NGT Volunteer Profile – Lynn Gilbert
National Volunteer Week in 2024 is May 20-24th. Over the past few months we have been featuring some of our wonderful volunteers in each month’s newsletter. This month we have the third installment where we meet Suzy Meyers and Lynn Gilbert. Here are some words from Lynn, Founding member of Nelson Coastcare, native gardener, art-lover, dog-walker and wonderful NGT nursery volunteer.
Hi, my name is Lynn Gilbert and I have been a volunteer at the NGT nursery for two years. After living in Nelson, Victoria for 20 years I moved to Mount Gambier in July 2021 during a sudden seven-day Covid lockdown in South Australia. Nelson is only 35 km away but getting myself and the removal van across the border was challenging to say the least! But I love living in Mount Gambier, all worth it. I have a long connection and interest in the work of NGT. I have been a member of Nelson Coastcare since it was founded in 2010. NGT has been invaluable to Coastcare in helping to achieve protection for the Long Swamp and Glenelg Estuary under the Ramsar Protection Treaty in 2018, and a terrific information source.
After settling in Mount Gambier I was keen to meet new friends and do some volunteer work. My aims for taking on volunteer work include contributing to the community/ environment in a practical, meaningful way, meeting interesting new people, having fun, and sleeping at night without worrying too much about work!! One of my Coastcare friends suggested I contact NGT nursery, and it seemed like a perfect option for me. I love being a nursery volunteer! The staff and vollies have been so welcoming and informative, I really enjoy their company. It’s great to know we are doing useful, important work in plant and seed conservation. It has been a learning curve personally as every week I go home to my garden with new techniques and ideas to experiment with. I now have an expanding native garden in addition to my beloved herbs and fuchsias. The birds love it.
The NGT nursery is my first regular volunteer job. In Nelson I assisted Coastcare doing committee work, beach cleanups, and weed control. I love art exhibitions, and painting using acrylics on canvas. I belong to a dog walkers’ group, and we regularly do the rail trail walk. Now I’m a South Australian I’m enjoying getting to see the state. Lots of walking and travel to look forward to.
Lynn Gilbert
As a non-profit organisation, volunteers are an integral part of the work we do at here at NGT. Our volunteers do vital conservation work, like sorting seeds and growing seedlings in the nursery, helping to restore degraded ecosystems through planting and weed control, assisting with surveys, and one is even a live-in caretaker on one of our reserves! Thank you Lynn and all our volunteers, for all the hard work you do. It is invaluable to our organisation and truly appreciated!
