When I finished my degree in archaeology and geology in 1969, I felt stifled by my office job in London and ached to be active outdoors. BTCV was the answer. At first I just went on weekend tasks on the outskirts of London. Later I went on holidays. Memorable ones were hedge-laying over New Year near Bicester (standing in a deep ditch of icy mud), repairing slate fencing near Bangor North Wales (again in waders), clearing water lily from a lake in Sussex (goodness it smelled terrible, pulled up into our punt), and sowing grass (in high winds!) to reinstate the machair turf at Achmelvich, Sutherland. I was the driver on the Achmelvich task when the landrover’s reverse gear broke. It caused ‘interesting comments’ from drivers coming the other way on the narrow highland roads when I explained that we couldn’t reverse to let them pass. When I took early retirement in the 1990s I volunteered at the London Wildlife Trust’s Gunnersbury Triangle Local Nature Reserve. My joints are now only fit for gentle gardening jobs, but I cherish memories of ‘conservation tasks well done’ and the company of like-minded people.
Written by Liz Randall
Liz was involved with TCV between 1970 and 1977