Forty Eight Hours

It’s a freezing cold morning in February, and - instead of having a lazy lie-in - university student Nathalie Lefebvre is busy building a set of wooden steps for the Moulsecoomb Forest Garden & Wildlife Project.

Nathalie, 19, is a second-year student at the University of Sussex, and is the leader of the Dirty Weekenders Society - a student-run conservation society based in Sussex, who hold regular task days in the local area.

Nathalie is currently studying for a BSc in Ecology and Conservation, and decided to join the group to gain experience in environmental conservation.

Nathalie Lefebvre

“The only way that you can get a job after this degree is if you show that you’ve done stuff in the field, that you’ve been involved, and that you’ve given your time and you’re really committed to it.”

See our video about the Dirty Weekenders - just click the In Video link below.

I accompanied Nathalie, along with several other group members, to their latest task day at Moulsecoomb Forest Garden & Wildlife Project, where they spent the day building a set of wooden steps to increase the level of accessibility to the allotments. And Warren Carter - who runs the Moulsecoomb Forest Garden & Wildlife Project - was certainly grateful for the extra help.

“The project is completely reliant on volunteers, without volunteers, the project would collapse.”

Being part of Dirty Weekenders often means getting up at 7:30am on a Saturday morning. But does Nathalie mind that she’s missing out on late nights out clubbing?

“Although I do have to give up on going out and drinking, I still get a kick out of doing this, and I don’t really miss it that much.”

Dirty Weekenders has around 40 members, including staff and students from both the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex. They run regular task days about once a fortnight, mainly on Saturday mornings.