Well here goes, time for my last entry!
During my apprenticeship I have found strengths, as well as weaknesses! But I am a wear what I have to work on. I know I am a very practical person, and my practical skills have developed further through tasks I have undertaken here such as damming. I have also developed new skills within natural history, ranging from surveying and monitoring to writing up reports. So what do I need to focus on? EVERYTHING! Like I said, I have strengths and weaknesses, unfortunately my weaknesses lays within a fair few areas, and heading those areas are my writing skills and my ability to commit myself to a desk for extended periods of time! I have very much enjoyed the apprenticeship, and I feel privileged to have been a part of Natural Talent.
Recently I have been building BIG UBER DAM’s!
This has probably been one of the highlights of my apprenticeship. I was working at Moine Mhor raised bog in Argyll, a great place and a great crew of people. Whilst there I was able to stay on Taynish NNR in a caravan that is more luxurious then my home! Not only that, but the view from the caravan was amazing! Anyway, as with most bogs in the UK it has been intensively drained, so the purpose of the damming is to re-wet the area and prevent any more peat from being washed away. I have volunteered on peat bogs before and monitored drains and dams. Dams are generally quite small, consisting of between 5 and 7 plastic-pile segments at between 1 and 2 meters in depth. The dams at Moine Mhor were using up to 30 segments at 4 ½ meter depths!
We had to brace these with steel road-side barriers, and also drive sections of these into the ground! Most dams can be hit in by hand due to their size, but we had to use a big digger with a hammer-head to get these in, great fun! The best thing about this was that we would usually build a dam in a day, and the day after we would go back and have a look and the water would have already come up by about 3ft, almost instant gratification!
I have also spent more time at RSPB Insh Marshes over the past 3 months, helping them with the “Strathspey Wader Survey”. This survey is undertaken every 5 years and started in 2000. There are 56 sites in all (I think?), with an army of folk assisting Pete Moore (Warden) and Karen Sutcliffe (Site Manager) with the surveys.
Now before I carry on, I have to say how kind, supportive and knowledgeable both Karen and Pete are, in all I spent 3 week’s over 3 months with them, I also spent some time there last year, not only enjoying every minute, but also learning every day. Pete and Karen also supported me during the apprenticeship when I wasn’t with them, so this is a massive THANKYOU to the both of them.
At first the surveys were relatively easy, due to us not having to start until 5am, and as it was April the birds were still quite sparse. By the week of my final surveys things had got a hell of a lot tougher, 3am starts, and in some places (not all) loads of birds!!! As well as monitoring the waders, we were also counting Reed Buntings, Grass-hopper Warblers and Ringed Plovers (plus anything else that we cared to note down), we also monitored the vegetation on the sites (phase 2 habitat monitoring). All of this information was then put onto map-mate, which we layered over the last 2 surveys (2000 and 2005), for instance a lapwing would get a green dot, a Common Sandpiper a blue dot, we would also input the state of the vegetation and what vegetation we found. From this we can see how habitats have changed, and if any particular bird species numbers have increased or declined, this survey truly gives a wealth of information!
During the last week of surveys we were also doing brood counts, which as well as being very important also has a major a cute factor, and I think that a Ringed Plover and its chicks have to be on of the cutest things I have ever seen! This work is great fun, and I will hopefully be able to do much more of this in the future, the results however are quite alarming, and right through the Strath numbers of all species of bird are falling, in some areas at an alarming rate. From the data and with my limited experience I could see that the heavy decline in numbers also corresponded with changes in habitat, most of which can be put down to changes in farming, the numbers of birds on Insh Marshes reserve had barely changed. So you can see (I think) from that what needs to be done, right? (I just want to say that the views expressed are my own views!).
So as well as the work I have been doing away, I have also been kept busy with the team on Loch Lomond NNR and Flanders Moss NNR.
The work is always varied, and during my time here I have tried to make my role as similar to the SMO’s roles (Site Management Officer) as I possibly can (I’m not sure if they would appreciate or agree with that!?). The day to day work here is very mixed which is great, ranging from guided walks looking at plants, geese, fun days etc, to all manor of surveying and monitoring, and of course the practical work such fencing – path building – DAMMING – and I have just been told that we are about to go to Flanders to do some sheep dog work as some have escaped (I’m to be the sheep dog!). Joy!
So now, with just one week to go, I am now frantically looking for a job within conservation. I do have a job lined up with the RSPB, felling the trees on blanket bog in Caithness and Sutherland, for which I have to put in tenders and go self employed, so if anyone is looking for any tree work done, my business name is “Ash…and other trees”, no job too big or small!!!. This work will be grand as I am still working towards saving the planet, but I do think that after the first week I will be getting a little bored!
A massive thanks to John and the rest of BTCV for giving me this great opportunity, as well as Alan, Tim, Dave, Nick and Steve at SNH Stirling and John, Doug, Gordon and Hazel at SNH Kilmory, Ben, Eric and the rest of the guys at RSPB Mersehead, and last but by no means least Pete and Karen at RSPB Insh Marshes, happy days.