Volunteering, what's the point?

Organisations will often be very keen to have volunteers having an input, and not usually because its free labour.  They get valuable input from motivated, enthusiastic people who are committed to the organisation’s aims and objectives. But its not just a one way relationship. Volunteers can really get lots out of spending time volunteering, as will be highlighted later.

Have you ever thought about volunteering?  There are so many good reasons to give it a go, usually falling into one of three categories, giving something back to ‘society’, to improve your employability skills and future career prospects or for the social benefits, e.g. to make new friends.  The chances are that if you are studying a full time course, the main reasons you may want to volunteer will fall into the category of improving your career prospects.  Why? Because as the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) identify, volunteering can be a very good way to

Gain new skills, knowledge and experience

 

Develop existing skills and knowledge

Enhance a CV

Improve one's employment prospects

Gain an accreditation for a course

If you are thinking about volunteering, there are several issues to consider. Do you want the experience to help you get a career in the degree you are doing, or to move you in a new direction? Do you need to develop any particular skills or experience to strengthen your paid work applications? For instance, students on a conservation degree will often get relevant experience with organisations like Essex Wildlife Trust or English Heritage to develop conservation or surveying skills. But there will often be students who do not want to use their degree subject.  These students sometimes worry, unnecessarily, that their degree will somehow limit their career options or what they can apply for. The often quoted figure of 80% of employer vacancies not specifying a degree subject should reassure.  But the question then arises of how to ‘move’ from studying a degree to working in a graduate role. Experience of the working world, either through paid internships or volunteering is an important element in this process.



Image sourced from Wikimedia Author Druysts.t

So, in conclusion, the benefits of volunteering are numerous. Not only will you possibly make new friends, but you will gain invaluable experience and skills which you will be able to showcase to potential employers – indeed the organisation you volunteer with may well end up being a future employer.  Why the snakes and ladders? Well, quite often, doing something 'different' can lead to 'unexpected' chances presenting themselves. And also as importantly, you will see how your degree is relevant to your future career plans, regardless of  the content of your degree.

Orlando Magic: A Lecturer’s Viewpoint.

For any lecturer that may be considering nominating their student for the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year; JUST DO ITü.

What an experience it was; now before I go any further I have to say that this was my first time across the ‘pond’ so there is some new experience to be taken into account here. This said, my first day of simply getting to the check-in was something, the Orange County Conference Centre was something to behold in itself.

The rest of the first day was spent acclimatising to the Florida temperature and the generosity of our hosts and staff in the hotels and local restaurants.

Monday was full on, first seminar started at 08:00 a.m. with a three hour lecture on The Benefits of Oxygen – How to Maintain Oxygen Levels in Our Root Zone. Interesting to see Sub-Air systems being employed on golf course as well as leaf-blower back packs connected to existing drainage systems to introduce fresh oxygen to the root zone.

The afternoon re-started at 13:00 with Understanding and Managing Nematodes on Golf Course Turf, I actually felt sorry for our American cousins as the week progressed, they really do seem to have a lot of problems on their greens, sodium and salt contamination (probably from their recycling of water and waste water), nematodes, not to mention the more usual turf grass diseases.

The education of the Greenkeepers is very impressive, this is not to decry or undermine our British Greenkeepers at all, but it seemed as though everyone in the room was operating at a degree level of understanding of soil and plant science. The willingness to embrace new innovative ideas is something that has always impressed me about the Americans.  The interesting thing that I came to realise is that they are educated from high school through to college and university and then they get their jobs. This leaves a big skills gap and need for experience. Our system works the other way around with students going to college and university whilst gaining their experience in gainful employment. This makes our Greenkeepers highly desirable on the American market.

Day two was a special day in my life and career in Sports Turf; I went to Tranquilo Golf Club. The coach (x 3) left at 08:00, sharp (there was even a warning in the pre-trip blurb to say that if you were late don’t expect them to wait), they are so efficient in Orlando.

What an experience! The host Stephen Tucker, Equipment Manager was very impressive and amongst a lot of information (PPE vending machines for one) his take on levelling and adjusting front and rear rollers for parallel was truly interesting stuff. His workshop was testimony to his professionalism and regard for efficiency. Check out the work shop floors.

This one is Steve talking us through the process of aligning the front and rear rollers to ensure level cutting. After this we were taught about electricity systems on turf machinery and the correct use and maintenance of torque wrenches. Lunch was served on the lawn (boy it was hot), and the afternoon resumed with discussions and lectures on the future of turf machinery; their fuel systems and how research is informing its design. The evening was charged with expectation as my student Jimmy Heritage was flying down from Massachusetts after being subjected to five weeks of intensive study, it certainly is no holiday for him or me on this trip, it was full-on all the way. Jim eventually showed up at about 9:30 in need of refreshment.

After introducing Jimmy and his Australian counter-part Bill to the layout of the conference centre and a quick walk around the opening of the Trade Show itself, I resumed lectures listening to a speaker discussion the use of waste water and its treatment, this focused heavily on the different effects of salt and sodium on soil structure and the resultant effects on the grass plant. After a very quick lunch and catch up with the BIGGA stand I was back in for some more information on the benefits and opportunities to employ bees on gold course and how they can add to the beauty and value of a golf course. 

Thursday, my final day of lectures was taken up with the morning discussing, The Do’s and Don’ts of Rebuilding Greens and the afternoon Evaluating Career Options. This latter title may come across as mundane but the American take on how to prepare for job interviews and what can be done to prepare for it was enlightening. The lunch break was spent looking around the show and studying what was on offer. Our hosts Reesink (Toro), gave us all a very generous last night sending off with a lot of networking being done (good to see Michael O’Keefe again).

The only down-side of my whole experience in Orlando was that I didn’t get to see an ex-student of mine (Greg Knight) who is Deputy Superintendent at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. He went over to the States on the Ohio State University programme and settled out there, and is now doing really well for himself.

After a checking out on Friday morning; the usual stooging around was to be had. However, this was a very welcome chance to relax for a while before flying back to the UK. For any one, whether they are students, employers or lecturers, I can only say that the experience and hospitality shown by Reesink was second to none. The insight into the machinery supplier’s life was truly revealing and informative. The networking opportunity with the Big Boys of our industry is something not to be missed. I can honestly say that everyone I met was very supportive to the education and training of our young Greenkeepers, with each member of our party only too willing to talk and share their knowledge and experience with others. I can only say thank you as a token of my gratitude. Also a massive thank you for your hospitality Reesink (Toro Equipment and Irrigation distributors for the UK).

Nigel Beckford 

Lecturer in Horticulture