Hello, and welcome back to our member newsletter!
For those of you who are new to the newsletter: this is a seasonal circulation featuring updates, information and stories that are relevant and interesting to members of WWOOF UK. We look for submissions from members on a range of topics and expertise, and we are always happy to hear about how this organisation has impacted our members’ lives.
My name is Aiden, and I’m the newest member of the WWOOF UK team. I grew up all over the United States, but now call East London home. One of the first things I did when I moved to the UK was volunteer with WWOOF, and I can honestly say it’s one of the biggest reasons I’ve stayed. In addition to editing the newsletter, I’m in charge of marketing, promotions and outreach for WWOOF UK – in short, my goal is to find ways to expand this wonderful community far and wide.
In addition to myself, Justine Hall has recently joined the team as our new Finance and HR Coordinator. You can read a little more about Justine (and the rest of the team) here.
More exciting organisational updates: our membership is growing again, with WWOOFer numbers above 3,000 for the first time since the start of COVID. Our hosts continue to offer a diverse range of exciting opportunities and experiences, and we’re looking forward to our continued expansion as an organisation and community. We’re always looking for new hosts to join us – consider recommending us to a friend who needs help on their farm!
Our Autumn Meeting (AGM) will be a daytime meeting taking place on Thursday, the 10th of November in Birmingham. The venue is upstairs at a cafe with lovely meat/veggie/vegan food and cakes, very close to New Street train station. If you are interested in attending as a member of WWOOF UK, please email editor@wwoof.org.uk for more details and to let us know you’re coming!
Finally, here is a quick update from our social media expert, Mike:
“Thanks to you guys our presence on social media is growing ever bigger. There’ve been so many fantastic posts, videos and tweets this summer, and the WWOOF UK pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as well as our YouTube channel have plenty of rich and strong content.
WWOOFers: I know you’re visiting farms etc. to help out, learn and have fun and I know it’s great to take a break from the phone and the laptop. But, if you do get the urge to take some snapshots or videos, I would love it if you could tag us @wwoofuk and/or use #wwoofuk when you post.
If you’re a host, I love to see the interesting things you get up to as well: the produce, projects, festivals, awards, art and craft and social events. I like to share these photos and videos to help you achieve your goals and also to help show the world how fabulous you are! If you tag us @wwoofuk and/or include #wwoofuk then I will know about it!
The social media you produce – these glimpses of real-life WWOOFing – are one of the best ways to present WWOOF to those who’ve never heard of us or haven’t made up their minds about us yet. The special moments you capture are gold dust for me in my role as social media liaison.
You probably already know about the WWOOF news page on our website – it’s another place where your stories can be shared too. For example, do you have thoughts on how WWOOFing might’ve been beneficial for your mental health or confidence? Maybe you kept a journal of your time at a smallholding or maybe you’ve been on a WWOOFing ‘odyssey’ and the story needs to be told? As a host, the WWOOF news page is a space where you might like to share something about how you came to live on your farm/holding/croft etc, or perhaps something about your food growing methods or beliefs. You may have stories of WWOOFers have enriched your life and helped establish your business?
Whether you’d like to have a go at blogging or maybe you’ve heard about a great job or traineeship which would be of interest to WWOOFers or hosts, just send me a message via a social media platform or email me: socialmedia@wwoof.org.uk”
