Hang out with History

Despite the weather not being on our side, 15 volunteers from Imperial , UCL, KCL, UEL, Queen Mary’s and UWL braved a chilly and damp October afternoon to ‘Hang out with History’ at the Royal Brompton Cemetery for London Student Volunteering Fortnight (LSVF).

Armed with a pair of secateurs and a wooden kitchen spatula (an essential tool to carefully prise the ivy away from tombs without causing damage), we began tackling the ivy and brambles that are surrounding the 50,000 tombs that are in the cemetery, 100 of which David – lead volunteer from the Friends of Brompton Cemetery – thought we might be able tackle in the two hours we spent with him.

The event bought together student volunteers from institutions from all corners of London from a vast array of academic backgrounds introducing them to a new area of the city they have come to study and live in.

Conci, a second year Aeronautical Engineering student from Imperial, said the experience was a great opportunity that allowed students to get in touch with history and nature whilst volunteering with others

Molly, a Bioarchaeological and Forensic Anthropology Masters student from UCL, said that community volunteering is great for students as it gives the mind a break from writing papers and reading books, seeing benefits for both students and the community. “Students don’t just exist in a bubble encompassed by their school – that exists within a larger community. So I think it’s necessary for students to understand how they fit into that larger community, a good way to do that is to volunteer within it. I personally get a lot of happiness out of helping a community”. 

‘Hang out with History’ is one of the many examples of the contributions that student volunteers make to London. There will be hundreds of students volunteering throughout LSVF and thousands volunteer all year round making a huge difference to life in the capital. We owe them all a massive THANK YOU!