Creating countryside content

Amelia Furness champions green spaces through her voluntary work with CPRE Lancashire.

I’ve always loved the beauty of nature and being in the outdoors. So, when I came across CPRE, I saw it as my chance to get involved in something I was passionate about and help protect both our rural and urban green spaces.

I initially saw the University of Liverpool sharing an advert from CPRE Lancashire on twitter. The advert was for a geography internship, which caught my attention. I don’t study geography but I still wanted to get involved so I simply sent over an email asking how I could help!

The importance of green spaces

Coming from a Yorkshire village, I’ve always felt lucky to have been surrounded by beautiful fields, lakes and woods. As a child, nature reserves and woodland were always quite close by, and looking back now I appreciate having had all that space to explore and play. So I believe all children should have access to green spaces, whether rural or urban, to have fun and learn about nature.

Now, as an adult, I recognise the benefits that the countryside has on my wellbeing, as I always feel myself relax when surrounded by nature. Also, as I’ve been living in Liverpool as a student, I often visit Sefton Park which is very close by. Whilst it isn’t rural space, it’s a great example of parkland that;s accessible to and loved by thousands of residents and visitors. I believe strongly in CPRE’s mission to protect and promote parks and urban green spaces as well as the countryside, as this helps ensure the accessibility of nature to everyone.

Creating content

I outlined my interest in marketing in my initial email to CPRE Lancashire. I also really enjoy writing and content creation, so I offered to write an article for their website and social media. This worked out well as I had plenty of spare time during the summer. After this, I continued working with CPRE on developing ideas for events and social media posts.

Social media and writing skills have come in very useful for me, but I know CPRE would love to hear from people with different skills and interests! As a student, I really appreciate the flexibility of volunteering with CPRE. It fits in well with my university life as I usually work on volunteering in between lectures, on weekends or in my spare time. Everyone I’ve met is really friendly and helpful, and we usually meet either biweekly or monthly to discuss ideas and plans.

A rewarding experience

I believe I’ve benefited greatly from volunteering with CPRE. I’ve learned so much from volunteering, such as about light pollution from the Star Count, brownfield and sustainable development. My confidence has also grown so much by meeting new people and getting involved in new projects.

My advice would be to go for it! I have no regrets getting involved at all as I have met some lovely people and developed myself as a person. For students like myself, volunteering looks great on a CV and it is also a great opportunity to learn more and gain experience in whatever you wish to pursue.

Could you spare some time to volunteer for your local CPRE and stand with the countryside that you love? Learn more about the experience of volunteering for CPRE, the countryside charity, or drop us a line: volunteeringteam@cpre.org.uk.