The title of my very first blog as a Natural Communities Trainee 2012 was called The Journey Begins…. and my oh my has my journey taken me around the Forth Valley Area, delved in ponds and hunted for mini beasts! I’ve met so many fantastic, inspiring and enthusiastic communities & individuals along the way which has made my journey a memory I will never forget.
My journey as NC comes to an end next week but on the horizon the next chapter of my journey will continue. I am ecstatic to tell you about my new position of Volunteer Development Officer at the Ochil’s Landscape Partnership project based in Alloa. I will still be employed by TCV but seconded to the Ochil’s Partnership. http://www.ochils.org.uk/ I cannot wait to start and get my teeth stuck into various projects.
This will be an excellent opportunity for me to put into practice all of the experience and skills I have learned over the past year. I have learned new and built upon numerous skills this year, it’s incredible! As a result my confidence has matured and I am now skilled and capable to engage with a diverse range of communities and individuals to encourage and enthuse communities about their local wildlife, landscape and encourage communities to biorecord.
Before I set sail and leave, I have been finishing up my project that I have been working on for a few months, Discovering Nature Programme in Partnership with ENABLE Scotland.
The Discovering Nature programme introduces disabled young people of all ages to the diverse and fascinating flora and fauna that can be found whilst exploring their local parks or greenspaces in their local area. It encourages participants to try something new and promotes inclusion, developing knowledge of the natural world. By introducing participants to the process of biological recording – collecting simple data on the wildlife they discover – the project provides opportunities for participants to learn new skills and contribute important records as ‘citizen scientists’.
Discovering Nature will achieve this by delivering a series of 3 hour long outdoor sessions over a period of 10 weeks between February – April 2013. Sessions will include visits to local parks and nature reserves to discover different habitats and explore the variety of wildlife that can be found in their local area, offering participants the opportunity to engage with their local natural environment.
I project managed the Discovering Nature Programme and Noelia Collado (2013 Natural Communities Trainee) will deliver the Discovering Nature Programme in the next coming months so stay tuned for Noelia’s blogs!
Natural Communities has been a breathtaking experience and I LOVED every second of it, honestly, basically this year has moulded me for the future and beyond!!
Thanks to all the community groups, individuals and partner organisations I have worked with over the past year, it’s been amazing!
For me personally, this year has had its fair share of ups and downs, and I would like to take the opportunity to THANK everyone at TCV Scotland for all your support and guidance throughout the year! Especially, Anthony Morrow, John McFarlane, Craig MacAdam, Stevie Jarron and Kerry Riddell.
Cheers again and see you later!