No, not the aeroplane. I have spent more than a few idle moments in the last week trying to find the word that sums up my feelings about volunteering at Glastonbury for Greenpeace this year. Now that I'm back in the world of the internet a quick search tells me that the word that has eluded me is 'concord'.
Why concord? I signed up to Greenpeace as a volunteer at the last Glastonbury in 2011, and when our network coordinator mentioned there was an opportunity to volunteer for the 2013 festival I put myself forward. I thought that volunteering would be a neat way of celebrating my last two years with Greenpeace, a coming-together of how I joined and where I am now, or a kind of closure without conclusion. Enter 'concord', which means just that.
I had two main goals for Glastonbury this year. One was to see some bands, have a dance and hang out with some friends (I ticked that box several times!). The other was to promote the Save the Arctic campaign and try to convince as many people as I could to get active. In the 5 days I manned the Arctic Dome with the rest of the Dome stewards we met and spoke with hundreds (if not thousands) of festival-goers, many of whom we were able to get on-message and sign-up to the campaign. And in that number there were maybe 20 or 30 people that really wanted to know more, that had the same itch I had in 2011. To them I said “when you get home, get on the Greenpeace website and get in touch with your local network coordinator”.
I guess I won’t ever find out if anyone I spoke to did get active after we spoke, but I’m an optimist so I would like to think that a few people did get home and remember a conversation with the guy in the woolly hat standing in a winter wonderland in 25 - 30 degree heat in June and came onboard.
On a final note. The volunteers I met there are a wonderful and brilliant bunch, completely committed and dedicated to Greenpeace, and it felt great to be a part of the family for a week. I’ll be back, and for longer next time, as you meet some great and like-minded people who are all pulling together for one cause. I haven’t experienced that very often in life. If you get the opportunity to volunteer at a festival with Greenpeace in future I’ve got 3 pieces of advice for you.
Do it!
Do it!
Do it!
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