Hi folks, I’m Christina and welcome to my mini-blog! I’m a complete newbie at blogging so here goes nothing… but I hope you enjoy reading about my future adventures here.
My new job is based at Skelton Grange Environment Centre in Leeds and I’m the Natural Networks Trainee for The Lower Aire Valley. Until two weeks ago, I’d barely been to Yorkshire so making an effort to explore this fantastic place has been top of my list!
So what’s my role?
I’m here to work with The Conservation Volunteers and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust; and in the broadest sense to help make and support a partnership where these two fantastic organisations can rub a little of each other’s magic off on each other. At TCV Skelton, there’s lots of inspiration for volunteer and community engagement, a team with loads of experience in providing volunteers with a superb and worthwhile experience. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has a wealth of knowledge in ecology, land management and a plethora of genuinely beautiful urban sites to look after (often reclaimed from industrial land!). Working in partnership with these two organisations is an absolutely fantastic opportunity for me, and with on the job training and courses galore, I’m (hopefully) going to be able to contribute the real -life “Living Landscape” across Leeds’ waterways and beyond! To say I’m excited about the next year could be a little bit of an understatement!
My First Blog- Exploring Skelton!
Eh-up Skelton!
First impressions can be misleading…. and when I first pulled up to Skelton; nestled between electrical substation and canal, I have to admit, I thought I’d come to the wrong place… but that was before I took a cheeky tour of these amazing woodlands; managed with both wildlife and education in mind and I knew I was in an innovative, creative and naturally inspiring space. It’s really amazing what can be made of such an industrialised space, in the heart of Leeds (less than 4 miles from the City Centre!) and how refreshingly remote the site feels.
So far I’ve tried my hand at the traditional skill of hedge-laying in Rothwell Country Park, had a grand tour of the green spaces the Lower Aire Valley has to offer, and helped out on a primary school class get to grips with soil… It’s been a little bit of a whirl-wind but I ‘m really enjoying it… so here’s to the next year!
Thanks for reading 🙂