Lucy K shares a few thoughts as she reflects on her time with STAA so far!
20th January marks my ‘sort of’ 10 year anniversary working for STAA.
It’s sort of, because I actually started volunteering at St Ann’s Allotments circa 2007 with Urban Nature, but was thrilled to get a paid position in 2014.
In the 10 years I’ve been a fully fledged staff member, I’ve actually had 5 different job titles, but the heart of what I’ve done with STAA has been the same – delivering and developing our volunteer opportunities, leading on Urban Nature, and more recently particularly, working across all our horticultural projects too, becoming Service Manager for Horticulture, Nature and Volunteering in 2022. My background was in volunteer development and wildlife conservation, and in my time at STAA I’ve trained in horticulture and become a near obsessive allotmenteer myself.
I absolutely love spending time on St Ann’s Allotments, and the changes of the seasons and years keep it constantly interesting with so much to do and learn; it seems impossible to tire of the environment and opportunities.
I have seen a lot of special moments in my time at STAA – from long tailed tits building nests in brambles, tawny owls flying within 2metres of me, and wrens fledging out of the hedge. These moments have stayed with me, and I hope that other people get the sense of wonder within our projects in some way too. I must have met 100’s if not 1000’s of visitors and volunteers in my 10 years here, and I can honestly say it has been a joy to work with so many interesting, inspiring and lovely people. I often wonder where previous volunteers are now – I would love to hear from anyone who has been involved in the last 10 (actually 17) years.
I will continue popping up on all STAA projects regularly and randomly, meeting volunteers, visitors, groups, partners – there’s is always more to do! I will also likely continue to be distracted by ponds, bees and birds on the way 🙂
By Lucy Kennedy, Service Manager: Horticulture, Nature & Volunteering
