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Visiting Southsea Aquarium
On Tuesday 10th August, J's and Slams youth groups headed to Blue Reef Aquarium in Southsea for a fun day by the sea!
Young people and volunteers all met at The Hilt to make a picnic together before heading out.
The day was full of slippery and shiny creatures including sting rays, sharks and otters.
Despite a rainy day, the sun came out just long enough for everybody to sit outside and enjoy the picnic before heading in for our "rock pool encounter".
Raising money for Greyhound Rescue
Volunteers from Take Action Eastleigh spent the day in Colden Common at a fundraising dog show for the Greyhound Rescue.
The aim of the day was to provide somewhere fun for people to show off their dogs, whilst raising money and awareness for the rescue.
Our main job was to greet people as they arrived and make sure they had all the information they needed to enter their dogs into the show. As they were on the front gate, the volunteers got to see and meet all the different breeds of dogs and puppies as they arrived.
Throughout the afternoon, after a barbeque lunch, it was time for the young people to watch some of the classes in show.
They also helped to look after the greyhounds, regularly taking them for walks, whilst making sure they had plenty of water and shade from the sun!
Library Garden Makeover in Lee-on-the-Solent
Five Solent Youth Action volunteers from across Hampshire got together last week and used their gardening skills to transform the Lee on the Solent Library garden from glum to glam!
The day started nice and early outside a sunny but very windy Lee-on-the-Solent Library in the ornamental garden. Volunteers were tasked with removing dead plants to make way for the new summer flowers. In the spirit of recycling, volunteers saved the bulbs that they dug up to reuse in the garden next spring.
Once the beds were cleared, we were allowed to get a bit creative and choose where each new plant would go. After finding the best places to plant everything, we gave the flowers a good watering and swept away all the debris.
As we were working, visitors to the library commented that our efforts had really brightened up the library front and should hopefully encourage more people to appreciate the garden and even come into the library.
After all the volunteers hard work in the garden we decided to set them their next task of helping Priddy's Hard Nature Reserve in Gosport with their willow problem.
The tree had overrun the site and so armed with our loppers we set about chopping as much of it down as possible.
Whilst we were chopping and dragging the willow branches around the reserve we were lucky enough to spot some unusual animals like lizards and birds of prey that call the Reserve their home.
Working with the horses
On Wednesday 14th April 2010, eight volunteers from Take Action Eastleigh spent the morning at South Hants Pony and Horse Protection Group helping them with their morning routine.
On arrival at the stables, after a little time spent with Brambles and Pocket the ponies, everyone got to work. The first part of the morning involved mucking out the six horses rooms, sweeping up, changing food and water, and making hay bails.
Once the hard part was done, it was time to bring the horses down from their field to groom them! They horses ate hay patiently while the volunteers got to work making them look their best. It involved brushing their coats, conditioning and brushing their manes and cleaning the mud out of their hooves. As the summer is coming, all 6 of the horses and ponies spend their day out in the field, so after an eventful journey (Pocket decided the grass was better than the walking!) we eventually got them back up to their fields.
Helping the horses at Packridge Farm
The weather outside was windy and raining but being a horse lover is not just a fair-weather hobby as four young volunteers from Southampton found out.
The school girls from Oasis Academy, Lordshill spent a wet afternoon on 23rd Feb learning the skills of looking after horses and ponies at Packridge Farm in Southampton.
Accompanied by their little assistants aged 4 and 5, the girls were shown how to groom Mary Poppins, a show pony, before having to remove the mud from her hooves. Usually a bright white colour, Mary patiently stood still and allowed the girls to spruce up her winter coat as all the other horses looked on.
Conservation Taster Day at Emer Bog
Five young vinvolved volunteers attended the Conservation Taster Day at Emer Bog in North Baddesly on Thursday 18th Feb 2010.
Some volunteers came from as far as Winchester, Fareham and Havant to brave the wet weather to cut down and burn birch trees to help protect the natural habitat of the bog.
We managed to survive the swamp-like conditions to make a significant contribution in the preservation of creature who make the bog their home.
Dog walking in Millbrook
On Tuesday 2nd February, volunteers from Oasis Academy Lords Hill took part in a dog walk in Five Acres, Millbrook, where they walked a dog for a family member for an hour. Despite the rain the dogs and volunteers had a great time!
Feeding the birds
Solent Youth Action volunteers from Vinvolved have been helping to fatten up native birds this winter.
Throughout November, volunteers from the vinvolved project, Opportunity Brock, Osborne School and St Vincent College have been making bird feeders to both hang on trees in their local woodlands, as well as to sell at the Winchester Area Community Action (WACA) Christmas fair in December.
With 120 bird feeders made (a third of which are currently feeding hungry birds around Hampshire), volunteers were tasked on Saturday 5th December in Winchester's busy Discovery Centre to sell over 80 feeders in a matter of hours.
Thanks to the hard work of Robert Clarke, Glenn Jeffery, and Tisha, Tom and Luke Wood, total money raised passed the £40 mark (not bad at 50p each per feeder)!
All proceeds from the bird feeders will go towards buying seeds for Solent Youth Action's Allotment, produce from which is donated to local homeless shelters, homes for the elderly and women's refuges.
Visiting Longdown Activity Farm
Eight children from both the Hampshire and Southampton Buddies projects went on a trip to Longdown Activity Farm in the New Forest on Tuesday the 18th of August.
The children had a day full of activities and got some hands on experience with the animals including bottle feeding baby goats and handling chicks, piglets and rabbits.
The farm also had plenty of play areas for the children to explore in between meeting all the animals.
The day was a great success and it was a great opportunity for the children to get out of the city and explore a different environment.
Supporting South Hants Pony & Horse Protection Group
On Sunday 12th July, eight volunteers from Take Action enjoyed a day at South Hants Pony and Horse Protection Group's Open Day.
They helped run different stalls at the event, which is one of the Charity's main fund-raising events of the year
FoneAid campaign
Do you have an old or unused mobile phone lying around?
We are taking part in the FoneAid mobile recycling campaign and will take any mobile phone, in any condition, off your hands. By donating your phones, FoneAid will give us money towards our charity
