Hastings Country Park Volunteers Required...

The Hidden Hastings Heritage Project (website) is looking for volunteers to ensure the Exmoor Ponies and Belted Galloway Cattle up on Hastings Country Park remain in good condition and that the highest animal welfare standards are maintained (facebook). These hardy animals are the most sustainable and effective way to manage the reserve, grazing on grass, regrowth, young gorse and other scrub.

If you are interested in joining the team, you are expected to have a "reasonable level of fitness" and you would be provided with full training to carry out the following duties: 

• Check that the correct number of animals are there;
• Observe the ponies for their health;
• Check water is available and ice is broken when frozen;
• Report to staff that checks have been made;
• Follow organisational procedure if any animal is found injured or unhealthy.

Please email Jill.Tyson@groundwork.org.uk to apply.

Brave enough to join the RNLI?

Not the easiest of volunteering work, but... should you feel up to the challenge, the RNLI are recruiting for those who are! Go to their website...

And get my respect!

Snowflake Night Shelter is seeking volunteers.

 

The Snowflake Winter Night Shelter provides supervised overnight accommodation to homeless people who would otherwise be sleeping rough in Hastings and St Leonards from the end of November to the middle of March. Users of this service are referred by various local organisations including the Seaview Project, St John Ambulance Homeless Service, Police and Hastings Borough Council. They are now calling for volunteers to help run the service during the winter months. 

Volunteer registration meetings have been going on for a while now, but the next two evening meetings start at 7.30pm on Wednesday 25th October at Wellington Square Baptist Church and on Friday 27th October at St John the Evangelist Hall, St Leonards. The next daytime meeting will be on Saturday 28th October at 10.30am at Sussex Coast College, Hastings Station Approach. For further information and details of all meetings go to the website.

For further information about being a volunteer go to this page.

Pier Update

The Hastings Pier Charity is looking for volunteers, particularly with the busy summer season now upon us; see website for more details... and a new share offer finishes at the end of the week, again, see website for more details; though shares can also be bought offline, visit the Hastings Pier Shop, in The Deck pavilion for application forms.

Extra events on the Pier this Wednesday 27th June include a performance from The Extreme Cellists at 10.00, Yoga on the Pier at 10.30, a concert by the Eastbourne Lions Youth Brass Band at 14.00 (website), and 10.30-15.30, in Alexandra Park (and on 3rd August), the Charity's Learning Team is organising Play Days in the Park, with free arts and crafts activities. 

Finally, if you haven't already read it, there was a very supportive article in the national Guardian newspaper about the Pier; see link.

Hastings Beach Clean this morning

Hastings Blue Reef Aquarium has invited local people to take part in a beach clean this morning. Staff have organised the event to start at 10am on the stretch of beach beside the aquarium and they’re hoping to attract a large number of local people to come along and give their support, and it is a lovely blue-sky day! 

 Volunteers will be issued with collecting bin bags, a pair of gloves and a reporting form to record their finds. “Hastings Council has kindly agreed to provide us with a selection of litter picking tools and we need some energetic volunteers to come along and lend a hand,” said Blue Reef’s Leanna Lawson.

“The plan is to meet up at the aquarium at 9.30am on the day so everyone can be registered and issued with cleaning items, datasheets and beach clean booklets. All the rubbish that we collect will be brought back to the aquarium where it will be separated out and individually itemized. After that we will recycle as much of it as we possibly can, while the rest will be disposed of safely.” 

Anyone under the age of 17 who wants to take part will need to be accompanied by an adult. Volunteers are asked to contact Blue Reef to confirm their attendance prior to the event. They should also wear sensible footwear and clothing and bring sunscreen if the weather is hot. 

The beach clean event is due to take place from 10am (meet in aquarium café for 9.30am). Anyone interested in taking part should contact the aquarium direct prior to the event on 01424 718776, though I doubt volunteers who turn up unexpectedly would be turned away!

Hastings Pier call for volunteers.

I received an email from the Hastings Pier Charity regarding volunteering, and that they are having a volunteer recruitment day on Tuesday 8th March, noon-3pm, at the White Rock Hotel (talks at noon, 1pm and 2pm). I cannot see anything on their website about this yet, but here is a link to their page concerning volunteering.