Something for the weekend: We’ve all dreamt of getting away from it all, perhaps more so than ever before, as home working, endless team meetings, staring at the same four walls, and taking aimless lunchtime walks start to pall.
So it will come as no surprise if Cornwall Wildlife Trust has been inundated with applications for the chance to be a conservation volunteer during the summer months on the picturesque island of Looe in Cornwall.
The trust is looking for a couple, two family members or two good friends, to stay on the island off the coast of Cornwall for four months as conservation volunteers. Tasks will include looking after the small flock of sheep, chickens, and vegetable gardens, monitoring the wildlife including seals, cormorants and gold crests, and helping the wardens welcome day trippers that visit the island during the summer months.
But if you failed to make the deadline for applications this week and are about to beat your head against your keyboard in dismay, pause awhile and read the small print.
The lucky pair will live in a bell tent (think large tepee), will be unpaid, will work ten-day shifts and their access to the mainland will be dependent on tides, the weather, and the “availability of the boatman”. Oh, and expect an average of 70 rainy days over the four months.
And if they fancy a dip on their days off they will need to beware the giant Portuguese Man o’ War jellyfish that inhabit the waters around the island, not to mention the dangerous currents.
Here at EB we know the value of picking up new skills in the workplace but wonder whether we are brave enough to trade in virtual baking competitions and online Pilates for learning to drive a tractor, cleaning out a compost toilet and tending to jellyfish stings.
