Thanks to BTCV Scotland and Heritage Lottery Fund I’m now proud to say I’m a Natural Communities Trainee! This year seven of us are scattered across the central belt and Dumfries & Galloway. The aim of the 12 month programme is to equip us with skills to engage communities with the natural heritage on their doorstep.
Helping out at BTCV's Green Gym
My placement is to engage communities with the Seven Lochs Wetland Park. I feel I should make it clear that as yet there is no wetland park! The hope is to unite large areas of greenspaces a few miles east of Glasgow into a wetland park of national significance. Plans are currently being put together and you can view the masterplan here. My role will be to inform local communities, encourage them to use greenspaces in and around the proposed park, and support community groups and partner involvement. Since starting my placement a few weeks ago I’ve been exploring the varied habitats in the proposed park. Lochs, reedbeds, raised bogs, woodlands, ponds and a canal are home to all sorts of rare and common wildlife: wildfowl, farmland birds, deer, foxes, water voles, great crested newts, and much more besides. So much to discover! It’s early days so I’ve still plenty of people to meet, but I’ve had the chance to speak with some groups and last week I took part in a Green Gym event at Provan Hall in Easterhouse.
Like the rest of the trainees, I’ve volunteered with numerous conservation organisations to develop my skills to gain paid employment. Until recently I was living in Devon and Cornwall, enjoying much milder weather!
Teaching fire lighting for the National Trust
Last year I volunteered full time as a community engagement assistant for the National Trust’s Dartmoor team. This gave me ample opportunity to dream up fun and educational activities for schools, youth groups, families and the like. The Plym Valley is home to a huge variety of wildlife: peregrines, dippers, kingfishers, lizards, badgers, roe and fallow deer, silver-washed fritillaries… the list goes on!
Male Cirl Bunting
Prior to that I lived in a remote fishing village on the south coast of Cornwall and studied to complete my degree. Not one to waste my spare time, I volunteered regularly for the RSPB and Cornwall Seal Group. Luckily for me the RSPB were re-introducing the rare cirl bunting on my doorstep, so I seized the chance to learn about the project and develop my surveying skills. Spending time with the cirl bunting team taught me an enormous amount about birds and habitats. I’m very much looking forward to seeing more of Scotland’s birds.
"Snowdrop" a female grey seal
My work for Cornwall Seal Group involved creating a photographic ID database of grey seals at a colony within easy reach of my home. Over three seasons I discovered all sorts of interesting things, for example, they have a remarkable ability to turn up on precisely the same day a year later.
Over the coming weeks I’ve numerous training courses to attend, thanks to the staff at BTCV Scotland and Heritage Lottery Fund. This year should help me become much better skilled at engaging communities with the natural world, and I’m grasping the opportunity with both hands!
Male goldeneye at Hogganfield Loch, Glasgow