Over the last couple of months, students from Blue Coat School in Harborne have been spending time with us at Moor Pool Heritage Trust. They first joined us in December to make Christmas decorations, in the spring and summer they will be working at our Carless Eco Centre and allotments, but in January we thought we’d have a bit of fun and put them to work as mini journalists interviewing Moor Pool volunteers.
Not only that, they were also asked to take their interviewee’s portrait, but no cameras were allowed! Instead, they put their artistic skills to work and drew their subjects with pencils and crayons.
The key to a great story is getting to know your interviewee and finding out interesting facts. All our volunteers have oodles of interesting stories to tell, but could 15 Year 6 students find out some fun facts about our volunteers? We believe they did!
Read their interviews below, marvel at their wonderful portraits, and let us know what you think…..
Helen is from Sheffield in Yorkshire and in her previous career she worked as an office manager for the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street. Her hobbies include researching her family history and going out with friends in the evening. Her favourite food is a bacon sandwich.
Helen’s favourite place is Carnac in France as it is pretty with lots of lovely walks and restaurants. Helen also loves to cook. If her friends described her in three words they would say, fabulous, dependable and lovely.
When Helen moved to Moor Pool, she decided she wanted to get to know the community as her friends were already volunteering themselves. Helen has now been here for 15 years. Her favourite part of volunteering is getting to know new people.
Helen’s happiest moment at Moor Pool was finding out that the Trust had enough money to make more facilities for the community. Helen believes Moor Pool is important to the local community because it is a place that is part of history and heritage and it is a place that brings people together.
Helen believes that the most important skills and qualities to be a volunteer are to be willing, passionate, friendly, as well as believing in your ideas and working together as a team. Helen loves to chat and have fun with her fellow volunteers and feels happy, fulfilled and like she truly belongs when she is volunteering at MPHT.
Jo has lived in Moor Pool for many years and Jo loves baking, gardening and is very good at them. She also loves reading and going to the cinema. Her favourite meal is steak and chips.
Jo’s friends would describe her as positive, cheerful and a great story teller, especially stories about the Moor Pool Estate. Jo enjoys the company of other people on the estate and she says what made her smile today was the enthusiasm of the children interviewing the volunteers.
Some of Jo’s favourite memories of Moor Pool were watching the plays by the Moor Pool Players and going to all the Moor Pool celebrations over the years.
Jo’s favourite thing about volunteering is that so many of the people at MPHT are friendly and great company and volunteering gives her something lovely to do. Jo believes volunteering is important as it brings people together and allows friendships to grow. A great volunteer is ready to offer help and lets friendships grow as you meet new people along the way. Jo says volunteering makes her feel great and very useful!
Martin has volunteered at Moor Pool for 12 years. He loves to visit the Clent Hills, Winterbourne House and Gardens and the University of Birmingham grounds, as it gives Martin a sense of wellbeing. He loves the fresh air, the nice views and it makes him feel relaxed. Martin’s favourite food is lasagne. His friends would describe him as helpful, friendly and quiet. Martin has two tabby cats.
Martin loves to volunteer because Moor Pool is a lovely area and he wants to ensure it stays that way. He especially loves his volunteering work gardening next to the old railway.
Martin enjoys that Nettlefold Garden is called ‘the cat garden’ by one of the children who use it, as so many cats feel at home there. Martin believes that Nettlefold Garden is important to the community as it is a great place to relax, with children and adults (and cats!) coming to play there. Volunteering gives Martin a great deal of satisfaction as he loves doing jobs and doing something useful.
Maureen has lived on the estate since 1983 and has volunteered for many years, helping out at all the clubs, annual Heritage Festival and Moor Pool celebrations. Maureen helps at the Cinema Club, the carol service, the Eco Centre, the pre-school group and has helped organise dances for the Christmas carol service. Maureen’s skills include baking and she has baked hundreds of cakes for MPHT celebrations over the years.
Maureen speaks multiple languages and she loves going to the theatre, cinema and on holiday. Her favourite food is fish pie. She loves to have a laugh with friends and says they would describe her as tall, friendly and always busy.
Maureen enjoys the social aspect of volunteering, the company, chatting to all different kinds of people and she loves to feel useful. Maureen also volunteers at the Birmingham Hippodrome and at a local hospital.
One of Maureen’s fondest memories of volunteering at MPHT is being taught to Morris dance for the Heritage Festival. When a local Morris dancing group were too busy to perform at the Festival, the group taught some of the volunteers to Morris dance, so the volunteers took over Morris dancing duties at the Festival.
Maureen believes one of the reasons Moor Pool is so important to the community is because of the clubs, such as the rifle, bowling, tennis, fishing and snooker clubs. She believes that being friendly and helpful are super important when volunteering and it makes her feel happy and useful during her retirement.
Phil has been volunteeting at MPHT for eight years. He has been the MPHT Secretary and Chair. When not volunteering, Phil enjoys building things with wood. His favourite place to relax is in the garden and his favourite food is meat pie. Phil enjoys socialising and volunteering with other people at the Trust. Phil believes his friends would describe him as capable, friendly and jokey.
