Every year we have a volunteer Christmas lunch, kindly paid for by the Huggard Trust to say ‘thank you’ to our lovely volunteers.
Due to COVID we decided to postpone this year’s Christmas lunch and held it yesterday rather than in December. There’s something unique about sitting down to a roast dinner (complete with crackers) in June!
Our volunteer lunch is a chance for volunteers to get together, chat with Amelia Trust staff, and for us to present the Ethel Huggard Volunteer of the Year Award. The award goes to someone who has shown outstanding commitment to the Farm.
All of our volunteers are exceptional, so it’s always difficult to single out one person.
Volunteer of the Year 2020
COVID has prevented 2 volunteer Christmas lunches, so this year, we presented 2 awards: for 2020 and 2021. Our Volunteer of the Year for 2020 went to Mike Morton.
Mike has been volunteering at the Farm for over 20 years. He spends most of his time with our lovely donkeys and is a huge help to our Animal Care team. When Mike’s car pulls into the car park, the donkeys get excited because they know who is about to arrive! Mike is an invaluable volunteer at the Farm and is truly deserving of the award.
Mike wasn’t able to attend our volunteer lunch, but will be presented with his award individually.
Volunteer of the Year 2021
Our Volunteer of the Year award for 2021 went to Glyn Davies.
Glyn is a familiar face at the Farm and has been volunteering for over 5 years. He is part of ‘Neil’s Army’ of volunteers, helping out with maintenance, woodwork, driving the tractor, and pretty much anything else that needs doing on site. Glyn has also secured donations from Tarmac at Aberthaw that have helped us to improve paths in our woodland, and make them more accessible for our visitors.
Vanessa, a member of our Council of Management and acting Chair, presented Glyn with his award.

Presenting the Awards
In between our roast dinner and dessert, Vanessa presented our Volunteer of the Year award to Glyn. Vanessa also thanked all of the volunteers for their hard work and dedication to the Farm .
“Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.”
If volunteering is something you’re interested in, click here to find out more about our opportunities.
