A NEW calendar to celebrate next year's 50th anniversary of the Voluntary Warden Service for the Lake District National Park was launched by the longest-serving member still in post, reports Ellis Butcher.

Bryan Stilling, who remains a volunteer at the age of 84, was on hand at Brockhole, Windermere, to officially unveil the glossy calendar which will be available from tourist information centres.

Featuring awe-inspiring scenes of the Lake District, it also shows some of the wide variety of work carried out by voluntary wardens, such as free guided walks, litter picks, dry stonewalling and sheep rescues!

Mr Stilling, a former K Shoes worker, has served as a warden for 49 years, giving up thousands of hours, nights and weekends to do all manner of unpaid work for the area he adores.

Of his time in the role, the father-of-two from Burneside, said the benefit to him was the people he had met, and added: "Why do we do it? This might sound a bit trite, but I think we do it to give something back to the hills. You feel you have got to give something back to the hills because you have enjoyed them so much."

Asked how long he intended to keep going in the service, he joked: "Till I finishit gets me away from the wife!"

Guy Huxtable, retail and recreation manager for the Lake District National Park, said he was pleased with the calendar which would offer a regular reminder to people

about the unseen work carried out by the wardens.

Mr Huxtable said: "I think it is something that will sell and help get the message across about the importance of looking after the landscape and how voluntary wardens make a substantial contribution to that."

A total of 4,000 calendars have been produced, costing £4.99 each, with photographs taken and donated free-of-charge by Val Corbett, a professional photographer and warden.

John Deavin, chairman of the south-east-based Voluntary Wardens, said the importance of the service could not be understated.

"I think if we were not here then a lot of the work would just not be done. Things like collecting litter, it is very difficult to get people to do that."

He said although the service attracted younger wardens, the younger generation tended to have demands on their time.

"The way things are changing, we do need to try to broaden the access to volunteering and get more people involved, perhaps not on a committed basis but on an as-and-when basis," he said.

Des Oliver, 74, of Thirlmere, joined the wardens in 1960 and then was appointed a full-time ranger in 1963, which he did for 30 years before retiring and then becoming a voluntary warden.

Mr Oliver, second only to Mr Stilling in length of service, said the role had been a pleasure and that the increase in information centres across the Lake District was one change he had seen.

"You can't help but appreciate a place like the Lake District. Voluntary wardens do a lot of unseen work to help the public enjoy the Lake District. After all, when it began, the National Park information service was just a display board in Windermere library"

April 24, 2003 12:00