Volunteering - Time is Priceless

Volunteers are the bedrock of our conservation efforts at TACA. Their unwavering commitment and passion for the River Teign ensure that our habitat improvement projects thrive and evolve. Volunteers not only assist in vital tasks such as river clean-ups and biodiversity assessments but also act as advocates for the river and its migratory species.

Their involvement enriches our understanding of the ecosystem, fosters community spirit, and inspires future generations to cherish and protect our natural heritage. Together, we forge a path towards a healthier river for all.

With the River Teign Restoration Project now behind us and to celebrate the many volunteers who have contributed to its success, I was asked to put pen to paper and deliver a talk about what volunteering means to me personally, how getting involved guided me to where I am today and why volunteers are so important going forward. This was a speech delivered on the 10th of January 2025 - I do hope you enjoy…

Volunteer Bank Restoration Day at Parke Estate - 7th November 2024

I think it’s fair to say that life is short, it’s over in the blink of an eye, especially when you compare how long our planet has been around.  To paraphrase a great author of a great book (The Teign Book by Neil Yeandle), if the 62 kilometers of the entire River Teign represented time, then Teignhead (the source) is the Earth's formation 4.6 billion years ago. On this scale, we (humans) have only been around for the last 2 meters of this 62 kilometer long timeline!

When we look at our own timelines, our own existence, we get remembered, if we’re lucky, by two dates. When we enter and when we leave this world! To me, what’s important is what we do between these dates - how do we make real differences and leave legacies? 

Looking at everything this way, it’s clear that our time is the most precious commodity the universe has to offer! Time is priceless. 

I got involved with all of this primarily through fly fishing. From an early age and growing up on a farm in Somerset, I was introduced to this way of fishing by my father, Bill. Again, for those of you who know him or have met him, apologies!  But he is a legend and will forever be my hero!

The Blakes on another piscatorial adventure!

Looking back from where I find myself now,  it all seems like a very natural arc - The Fly fishing led to learning more about habitat, the environment, rivers, restoration and even other species besides my beloved wild brown trout! 

Long and short, the fly fishing led me, well us, Dad included, to discover Devon and in particular Dartmoor. Mainly due to Geoff Stephens - so rather than apologise myself, I’ll let Geoff apologise on my behalf! This is somewhere that instantly felt like home to me, and for someone who appreciates the outdoors, it’s simply breathtaking.  The fly fishing isn't too bad either and I'm at my happiest walking, talking and living it all with passion and child-like enthusiasm!

Pretty much most of my life I’ve been self-employed and have been hustling ever since education to make a living… Chasing the pound and building things around me…  a home, a business, you know, the things that we’re told to believe are important but don’t necessarily grant us true purpose or ultimate happiness. 

All these things have a value, but they’re not priceless, they’re not like time!

I had heard about the River Teign Restoration Project from Geoff sometime during lockdown and knew I could offer something in some way - I just didn’t know what at the very beginning.  As with anything new, it takes a while for things to be planned out and people to find their places.  My first real calling was to get involved with River Temperature Monitoring and as with all great stories in my life, this began in a pub! 

I remember working through the mass data set of temperature figures from across the Teign Catchment. These loggers were recording water temperature every hour of every day throughout the length of the project… They’re still in there now tirelessly doing their thing and generating a lot of data!

Retrieving data from a logger on the River Bovey

For whatever reason I chose to attack this after the daily grind and started formulating how to visualise all of this information in a way that allowed future data to be compared and hopefully give us better insight into how the catchment functions as a whole.  Despite the scale of the task and the fact that I had worked all day, I completed it and felt energised and excited to be offering something back. From our data, we were able to see the exact triggers of water temperature and river level that caused the salmon to run and then spawn. This was a great moment for us, and, Again, obviously, this was discussed and fully dissected in the pub!  

For centuries salmon have been running our rivers to spawn, however, and maybe for the first time, a small group of determined people could see the proof of why and when. And all this took was our time.

I reflected and took a little ‘time out’ of my own, mostly thinking about this recent dopamine hit.  The dopamine hit that putting ‘my time in’ gave me. This was a real eye-opener and I soon saw this as a calling to do more. 

No’s turned to Yes and I’m busy changed to I’m free!

The local pub and river walks soon became our chapel to preach the Project’s gospel - Not everyone listened, but everyone left a little wiser and was made more aware of the challenges our amazing rivers are facing.

The community, the environment, and even the people give back more as long as we’re willing to put our time in.

I would also say that my overall love for fly fishing has grown due to the project. After all, they do say that love can grow more when the fear of loss is better understood. This sounds dark, but I feel this is an overall optimistic statement!

The appreciation deepened further when assisting with a few of the taster days for those interested in giving flyfishing a go. There’s something very zen about being able to pass knowledge back and ignite a spark into someone new - Again, we go back to this arc… This is exactly how I started all those years ago. I love nothing more than introducing new people to this pastime and seeing them grow, develop and over time influence others. For those of you that fish, you must know of someone who would like to give it a try. 

My advice is don’t wait, offer them your time. 

I feel that now, more than ever, we need to bolster our fishing associations with new members in the hope that they too give their time - Spending it fishing, offering their time up to help improve the habitat and making these long-standing associations stronger and better for the next generation, the future generations.

I’m also hopeful that with TACA we can look to complete future project bids and secure further funding to continue the great work and efforts that have been carried out by all of us! All of you! 

Everything is now in place, we just need to keep up the momentum.

And Fly Fishing isn’t about catching fish either, the clue’s in the Fishing bit!  To me, the true enjoyment of fly fishing lies not in the act of catching fish, but in the overall experience of being in nature, either with friends or alone, the calmness of the activity, the real connection to a wonderful environment, and the process of casting, watching and waiting, rather than solely focusing on the result of catching a fish. It's more about the journey than the destination - A journey that will last and evolve over a lifetime and teach you more about yourself if you’re willing to invest and give it the time!

When I think of the River Teign Restoration Project, I feel it has provided a journey for all of us, a catalyst to bring us all together to achieve something great. And I’m more certain than hopeful that this is only the beginning. Looking around this room, I see colleagues, friends, pub-goers, fly fishers, and even my Dad, but we’ve all been united and bound together by a want to see the best for our rivers and streams, the amazing ecosystems they give life to and the vibrant communities they support.

From kick sampling, bank repair, restoration, identification and removal of blockers, redd spotting, monitoring, fundraising and organisation -  we all have parts to play, enthusiasm to bring, and sweat equity to offer! 

All it takes is for us to say yes and offer up some time.

I’d like to think that everyone in this room has someone in your family, friendship circle, or local pub that you can reach out to. 

Please, enthuse them and share with them your experiences, knowledge and understanding of what you’ve offered to date from this project. Who knows, this may be all that’s required for them to say yes and get involved in the future. Wouldn't it be great to continue to grow in numbers up and down the catchment? I’m hopeful - Let’s continue to build and choose to make real differences and leave legacies.

All this requires is for all of us, all of you, we, the Volunteers to continue donating the most precious commodity in the known universe - Our Time.