The lugger’s role in the van crew is to carry or drag trees to the van and pack them in. Usually the driver, navigator and lugger on a van work as a team. When the van arrives at a street with lots of trees to collect, everyone often jumps out and helps to find the trees and drag them back. At the very least, it is useful if someone hops out and opens the van doors while the lugger finds and brings the tree to the van. If you are not getting the help you need from your crew, ask! If you find a tree is too heavy to easily move by yourself, ask for help! Do not attempt anything that might result in injury.
If we have enough volunteers, we assign some extra luggers to each shift, who head to the collection site, and help unload the vans and stack the trees. Trees also need to be cleaned of any decorations, plastic tags or netting, and anything that isn’t a tree needs to be set aside for separate disposal. If a van lugger needs a rest, or something to eat, they can swap places with one of the collection site luggers.
The collection site will have shelter, seating, and hot food and drink.
Safety is our top priority. After that, the main focus is accuracy. Your navigator will know what addresses have ordered collections, and how many trees we have to collect. It is very important that we collect all the trees that have been ordered, but no others. There may be many trees out for collection; only some of them are ours. We must collect ours, and no others. If there is any doubt, err on the side of caution, and consult your navigator.
We can only take trees. No Christmas wreaths or other items that might contain wire or nails. Trees with a circular wooden base are fine. Rooted trees in pots are not. We can saw off and take the tree, and leave the pot.
The site has a large area of hard standing on which vehicles can be driven, although it has soil and vegetation on top and can get very muddy. A concrete kerb forms the boundary between this and an open field, on which vehicles cannot be taken. We can stack trees on the field along this kerb line and also along the opposite side of the hard standing area, leaving a gap for vehicles to reverse and turn. Trees should ideally be stacked fairly neatly, trunk end facing towards the hard standing. This year, the site may have to accommodate up to 2000 trees – ours and those collected by Princess Alice Hospice. Our trees will need to stacked some way back onto the field, and be banked three or four trees deep. We need to leave the entire hard standing area clear for the large vehicles that will eventually process and remove the trees.
It is very important that the trees are cleaned of all decorations, plastic tags, scraps of nylon netting, or anything else that is not natural. Some trees will have plastic tags at the bottom and may also have cable ties that were used to secure the netting they were delivered in. If our shredded trees are found to contain plastics they may have to go to landfill and we will face a financial penalty. If a tree is contaminated with tinsel etc. put it to one side for separate disposal.
If you are on a morning shift, you may need to get the site unlocked and opened. If so, you will be given the contact numbers to call, and a security guard will come and unlock the gates and lower the bollards. Please ensure the gates are firmly secured in an open position.
When a vehicle arrives to unload, you may need to direct them where to park, and help them to reverse and turn. If the site is very wet and muddy, it may be better to back vans in at the gate and unload them there, then drag the trees to where they are stacked.
You will need to wear gear appropriate to the weather. Unless we’re very lucky, it will be wet, and even if it isn’t raining, trees left out overnight will be wet. The collection site will almost certainly be muddy. Bear in mind that it may be cold, but you are likely to get quite warm with the exercise! We will provide a high-visibility jacket, but this is just a thin layer.
An explorer, adventurer and TV presenter, Dwayne's been seen in BAFTA nominated Channel 5 series Race to the Pole, on BBC Springwatch, Countryfile, National Geographic and Disney+.
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