Active is the magazine for National Trust volunteers. Each issue contains features and articles about our volunteers and what they get out of their diverse and substantial contributions to our work.
The magazine is issued three times a year and the taster article below gives a flavour of the current issue.
Eco therapy!
At Alderley Edge in Cheshire a ground-breaking collaboration between the National Trust and Phoenix Futures has been helping people overcome drugs and alcohol dependency through volunteering. Participants are volunteering on a project to maintain woodland, improve footpaths and restore heathland.
‘My life is a hell of a lot different since I’ve been here,’ says Jonathan.
‘I had nothing to do with my time, I just sat about. It’s all different now, I’ve got something to look forward to.
'If I can do this voluntarily there’s no reason why I can’t get myself a paid job. It helps build your confidence back up. I finally feel like I’m doing something.’
It’s not just the volunteers who gain from the project. National Trust area warden for Cheshire countryside properties, David Standen, says: ‘We are giving something to people who have had a lot of problems in their lives but they are also giving something to us. We go home at the end of the day and feel great.’
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