Behind the Scenes - July 2005
| Like many of the Trust’s staff and
volunteers, our Finance Manager Anya Rodgers initially became involved
with the Hawk Conservancy on a part time basis but then caught the
bug... |
 |
|
Anya at her desk - not doing
accounts! |
In April 04 I was asked by Trust Chairman, Marion Paviour if I would
help setting up an accounting system for the Trust on a consultancy
basis. So I did. Then, ‘if I would be so kind’ to train
up a couple of people in its use. All of this sounded perfectly reasonable
and easily fitted in with my existing client load. The next minute –
would I do the books a couple of days per week. I thought for a bit.
I could lose the conservatory building client and do the Trust instead,
that would work I thought. So I did. Two days a week I’d come
up to the Trust and be royally entertained by that famous comic duo
Ash and Andy. It wasn’t too painful and they did chuck in the
occasional cup of tea.
That takes us up to December 04. This was the moment when everything
changed; Marion, Ash and Andy asked if I would come on board full time
and I accepted the challenge.
|
Anya samples a picnic in
the meadow |
Since then I have done very little accounting! There was a brief flurry
when I first began with the financial year end to prepare but since
then almost nothing. It’s great. I get called on to help in almost
every other aspect of the park and shops. The entertainment is endless;
I’ve used the gift shop till – a bit, broken the coffee
shop till and reverted to waitress status very quickly. Been invited
to take part in a Conservation Activity Day, (very good by the way, highly
recommended), learnt how not to wrap a lure string round my head and or
legs. Went over the valley to help release the Eagles and ended up chasing
around the country side after an errant Kite. Fed baby Owl chicks in the
Hospital and answered endless enquiries about what to do when you find
an apparently abandoned owl – LEAVE IT ALONE. Not forgetting the
time spent in the pub, an essential meetings venue, and a night in a Shaman’s
Sun Lodge.
The dog has to come too of course. Did I not mention him? Lennie, a
four and a half year old lab x collie x shepherd, thinks this is the
best place in the world to work and Andy’s dog Sennan the finest
friend he’s ever known. They spend most of the day teasing each
other and entertaining the troupes with an assortment of balls and sticks.
On a slightly more serious note; I graduated from Kingston University
in 2000 with a degree in The History of Ideas, specialising in environmentalism
and deep ecology. Since my graduation I have looked for a job within
an organisation that did something more than just make money. An eco-centric
environment, (nature first), which looks to give something back to this
world that we humans are so busy making the most of. I think I may have
found that job and I hope very much that the Trust continues to find
uses for me for some time to come, accounting or otherwise!
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