Volunteers' week: Meet Dick Hogg

Laura Ross
, 06 June 2025
Volunteers' week: Meet Dick Hogg
Dick Hogg © Dick Hogg

Laura Ross

Communications Officer, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I’ve always been really into nature - as a kid I’d say I was obsessed with it! At the age of 12, I was the youngest member of my local Natural History Society – the second youngest member was in their 30s! I ended up studying Art and went into a career drawing pictures, but when I moved to Hastings about 13 years ago, it felt like something that had been missing in my life, had returned. That was spending time outdoors in nature.

You volunteer with goats and moths. Tell us more..

I’m a goat lookerer, which means I check the 12 goats who graze at Castle Water to make sure they’re all healthy and none of them are missing. They’re used for conservation grazing to reduce the scrub of brambles, which could prevent birds from inhabiting the space. The goats are all boys and are very affectionate – we’ve given them names like Elvis and Largo.

I also help monitor the moth trap. The variety and beauty in the world of moths is dazzling. Every time I open the lid, it’s like finding treasure. One of the things that’s amazing about monitoring them is the use of AI. I can upload a photo of a moth, and a clever app called ObsIdentify, will tell me what it is. It means people like me, who aren’t experts, can still get involved.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth
Hummingbird Hawk-moth © Barry Yates

What is it that brings you back each week?

Volunteering gives me a kick up the bum to get outdoors and spend quality time in nature. You get to see so many amazing things, that you don’t see or hear everywhere, like a Cuckoo calling. The best I can do to play my part in all that, is to volunteer and give something back.

For anyone considering volunteering, what would you say?

There’s something for everyone. You can do a remote role, like I’m doing, or if you want to meet people, you could do a beach clean, moth trapping or work on the Information Desk or in the café at the Discovery Centre. You don’t have to be an expert in nature, but it’s all helping to protect this really precious habitat.

Do you have a standout moment?

Earlier this year, I saw a large dark object on an island, and as it took off, I realised it was a White-tailed Eagle. I’d seen them before in Japan years ago, but I had to pinch myself – it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!

White-tailed Eagle
White-tailed Eagle © Darin Smith

______________________________________________________________________________________________

To find out more about volunteering opportunities at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, please visit Volunteer with us | Sussex Wildlife Trust

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Jane Hogg:

    Well done son. As always, l am very proud of you. Keep up the good work.

    07 Jun 2025 21:23:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782576323.10210 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782576323.13950.0374Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782576323.13970.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782576323.13970Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782576323.13970Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/volunteers-week-meet-dick-hogg
    [s] => volunteers-week-meet-dick-hogg
    [1] => volunteers-week-meet-dick-hogg
)
1782576323.14010.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782576323.14520.0051 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782576323.1480.0028 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782576323.14880.0009INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782576323.20140.0526 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22354267
1782576323.20240.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22354267
1782576323.20330.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-27 16:05:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-27 16:05:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782576323.20510.0018 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='volunteers-week-meet-dick-hogg')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 16:05:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782576323.21610.011 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782576323.2170.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3716 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 16:05:00'
1782576323.21830.0013 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782576323.21920.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782576323.22010.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=251 LIMIT 1
1782576323.22070.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1782576323.22110.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=47 LIMIT 1
1782576323.22180.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782576323.22230.0005 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782576323.22330.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 16:05:00' AND postSlug='volunteers-week-meet-dick-hogg'
1782576323.25650.0332Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782576323.25710.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782576323.25910.002Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782576323.25940.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782576323.26040.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782576323.26160.0012 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782576323.26460.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782576323.26520.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782576323.26750.0023Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782576323.26750 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782576323.26840.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782576323.26890.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782576323.27160.0027 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782576323.27270.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782576323.27350.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782576323.27620.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782576323.27740.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782576323.27960.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782576323.28010.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782576323.28040.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='28' LIMIT 1
1782576323.2810.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782576323.28130.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='volunteers-week-meet-dick-hogg')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 16:05:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782576323.28360.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782576323.28410.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782576323.28660.0025Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782576323.2880.0014 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3716 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782576323.33690.0489 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782576323.33750.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782576323.33760.0001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='28' LIMIT 1
1782576323.33840.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782576323.33920.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782576323.34010.0009 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782576323.34230.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782576323.3430.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782576323.34480.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782576323.34570.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782576323.34620.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782576323.34740.0013 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782576323.34980.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782576323.35040.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782576323.35230.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782576323.35990.0076 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782576323.36060.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782576323.3610.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782576323.36320.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782576323.36380.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782576323.36570.0019 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782576323.36820.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782576323.370.0018 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782576323.37070.0007 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782576323.37280.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782576323.37340.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782576323.37520.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782576323.37660.0013Request time: 0.2765
1782576323.37660Process time: 0.2764
1782576323.37660Memory: 1.6314