For these women, summer is the start of their busiest season!
WORDS: JANEY SWANSON
“There’s Nowhere I’d Rather Be”
“In the summer months, I work in the most fantastic office.” Lisa Woodruff (53) smiles. “I’m surrounded by white sand, blue sea and sunny skies! Even on a rainy day, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Lisa is a RNLI lifeguard and spends her summers patrolling the beaches of Cornwall’s Penwith Penninsula.
“This is the ideal job for me,” says Lisa. “I’m always at the beach anyway as I love surfing and swimming – and I work part time, which fits in perfectly with my children and my other commitments.”
To be a lifeguard you have to be fit, qualified in lifesaving and casualty care, have good people skills and, ideally, know the beach where you’re working like the back of your hand, says Lisa.
“There’s also a lot of specialist training, both on the beach and at the RNLI College in Poole,” she adds.
“Lifeguards do a lot of preventative work, talking to people on the beach about the possible dangers and explaining how to stay safe.”
Sunny days in the school holidays are busiest, she adds.
“This is when we’re more likely to be kept busy by incidents such as people being swept out to sea on inflatables or surfers coming a cropper on the rocks.
“It’s very rewarding to be able to help people when they’re in trouble – and it’s wonderful to have a summer job which involves hanging out at the beach!”
rnli.org/what-we-do/lifeguards-and-beaches
“Good Weather Isn’t Guaranteed”
Karen Valentine (58) is a senior woods practitioner at the Secret Garden Outdoor Nursery in Fife, Scotland, where children play, learn and explore in a large woodland area, surrounded by nature and wildlife.
“The children regularly see red squirrels, roe deer and even foxes,” Karen says. “On a sunny summer’s day, my working day working can be very relaxed and chilled.
“Today the children looked for ladybirds, created artworks, watered the plants in our fruit and vegetable beds and played on the swings .
“Of course, good weather isn’t guaranteed, even in summer. If it’s wet, the staff work together to build shelters to keep the kids dry. If it’s cold, we light a fire and make a warming soup over the flames.
