"For everyone, forever..."

This is how the biggest conservation charity in Europe describes its cause and Emma Ayling, Senior Volunteering and Community Officer at the National Trust spoke to us on 16th January about what that means for the portfolio in North and West Dorset.  

We heard how Octavia Hill, a pioneering thinker and social reformer and one of the three founders of the National Trust believed in the importance of access to nature for human wellbeing and the need to stop the destruction of the natural landscape. In a wide - ranging presentation, Emma showed how those principles are still today translated into action on our doorstep. 

The conservation and preservation of the Hardy Monument and the spectacular Art-Deco villa, Portland House are two examples and we learned about the work done to maintain them. Similarly, Clouds Hill, the country cottage TE Lawrence moved into 100 years ago this year has been cared for by skilled conservationists tackling humidity, pests, light exposure and specialist cleaning of the furniture and art.

Hardy's Cottage and Max Gate were given similar treatment and we heard how the Trust is working on having the contents of Hardy's study returned to Max Gate from the Dorchester Hardy Centre.

Emma shared the outdoors work of the archeology rangers across the local National Trust land and the restoration of the Hill Forts habitats, implementing management plans to monitor conditions and maintain the ecology. The work of the gardening teams were covered and we discovered how the visitor experience managers have been encouraging the best possible experiences, with new walks making the countryside accessible. This included making Trampers (mobility scooters built for all-terrain use) available for hire to access Golden Cap and Hive Beach. If that's not enough to get anyone outside, then how about Masterchef winner Matt Follas leading you in foraging expeditions with the National Trust?!

The presentation contained a wealth of vivid images creating an entertaining presentation, made all the more so by the enthusiastically added snippets provided by Emma's National Trust colleague, Keith, who happened to also be her husband...!  

I wasn't alone in feeling inspired to visit or re-visit some of the amazing properties. Some may even answer the call for more volunteers.

Turning to upcoming events, we have the AGM on the 20th March, when Tom and Chloe Marsh from Eweleaze Organic Dairy Farm will share their story. Find out how the team that brought us the local milk vending outlet created their organic system with an eye on sustainability and became a supplier to the multinational Müller brand. The AGM will also be an opportunity for us to thank Angela Barrett and Jill Empson for their long service on the Committee and also to Clive Willetts who has acted as examiner of our accounts for 17 years. 

In breaking news, we now have a chosen venue and date for this year's village outing! After a close contest the final deciding vote was for Beaulieu and that is all set for the 22nd June. More details to come.

Chris Evans, Secretary.