Phil started volunteering when a friend suggested the idea to him. Phil enjoys getting to know everyone in his role as a volunteer. Phil believes volunteer skills should include being eager to help and support the community. Volunteering makes Phil very happy.
One of Phil’s happy memories from Moor Pool is seeing students from Victoria School using all the facilities at the Carless Eco Centre, which is a wheelchair-friendly place.
Moor Pool is unchanged, with amazing origins, a beautiful garden suburb, which is why Phil thinks MPHT is so important to the community.
Jenny has been volunteering at Moor Pool for four decades. Jenny is very sociable and enjoys talking to people, meeting up with friends, chatting over tea and chocolate biscuits – which is also her favourite food! Her favourite thing to do is have a walk around the Circle and, when she is not socialising or volunteering, Jenny loves to crochet.
Jenny sees Moor Pool as an escape from the big busy city of Birmingham as it is calm, relaxing and there are lots of things to do here.
Jenny describes Moor Pool as a very friendly place and Jenny enjoys coming to all the events. Her favourite part of volunteering is always meeting new people and what makes her happy is knowing she has made so many good friends here. Volunteering skills that Jenny believes are important are to always have a big smile on your face, be welcoming and relaxed, and have the ability to crack a few jokes. Volunteering makes Jenny feel really good!
Jenny worked as a librarian for years and now volunteers at Moor Pool events and has been volunteering for 18 years. She loves to read and likes to visit the Botanical Gardens where she used to volunteer. Jenny loves salads and chips.
Jenny loves to grow things and enjoyed being a librarian. She smiled a lot today when she saw all the wonderful Year 6 students come to interview volunteers. Jenny’s friends would say she is outspoken, funny and flexible. Jenny loves to chat to people and hear about their lives as well as sharing ideas with them.
Jenny enjoys seeing all the spring bulbs flower around the estate and believes Moor Pool gives her lots of things to do, allows her to focus on the community and gives her a sense of identity.
Living on the estate, Jenny was looking for interesting things to do, such as volunteering here. Jenny’s favourite parts of volunteering are growing plants at the Eco Centre, learning new things and making friends. Being flexible, liking people and being involved are all important when volunteering. Volunteering makes Jenny feel happy and satisfied.
Sheila is relatively new to volunteering at MPHT and has been here for a year. After teaching some courses at MPHT, she heard about volunteering opportunities at the Carless Eco Centre. She wanted to meet new people, make friends and do something rewarding and has done all three!
Sheila enjoys all the jobs at the Eco Centre, including planting seeds, watering, weeding, seeing the plants grow, working at the annual plant sale and being part of the gardening group. Her happy moments when volunteering are seeing the plants grow, the greenhouse getting fuller and chatting to like-minded people.
Sheila believes volunteering means you should be able to get along with other people – everyone brings different skills and it’s nice to share those skills with each other. For Sheila, volunteering makes her feel very happy and gives her a sense of belonging.
For Sheila, MPHT is important as it allows people to combat loneliness and isolation and there are lots of activities for all ages from dancing to crafting so there is something for everyone.
When Sheila isn’t volunteering she loves to read, do lots of crafting and walk her beloved dog, Taffy.
Nicola retired three years ago and has been volunteering for two years. When she isn’t volunteering, Nicola enjoys walking in nature and visiting Winterbourne House and Gardens. She enjoys drawing, painting and photography, and loves Thai food.
Her friends would describe her as cheerful and chatty. She enjoys sharing and listening to other people’s stories. The thing that makes her laugh the most is her cat!
Nicola loves Moor Pool for it’s village feel – there is a lot of wildlilfe around and it feels like you are in the countryside. Nicola especially likes the Halloween decorations around the estate and the Christmas crochet robin trail.
Nicola especially loves helping the environment in her role as a volunteer, as well as chatting with friends at the Eco Centre. She believes Moor Pool brings people together, sharing stories, activities and new things is good for everyone and volunteering makes Nicola feel connected to other people. Nicola says that Moor Pool reminds her of a small village where she went to school so being here makes her feel nostalgic.
Rob has lived on Moor Pool for 45 years and has been a volunteer for 20 years. He has a particular interest in the architecture and is very supportive of ensuring it stays that way and that it is always a lovely place to live. Rob has an allotment on the estate and it is his favourite place to be as he feels immersed in nature there.
He loves to organise activities, loves the social atmosphere of Moor Pool. His favourite food is lasagne and he believes his friends would describe him as stubborn, nice and courteous. What made Rob smile today is the questions asked by his interviewer.
For Rob, Moor Pool is important because of all the various activities and the way MPHT brings people together.
The magic of volunteering for Rob is meeting all kinds of different people and making a big family of friends. Rob’s most memorable moment at Moor Pool was helping raise £325,000 for the facilities and all the different fundraising events. Skills that Rob believes are important for volunteering are having patience, being able to engage with people, being reliable, and being part of a team. Volunteering sometimes makes Rob a bit tired but it also makes him happy and proud.
