Well it’s that time again for another instalment of what I have been up to in my wonderful job! I’ve probably said this plenty of times before but…..how time flies when you’re having fun and working hard!! I am literally having the time of my life!
I assisted Buglife at the Meet the Species Bioblitz at Abbotshaugh Community Woodland. We had a stall set up with some bugs and beasties we caught before the event and had free informative leaflets about bugs the local community could take away with them. Our role was to help identify any bugs the local community didn’t know about as the kids, families and adults were hunting for bugs and recording them on a recording sheet so that Abbotshaugh Community Woodland could have list of all the different species found in their woodland. It was great turn out from the local community even though there was torrential rain and the gazebo we had up kept filling up with water!
Meet the Species Bioblitz at Abbotshaugh Community Woodland.
Meet the Species Bioblitz at Abbotshaugh Community Woodland
For me, things have sort of quietened down in terms of organising and running event which is a big job and can be time consuming so with things settling down I have had time to catch up on my personal development. Working in this field of conservation, biological recording and working with local communities I am continually learning and experiencing new challenging tasks.
With this said, I have had the opportunity to refresh my identification skills of Hoverflies, Bumblebees and Wildflowers. All the courses were great and had the chance to top up my knowledge of the above subjects plus we got to play bumblebee bingo!
I still have a large amount of training budget remaining so I am currently looking into booking myself on a few more courses within the next month or two.
We have 4 EVS volunteers from France, Italy, Greece and Estonia based here in Stirling. They are here improving their English, learning new skills, take part in our practical conservation tasks and have even been on several ID courses.
EVS volunteers at Bumblebee ID course
I took the EVS volunteers to Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre in Grangemouth where we joined forces with the Green Gym, a scheme which inspires you to improve your health and the environment at the same time. It is much lighter work than the average practical conservation tasks and even includes warm up exercises to prepare your muscles for activity!
We undertook some light weeding of the road verge next to the wildlife centre as it became overgrown due to all the rain and needed maintained. We all had a great day, met new people and had lunch at Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre which the EVS volunteers thoroughly enjoyed!
I’ve become quite close to the EVS volunteers and their English has improved greatly and they will be missed when they leave!
Over the past several weeks I have been thinking of what I want to do for my personal project. It’s harder than it seems! I wanted to do something totally different, work with individuals I’ve never worked with and I wanted to ensure that whatever I chose I would leave a legacy behind. With all this spinning through my head and with some guidance I decided that I wanted to aim my project at a disabled group.
For my project I want to organise a series of mini themed ‘Discovering Nature’ outings/events, highlighting the natural world. These will be half day sessions spread over several weeks encompassing nature learning and/or practical work. Practical work designed to be delivered at the level of the participants.
Since I knew I wanted to aim my ‘Discovering Nature’ activities at a disabled group I began to research local disabled groups and organisations in the Forth Valley area. I came across Clackmannanshire Disability Awareness Group (DAG) action research report and set up a meeting with the group. The group was really keen to take part but they had other commitments and priorities during the time scale I wanted to deliver the ‘Discovering Nature’ activities. However, all is not lost; the Clacks DAG would like TCV to create a disabled/wheelchair friendly path at Gartmore Dam Country Park and Nature Reserve! So it was definitely a worthwhile meeting!
Later in the week I had a meeting with ENABLE Scotland. ENABLE Scotland is a dynamic charity which campaign for a better life for children and adults with learning disabilities. ENABLE Scotland supports people who have learning disabilities and their families to live, work and take part in their community.
We discussed ‘Discovering Nature’ and they absolutely loved the idea!!! 🙂 I am aiming the activities at youths with disabilities. After the meeting I was buzzing that the meeting when so well and that I could finally begin organising my project!
From the meeting, I am going to organise a series of 5 ‘Discovering Nature’, 3 hour long outdoor sessions that will take place once a fortnight on Saturdays. Sessions will include visits to local parks and nature reserves exploring different habitats whilst using simple tick box identification sheets and will include a variety of themed subjects such as a bug walk, pond dipping, wildflowers and a scavenger hunt. The last session will be a celebration event for the disabled youths to have fun and show case what they have learned with an environmental art activity.
I’m over the moon to be able to organise ‘Discovering Nature’ activities for youths with disabilities as this will be a new challenge as there are several logistical issues I will need to keep in mind when organising the activities.
I’ll keep you all posted on my project as it progresses in the next coming months!
As of next week I’m on holiday for 3 weeks in San Diego, California basking in the sun!! Can’t wait but already look forward to returning and progressing with my project!
Chow for now!