Getting down on your hands and knees!

In a very brief introduction, my name is Robbie and I am the new people engagement officer here at the reserve in Conwy!
I have only been here a few weeks as I write this and a thing has struck me, like a great big smack in the face, that I wanted to share!
But first a little about me and what I do.... I talk for a living! I talk about birds (as do we all), I talk about wildlife, I talk about the RSPB and its role in the world of conservation and I talk about how people can support it.

By 'support', incidentally, I mean all ways of supporting The RSPB! Just visiting a reserve or event, Membership, volunteering or generally just getting involved in what we do. Without this support we just wouldn't be able to do the work we do for conservation around here or around the world

Any how, back to the point in hand and that smack in the face!

Last week I dragged one of our volunteers (you know who you are) out onto our grass area behind the visitor centre here at the reserve and forced them to get down on their hands and knees to look at something interesting, well at least I figured it was, it was slime! Ok, yes I know, it doesn't sound that interesting but I am enthusiastic in getting people interested in fungi, mould and slime. With a little more understanding you would realise that slime mould is really very interesting indeed!

During the same week i had been out with a couple taking macro photographs of some interesting fungi we had growing here (they came thinking the only thing they would see here is birds) and i had an amazing conversation about little egrets and climate change with a family. The family in question left with a little better understanding of the real effects of climate change and how it is already affecting the planet and their very own doorstep. They also left with a renewed drive to do a little about it if they could.

During the course of this week it really hit home that the RSPB isn't just about birds its about the enviroment as a whole and we use the birds as the point that generates peoples interest and enthusiasm.

You see that is the thing that smacked me in the face. that if you get enthusiastic about something (even slime) and you share your enthusiasm and knowledge, just like a smile, the chances are you will pass your enthusiasm on and others will become enthusiastic and interested too!

So, I figured that my job is great, that its good to talk and to talk allot! talk about what your enthusiastic about. if that's birds then its wonderful, if its woodlice then brilliant, fungi.... amazing, RSPB membership just fantastic or if its slime mould then your after my heart too!