So despite having some time off to enjoy Scotland’s Autumnal displays, October has been host to some pivotal events.
Changing colours at the Crichton
Autumns in the air at Bellahouston……
and on the ground
Picturesque Pitlochry
Thursday the 13th in fact, was host to both the HLF bid deadline and our Natural Networks and Natural Talent Skills Share event.
I have continued to contribute to TCV’s Natural Health bid which, if successful, will support traineeships in future years. For the most part, I have been involved in collating research on the historic uses of green space towards health and well being and more recent policies and initiatives that drive the benefits of green prescribing for the environment and local communities. I have also had the opportunity to contribute to the writing and even been asked to critique our very own Dom and Tim (I am wondering if marking my bosses will come back to haunt me though).
To balance out the intense writing experience of the HLF bid, our Skills Share day was a great opportunity to catch up with fellow trainees from both near and afar (great to see Clare from London and the Davids from Northern Ireland). The day was a great success so thanks to Jess getting us all together. We had a great variety of topics to cover thanks to the diverse placements we are all on but we’re still in the dark as to what mystery topic Tim was plotting to talk about.
Davids’ interesting invertebrates
Carolyn getting us into knots
Lucy with her fungi finds
Clare’s fantastic fungi forage
Learning about Poo Pourri from Jess and Paul
Learning about Wildflower Seed Collection from Stephen
Fascinating facts on Forest Gardens from David
All this training works up an appetite
Also this month I have completed my online course for TCV on Data Protection and been to a Wildflower Seed Collection workshop run by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and our very own Stephen at Glasgow City Council.
Stephen wowing us with his wildflower knowledge
Even in Autumn there are still signs of invertebrate life at Pollok Park
The focus from now on will be my personal project. One subject idea I’m looking at is the community engagement techniques that could be employed to gauge aspirations of professional stakeholders and local communities on the enhancement of green space and by facilitating access for active travel along the Clyde at the site of the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel and Clydeside Community Park. I’ve been fortunate enough to speak to the Sustainability Manager for NHS Scotland who is very supportive of the project but since time is of the essence I am also revisiting other sites across the SDA’s to search for feasible projects and community groups.
Changing colours at the Clydeside Community Park
Making sure I don’t burn any bridges for my personal project