Volunteers at Work

What is there to do on a bitter cold and windy day in October, stay indoors and keep warm maybe?  Not for our team of volunteer transcribers it isn’t!

When there is clearing to do the hardy stalwart team get to work with tools and plenty of energy, removing the massive tangle of foliage and uncovering gravestones that for many years have remained unseen. Despite the difficult job, great care is taken and much respect for the ‘inhabitants’ shown.

Sometimes just enough is removed so they can crawl inside to transcribe the memorials, leaving a canopy of growth which is a protection for the stones.

If you enjoy being outside and think you would like to give this sort of thing a go, come along to the Ryde Cemetery Heritage & Learning Centre and see what we do. Volunteer and become a member of the group, you are always welcome. There are many jobs inside as well for those people who prefer it.  

Photographs by Colin Hunt