Monthly Archives: May 2021

We are recruiting a Surrey Hills Conservation Volunteer Coordinator

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Surrey Hills Conservation Volunteer Coordinator

 

Salary: £20,000 – £24,000 pa (depending on experience) and usual benefits
Contract type: Employee (probationary period of 3 months).
Working Hours: 30 hours per week (flexible). Evening and weekend work will be required at times.
Location: Across the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with an office base in Dorking.
Closing date: 5:00 pm Wednesday 16 June 2021.

An exciting new role where you can make a real difference to nature conservation and access in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Conservation Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for working with charitable and similar organisations in Surrey with a view to engaging volunteers in delivering biodiversity and access projects across the nationally protected landscape of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You will engage, advise and support local communities and Parish Councils to take practical action to understand their local greenspaces and assist with habitat management for the benefit of biodiversity and human welfare.

Under your leadership volunteers will be coordinated to implement conservation activities on behalf of the newly created Surrey Hills Champions programme (see below).

You will report to the Chairman of the Surrey Hills Society, who will guide the coordination of programmes, effective communications and fundraising. Key stakeholders will be Surrey Wildlife Trust and the Surrey Hills AONB Board. You will work closely with both organisations. Other stakeholders include The National Trust, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), the Surrey Association of Local Councils (SALC) and other members of the Surrey Hills family.

The successful candidate will possess a passion for the environment, be able to enthuse and motivate others, and enjoy sharing knowledge and engaging others from a variety of backgrounds. If you have the ability to lead others successfully, particularly in the context of volunteers which requires consideration, motivation and focus to achieve results, we need you to join our team. An out-going, personable and friendly personality with the ability to work with a wide range of people and experience of fundraising is essential.

The job will involve being outdoors and undertaking practical tasks therefore a driving licence and your own vehicle is essential as not all locations can easily be accessed by public transport. A mileage allowance will be paid.

The full job profile and person specification can be found here and you can access the application form here.

Please apply using the application form to Gordon Jackson, Chairman of the Surrey Hills Society     Email: chairshs@gmail.com by 5pm on Wednesday 16th June.

About the Surrey Hills
The Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is one of 46 nationally protected landscapes in the UK, having equal landscape status and protection to a national park. The Surrey Hills AONB stretches across a quarter of the county of Surrey and includes the chalk slopes of the North Downs from Farnham in the west to Oxted in the east and extends south to the deeply wooded Greensand Hills which rise in Haslemere. The Surrey Hills Board is a Joint Management Committe which is funded by Defra, Surrey County Council and the local authorities within the Surrey Hills area. The Surrey Hills AONB Board has established a Surrey Hills group of organisations (the Surrey Hills Family) to help support the delivery of the AONB Management Plan. For further information on the Surrey Hills please visit www.surreyhills.org

About the Surrey Hills Society
The Surrey Hills Society is an independent charity promoting the positive enjoyment and care of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), encouraging people to explore and learn about the special qualities and distinctiveness of the area. The Society works in partnership with the Surrey Hills Family (Surrey Hills Board, Surrey Hills Enterprises, Surrey Hills Trust Fund and Surrey Hills Arts) to deliver the AONB Management Plan. Managed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom are volunteers, the Society have over 60 active volunteers. The Society organises a varied programme of talks and events and works closely with a range of partners to deliver projects across the Surrey Hills. For further information on the Surrey Hills Society please visit www.surreyhillssociety.org

About the Surrey Hills Champions Programme 

The Society and Surrey Hills Enterprises are developing a collaboration to deliver nature recovery projects in the Surrey Hills through the Champions Programme, which also aims to inspire and engage more people to support local sustainable businesses and connect consumers with Surrey Hills businesses, products and experiences. Champions will pay £25 a year and will receive exclusive offers and promotions from Surrey Hills Enterprises members. £10 of the £25 will support tree planting or other nature recovery projects by volunteers under the supervision and control of the Society. Champions will be able to attend an event to see what their money has supported.

