A volunteer's view

On Tuesday 25^th September 2012, one of our long standing volunteers, Alan McAteer, spent his last day volunteering at The Community Farm. We asked him a few questions about why he had volunteered and what was in store for him next.

Alan, can you tell us why you volunteered for The Community Farm?
“Volunteering on the farm gave me a great deal of pleasure and as a city dweller it acted as a kind of bolthole to the countryside.  I looked forward to my Tuesdays 'on the farm’ and felt somewhat cheated should I have to miss one. I enjoyed the friendship of fellow volunteers and the lively conversations that often ensued when working together.

I feel, however, that to get the maximum out of volunteering one should be committed to it on a regular basis. Only then will you get a sense of the whole…to work through each of the seasons, to sow the crops, plant them out, weed them and finally to have the enormous satisfaction of harvesting them.

There are magic moments in the spring/summer when the weather is perfect and you are on your knees weeding and listening to the skylarks singing overhead.  Then there are those moments on a wet and windy November morning standing in the upper fields with you back to the wind harvesting brussel sprouts, or the like, and wondering what the heck you are doing here and the sudden reality hits you…you are here because you want to be, you love it and you feel part of it all.   I have always felt a part of the Community Farm and I know as a volunteer that my efforts are greatly appreciated.  Volunteers are one of the farm’s most valuable resources, giving their time, energy, enthusiasm and skills.”

Alan went on to tell us that he first started volunteering as a farm worker in 1985 through the WWOOF project (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) that he read about in Smallholder magazine. Through working on organic farms in south west Ireland and France he and his wife gained a lot of experience in vegetable growing and animal husbandry, his wife especially picking up a lot of experience in poultry handling.

In the late 90’s Alan moved toEngland, taking on an overgrown and neglected allotment in Sea Mills. Within two months the weeds were cleared and the plot up and running.  Using raised beds and a no dig policy, Alan says 'This worked extremely well and the beds, after their initial dig, have never been walked on or dug over since; an ideal situation for when one gets older! The allotment gave us endless hours of pleasure and satisfied our desire to grow our own food, but I wanted more!’

That led Alan to regular volunteering for Wrington Greens, where he first met Andy, now The Community Farm’s farm manager. After Wrington Greens closed, Alan started to volunteer for the Better Food Company on the land at Denny Lane before it was taken on by The Community Farm. The rest is history!

On to pastures new…..
“My wife and I recently purchased a four acre smallholding in the Comber region of Northern Ireland with the intention of spending our retirement there growing organic crops and raising chickens, ducks, geese, sheep and pigs.” Alan tells us.  “Comber is dominated by Strangford Lough, the largest inlet in the British Isles, and this has a powerful moderating effect on the winter weather making it much milder than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. So although we are exchanging the beautiful warm climate of North Somerset for something a bit on the wet side I feel that we are somewhat compensated by the fact that we will be located in one of the best growing regions in Northern Ireland.”

We wish him well for the future and are hoping that some of us may visit him too!!