A third of the way through my year now! Time is marching on…this month has continued the trend of constant variety in this job – no two days are the same, which I love. I’ve been working with the CAT team on path maintenance work – using our big lawnmower, hedge trimmers, leaf blower etc. Sometimes I get to improve my wildflower ID skills at the same time, which is a bonus!
Red campion, Selene dioica
Birds foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus & Speedwell, Veronica spp.
I’ve also been out on quite a few training workshops around the country: a Tree Health Workshop, which was an introduction to tree diseases such as Phytophthora, Dutch elm disease in Castle Ward estate; Bumblebee Identification Training in Castle Coole, Fermanagh, delivered by Una Fitzpatrick from the Ireland National Biodiversity Centre; and a Pond Building Workshop in Knockbracken Allotments, where we learnt the theory and then put it into practice rebuilding a leaking pond! Mucky and muddy, but really good fun and lovely weather for once*! I’m trying to cram my brain as full of knowledge as I can and go to as many workshops as possible during my year here. It’s great to be in a position where you are allowed to explore your own interests in terms of training, and to be able to go to as many as I have (although they have thankfully mostly been free so far!).
Possibly the best field guide ever.
All bumblebees are not the same!
Pond Workshop. Before…
During…
And after!
How to remove a sore seeping sap from a tree for analysis
I’ve also done something I haven’t done in a couple of years: public speaking! Some hate it, some love it, I’m possibly in the middle, veering on the side of ‘not-very-good-at-it’. But, as they say, practice makes perfect! The Woman’s Institute in Limavady had asked if we could go along to one of their meetings and talk to them about the work that TCV does in their area. So off Kenny and I trooped, with a projector in one hand and lots of leaflets in the other! Our presentation was around an hour long and the ladies were very complementary about the work that we’ve been doing. We were well supplied with tea, scones and biscuits afterwards, so I’d say it was well worth it!
I have also begun attending local Neighbourhood Renewal (NR) Groups local to me in Coleraine, based in the inner town area of Coleraine. The two groups are based in Ballysally/Millburn, and the Churchlands area. Neighbourhood Renewal Groups in Northern Ireland came from a Department of Social Development Programme ‘People and Place – A Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal’ developed in 2003, which was to run for 7-10 years focusing on improving areas which had shown to be suffering the highest levels of deprivation. A cross-government approach was used, bringing together various departments along with local community groups and people, aiming to move away from a project-by-project approach to urban renewal, towards a more planned, integrated and longer-term approach. Practically, the NR Groups enable community organisations and government departments, who are all of a ‘like mind’ in pursuing urban renewal and regeneration, to get together on a regular basis, knock heads and share ideas and initiatives. For me, being able to sit on these groups is a valuable experience – it introduces me to sitting on panels of this nature, with a varied group of people who are all in their own ways trying to improve their communities, and allows me to represent TCV and the Natural Networks Scheme. Through it, I’ve been able to meet community group leaders who are directly connected with Coleraine and know the problems and context associated with their areas. I hope to be able to work with these groups in the future in some form or another. Ballysally, Millburn and Churchlands are all areas which contain a large amount of social housing, in which there are religious tensions, higher unemployment than surrounding areas, poor health and higher crime – they are the kind of places that really do need a bit of a helping hand!
The ubiquitous slightly chipped mug of tea!
Through attending the Ballysally/Millburn NR Group, I was approached by a couple of community groups within the area who are applying for funding from Grow Wild to transform a grassy/wooded area between the 2 estates into an area suitable for the community to use, encompassing allotments, education areas, hang-out areas for young people, living fences etc. They asked us for advice and any help we could offer to support their application. We had a site visit, and I drew them up a geographic map using qGIS so that they had a concrete visual plan to be able to attach to their application. They now have to wait and see if their application gets through to the final 3, in which case it’s up for a public vote. It sounds like an exciting project with a lot of potential, so if they do get through I’m sure you’ll be hearing me shout about it then!
In Coleraine we’ve continued our running theme of working with schools and we’ve been out with another 2 on site visits to see what could be done to improve their outdoor playground areas. It’s always very interesting being able to work with a variety of schools, all of different sizes in different areas, and with their own individual constraints, such as money/space/maintenance requirements. Hopefully some of them will decide to work with TCV and our volunteers in order to enhance their outdoor spaces, but we’ll just have to watch this space!
* For anyone wanting a bit of a laugh, there’s a great timelapse video of us trying to get water we’d bailed out of the pond back into it… not as easy as it sounds! Have a look here.