Our bird walk at Bookham Commons

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What a fantastic walk we had ambling along with bird enthusiast, Chris Burchell.  We started watching buzzards hovering gracefully over the car park and learnt so much from Chris about some of our common woodland species.  We paid a visit to the lakes, originally installed by the monks of Chertsey Abbey to provide fish for food, and now the home of 9 Canadian goslings as well as a number of mallard and a coot.

However the best was yet to come.  Chris led us towards the area called “the Plains” where we were incrediby lucky to hear a nightingale singing strongly.  A fantastic experience – there are only 50 pairs in Surrey and the nightingales only re-appeared at Bookham 3 days ago afgter an estimated 7 year absence. Yet this was not the end.  After a heavy shower Chris spotted a lesser whitethroat which is also extremely rare and which the whole group were able to watch through binoculars.

All in all a wonderful morning and many many thanks to Chris for giving up his time and sharing his great expertise.

Gordon Jackson

Visit To Brookwood Cemetery to celebrate Surrey Day

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Surrey Hills Society members spent a fascinating afternoon at Brookwood Cemetery on Saturday 1st May as part of the Surrey Day celebrations.

 

Although not in the Surrey Hills, Brookwood Cemetery is a hidden gem hidden in the countryside just outside Woking. It is the largest necropolis in western Europe and has many listed mausoleums and statues. It is also a Grade 1 Listed arboretum and is a wonderful place to walk through.

 

The Brookwood Cemetery Society was formed in April 1992. It works to promote the wider interest in the cemetery which the Society believes should be a site of national importance.  Moreover, the site has the potential to become a World Heritage Site. The Society seeks to ensure the long term future of Brookwood Cemetery.  It assists with maintenance, clearance and restoration work and it helps relatives locate graves within the site.  It also works to ensure the cemetery remains a valuable haven for flora and fauna.

Left to right Volunteer Co ordinator for Brookwood Cemetery Society volunteers , Kim Lowe, outgoing High Sheriff, Shahid Azeem, Mel from BBC Radio Surrey and our Chairman Gordon Jackson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were also joined by the outgoing High Sheriff, Shahid Azeem, a British-Pakistani entrepreneur, who left school without a single curricular qualification and went on to run a football club. He was appointed High Sheriff for Surrey for 2020 – a direct servant to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It is an esteemed position that dates back more than 1000 years and there are only 45 High Sheriffs, out of a national population of more than 70 million. Shahid Azeem is the first male of Pakistani origin ever to hold the Royally-appointed title of High Sheriff.

Shahid Azeem arrived in Britain in 1969 as a 9 years old son of a migrant from the city of MatoreThesilKahuta in Pakistan. He was expelled from school at the age of 12, faced bullying and racism but joined a computer system company to make an independent living. He started selling fish and chips at a local ship. His father worked at British Rail as a porter and family lived in a 2 bedroom house shared with others in Guildford.  A determined Shahid Azeem went on from doing menial jobs to building a multi-million pound IT business.

Shahid Azeem loved football in his youth and started playing for local teams. He went on to become chairman of National League outfit Aldershot Town.He has also recently been appointed as an independent Director of Woking Necropolis and Mausoleum Limited.

Shahid spoke to our members about his time as High Sheriff during this challenging year . He spoke of the real community spirit he witnessed during Lockdown and hoped it would continue post the pandemic.

 

Thanks to our Vice President Chris for organising a very enjoyable visit with tea and cakes afterwards.

Bluebells at Staffhurst Woods

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It was great to be out and about again with all our members again.  This month our free walk on the first Sunday of the month was to Staffhurst Wood to enjoy the incredible bluebell display.  This site managed by Surrey County Council is home to one of the best displays of bluebells in Surrey. We walked for over an hour and everywhere we looked was just a carpet of blue. Incredible that this woodland wonderland was clear felled in the 1930s and then used as a munitions dump and Canadian camp during WW2.

 

The small fields amongst the woodlands were clearings made some 700 years ago, called ‘assarts’  The area has been managed to try and restore some of the original character of the area which is now home to over 200 plant species and 288 species of moths. Due to several ponds on the area the woods are also a haven for amphibians.

 

                         Chris Howard