowing so a very tiring day and no chance to try out the watersports on offer.

Next week I'm popping back to Doncaster to recuperate before making my way to the next BTCV location. Come back soon to find out more.

A lotta allotment to be dug with Wakefield Green Gym

2009-01-27T01:57:00.000-08:00

Last week I was dropped off in Wakefield to visit one of BTCV’s Green Gyms®. This scheme aims to inspire people to improve their health and the environment at the same time. The project in Wakefield runs on two allotments and a community garden, where volunteers help grow fruit and vegetables and get healthy, outdoor exercise in a relaxed, sociable atmosphere. They also get to eat the stuff they grow.

I went to the allotment at Eastmoor, where I helped out digging over some vegetable beds, met a willow man and entertained the volunteers with a few party tricks. This was all quite hard work and certainly gets you fit, so I had to take time out to catch some rays.

I was also invited to the community garden at Lupset, where everybody wanted their picture taken with me. I suggested a group photo to put an end to any arguments.

I can feel my muscles getting bigger already and I’ve definitely improved my cardiovascular fitness. And even though it’s the middle of winter, the volunteers still managed to find some vegetables to harvest, such as brussells sprouts, leaf beet and salad from the polytunnels.

Join a BTCV Green Gym

Friends are for life...

2008-12-19T07:01:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks I've been preparing for my great adventure at BTCV Head Office, Sedum House. I've had a lot to learn about this big organisation and I'm quite exhausted. Over Christmas I'll be recuperating, as well as helping organise my upcoming schedule.

I've got one final initiation to go through though, but you'll have to come back to find out more about that!

In the meantime, here are some pictures of me kicking back and having a joke with one of my new friends in Doncaster, I think they'll be sad to see me go....

2008-12-17T01:49:00.000-08:00

My agent has been busy with my promo material - take a look at this!

Doug - spade for hire! from Doug BTCV on Vimeo.

2008-12-05T07:36:00.001-08:00

My name is Doug. I'm adventurous and very hard working. If you need help digging a hole or just want a cup of tea and a chat, get in touch and I'll come over and get stuck in.

In return I just want a dry toolstore for the night, a photo and a story on my blog and a message in my Scrapbook.

I've been sent on my nomadic task by BTCV who are celebrating their 50th birthday this year. 50 years of digging, sawing, planting, trimming, building and generally making our world a greener, better place. Brilliant!

Want to tell everyone what's been going on where you live? Give me a shout.