It’s hard to believe twelve months is almost up…! And it’s hard to imagine not being part of such a lovely team of trainees. We’ve become a pretty close-knit group and formed friendships that will last for some time to come.
My personal project for the NC Programme has now finished and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The project involved forming a volunteer group to encourage local people to be actively involved in the Wetland Park area. Thanks to the support of key partners – North Lanarkshire Council’s Countryside Rangers at Drumpellier Country Park, Glasgow City Council’s Countryside Rangers and Conservation Department, Forestry Commission Scotland’s Rangers, and Froglife – the project has been very successful!
Six volunteer days between October and Christmas saw seventeen people coming to volunteer, with around eight people attending each session.
They’re all such lovely, wonderful people and extremely hard working! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and finding ways to improve the volunteer days to suit their needs and interests. We worked at two Local Nature Reserves and one Country Park within the proposed Seven Lochs Wetland Park, and have done tree work (removal, coppicing, crowning and planting), planted some wildflowers, installed a new bench, improved a pond so that local people can access it for pond-dipping, made a hibernaculum, and installed four plastic dams into ditches as part of a raised-bog restoration project!
In amongst all that we’ve done an assortment of surveys: wetlands habitat survey, fungi ID, tree ID, bird ID… and we’ve collected bags and bags of litter too.
During the Christmas break I had time to reflect and I realised that the personal project had provided me with the perfect opportunity to put into practice all the things I’ve learnt during my traineeship. For example, I used multiple communication methods to attract local people and encourage them to volunteer. When people came to volunteer I took the time to get to know them; to discover what their motivations were so I could assist them to achieve their goals. This not only helped me to develop a rapport with the team, it also helped to guide the sessions, such as the type and level of wildlife surveys that people would enjoy and benefit from. Each time we met for a task day I developed my skills and the volunteers did too.
By the end of the six sessions the group was becoming a team of people who enjoyed working together. I’ve been able to watch people grow in confidence and develop a sense ownership of the sites we’ve worked in. They’ve certainly got bundles of enthusiasm!
Thanks to Becky Duncan we’ve got some lovely pictures of the volunteers working at Commonhead Moss Local Nature Reserve. This photography project was funded by the 
Central Scotland Green Network Development Fund and the images will be used to promote and encourage further community involvement in the Seven Lochs project.
Central Scotland Green Network are also funding a short-term extension to my placement with the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network, so I’ll be continuing to deliver the various projects I’ve got currently on the go. Over the coming months the Seven Lochs Volunteers will continue to meet up to carry out a variety of habitat management work and wildlife surveys at sites within the proposed Wetland Park.
I’ve been working on some additional engagement projects which I’m hoping to deliver by the end of March. One of these is in partnership with Glasgow Disability Alliance. I met with them last week to discuss how we could bring a group together to explore some of the upgraded paths in the Park.
They’re really enthusiastic and keen to support the project. At the moment the plan is to take some of their members around the paths and then have lunch in Easterhouse to ask for feedback and to tell them about opportunities for being involved in the Wetland Park project.
Another exciting project I’m working on is the creation of a new Seven Lochs Wetland Park website! This involves working with web-designers on the content, design of the site etc, which includes the creation of an interactive map to encourage people to visit the area. Keep an eye on our website address – the new website should be live in April: www.sevenlochs.org.
It’s been a fantastic twelve months and I’d like to thank The Conservation Volunteers, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network for such a wonderful opportunity. I’ve learnt a huge amount during the traineeship, attended countless training courses, and had the chance to experiment with different ways of engaging communities with local heritage. I hope you’re proud of what we’ve all achieved during our traineeships and I look forward to hearing about the adventures of this year’s NC Trainees!