David's Story

David has been a wildlife volunteer for Sustrans since November 2022. He supports by cutting back vegetation and planting trees and wildflowers on his local National Cycle Network paths including the Lias Line.

More recently he has also taken up volunteering for the Cawston Greenway doing similar tasks.

David became interested in volunteering as he had always enjoyed commuting along the Lias Line when it was just a dirt track. He’d sometimes cycles as far as Leamington, and so became inspired to find out more about the cycle paths online where he came across opportunities to volunteer with Sustrans through their website.

David enjoys volunteering because it gives him a good variety of things to get stuck into, he meets lots of different volunteer groups on the paths, and he’s gained more knowledge about supporting biodiversity including a recent hedge laying course.

It’s always nice that members of the public stop along the paths to have a chat with David. He’ll chat with them about how they can get involved themselves and inspires them with the benefits of improving your mental and physical health while out and about volunteering – it’s like a free workout at the gym!

There’s plenty of wildlife to see while out on the National Cycle Network. David enjoys seeing the birds of prey and even a muntjac deer while cycling to a volunteering task day. A recent highlight for David was also a Bat walk along the Lias Line organised by Sustrans staff.

But volunteering on the National Cycle network doesn’t come without it’s challenges. David’s glad for the much flatter sections of the path to plant trees on, rather than the embankments at a 45 degree angle when he first started!

For anyone that wants to get involved in something similar, David would say it won’t take up all your time, it’s great to meet up with new people regularly and have a chat, and there’s always something different to try out!