September is upon us and the woodland workers frantically cut and rake grass along paths and in meadows. Week after week, the task has been the same. Flowers have blossomed and produced seed and now the grass must be cut to keep scrub and dominant plants under control, ensuring that next spring the more delicate specimens will thrive.

The volunteers grumble, just a little, with the monotony of the raking and are always game for alternative escapades. Thus a ripple of excitement spread through the team when, arriving one day for the usual raking marathon, they were met with the news that a handful of cows had escaped into the wood. These creatures must be found and returned to the adjoining meadows.

There was no shortage of volunteers to join the search party. With visions of beasts thundering through the undergrowth, the woodland workers saw themselves thrashing through brambles and blackthorn, lassos in hand. Volunteers imagined majestic leaps onto marauding creatures as they tame the bovines into submission. The excitement was palpable.

The crew headed off to the last known sighting of the escapees, ready for whatever it took. Within minutes the fugitives were spotted, waiting patiently by a kissing gate opening onto the meadows. The gate was lifted from its hinges and the cattle wandered back to where they belonged. No drama, no heroics. Having completed their mission successfully, these brave volunteers returned to their raking.

A handful of the woodland workers are trained first-aiders, and thus on hand for all manner of unfortunate events. A recent refresher course took us through many a scenario, a trip over a tree stump with a resulting break of a bone, a cut with a saw resulting in a major bleed. A serious subject indeed. But fun was had as we learned to think laterally and use whatever was on hand to splint and support injured limbs, and how to keep a patient warm, comfortable, and safe in the event of a long wait for an ambulance.

Splinters, minor cuts, and nosebleeds are all that have required first-aider input so far. But it is good to know that should the cows decide to run amok again, and volunteers are overenthusiastic in their rescue attempts, there is a strong first aid team on hand.

More than 1,700 volunteers help us towards our vision of more nature everywhere, on our nature reserves, at our visitor and education centres, in our offices and more.

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