Mike has volunteered at Moor Pool for 15 years and does a lot of work at Nettlefold Garden. Mike has always loved gardening so when he wanted something else to do, being a gardening volunteer at Moor Pool was perfect! When he first started volunteering, the garden was a big pile of rubble which was having a negative effect on the community. But now it’s a community-friendly area, which is well used and much loved.
One of his happier moments at Moor Pool was designing the Nettlefold Garden for animals as well as people and improving the environment for wildlife. When Nettlefold Garden was recognised for this and presented with a plaque, it was a proud moment.
Moor Pool is important to Mike because of the community and how it comes together. Being enthusiastic and getting on with people is very important when it comes to being a volunteer. Mike loves volunteering because it gives him something to do and he loves to garden so very much.
Norma was born on the estate and has been volunteering since the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. When Norma isn’t volunteering, she enjoys walking and meeting friends. Her favourite place to go is Bournemouth, where her son lives. She finds indian and italian food delicious!
Seeing people connect and engage with each other gives Norma a great sense of happiness. Norma says seeing her interviewer today made her smile and her friends would describe her as dependable, honest and always there to help.
Norma not only volunteers for MPHT but Streetwatch too and her favourite thing is to help out behind the scenes. Being part of lots of clubs too, such as skittles, reading, gardening and the Moor Pool Players from 1977 to 2016 is a big part of Norma’s life.
Moor Pool is a very special place for Norma because she grew up on the estate and says that, even though there are 500 houses on the estate, almost everyone knows each other.
For Norma, being involved, helping out and having fun are the best parts of volunteering. One of the highlights of volunteering was when Norma was presented with an award from the Queen for the Trust’s outstanding voluntary work. Norma says that, as a volunteer, you should be prepared to do anything and everything. You must be able to get on with people and be a friendly person. Feeling like she is contributing and helping people gives Norma a huge sense of satisfaction.
Margo lives on the estate and has volunteered for five years. Margo is very concerned about climate change and works at the Carless Eco Centre, with a particular interest in composting. She does as much as she can as an individual for the environment: recycles, composts, makes do and mends. Margo lived in Thailand for some time and also volunteered to help Cambodian refugees.
Margo values volunteering because she learns a lot from other people as well as sharing knowledge. Margo loves to learn about plants and planting at the Eco Centre and believes volunteering is a fantastic way to give something back to society.
Margo has enjoyed making friends within the gardening group and enjoyed swapping Christmas cards as everyone is more like friends as well as volunteers now. Learning about other people when volunteering is so important to Margo – being from America, Margo enjoyed meeting one of our gardening volunteers who is from South Korea. It has been valuable to Margo as she has learned so much about a different culture when in other circumstances she might not have.
Being willing to cooperate, listen and collaborate with others are very important traits for volunteering as well as using your abilities, pushing yourself and always contributing with suggestions. For Margo, volunteering is important as she has learnt so many new things. She also volunteers at a local school where she reads to children, which is rewarding and important as books are linked to everything.
Roger has been volunteering at Moor Pool since his retirement and has worked on the Moor Pool community allotment for 10 years. Planting and seeing things grow is Roger’s favourite part of volunteering. Roger is happiest when he is working in a group of people working together.
Roger believes Moor Pool is important for lots of reasons, but one is that it has a great history and many years ago it was built for people who didn’t have great homes.
The magic of volunteering for Roger is meeting lots of people and working as a team and he especially enjoys knowing he has been part of a team that has created something for others to enjoy. When he’s not volunteering Roger likes to listen to jazz music or eat pizza, as well as sitting on the canal and watching the boats and wildlife go by. His friends, if they described him, would call him a comedian!
Jules is a trustee at MPHT. In 2012 she wanted to help save Moor Pool and save the community facilities for public use. Volunteers and trustees raised £325,000 to save the estate in one year. Jules is still a trustee and now volunteers for fun and friendship.
When Jules isn’t volunteering she likes going on travels in her campervan. A place she loves to visit is Carnac in France, as it makes her feel uplifted. Her favourite food is rhubarb crumble and custard. Jules loves to talk to people and if her friends described her they would say she is funny, lovable and helpful. The thing that has made Jules smile today is doing her interview with Emily.
Jules believes the estate is important because it combats social isolation and there is always something to do.
What Jules loves about volunteering is the estate, it’s people and giving back. One of Jules’s fondest moments is when MPHT bought the estate and every year volunteering at Santas’s Grotto makes her very happy. Enthusiasm, initiative and a sense of humour are three very important skills that volunteers need. Volunteering makes Jules feel brilliant and she especially enjoys seeing all the smiles on the children’s faces at events at Moor Pool.
Moor Pool Hall
37 The Circle, Harborne,
Birmingham, B17 9DY
Registered Charity Number: 1148252
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