With only couple of days left as an apprentice I have decided to list the top 3 special moments of my apprenticeship, the things that will live with me forever.
3. Walking the machair. Alright, anyone can do that technically but once you get your eye in for the details it becomes particularly stunning. On the corn bunting survey walks, covering a good 70 miles (and 70 miles back) over several days I did come across a few interesting people and plenty of interesting sights. The machair is such an fascinating habitat and it just doesn’t look like anything should grow on it, yet it does and in huge abundance. The magic isn’t in seeing hundreds of different things but in seeing plenty of the 20 or so key species that grow there. Getting paid to walk up and down the coast listening to the sea was a real joy. I’ll miss the smell of the seaweed rotting on the beach, storms throw up huge quantities of seaweed (sometimes 6 feet deep!).
2. The Bioblitz! Organising and running a big event like this was something else. I’m not even sure how we pulled it off. One of my huge disappointments about leaving the island before next Spring is that there is unlikely to be another. Or if there is, I’m probably not going to be involved. One of the best aspects of the event was the feedback and the company. I truly felt like this was when I became a “proper” apprentice. My geek was on show, my stories were flowing and at that point in time I knew my stuff. We all had a really good time and it was something which 15 months ago was just a pipe dream.
1. Eagle ringing. Ok so I blogged about all 3 of these things on the list already but by far the most special moment on my apprenticeship was getting to come face to beak with one of the rarest birds in the country. I just can’t put into words how beautiful they are up close, the intelligence they show, the size and majesty of even the juveniles and just the fact that Kieren Jones, a boy from Larbert was getting to put an identification ring on something as amazing as a sea eagle will stay with me until the day I die.
It’s been a real joy to be out here and although things could have ended better, I will leave Uist with my head held very high. To be one of 25 or so elite young (some not so young) and dedicated individuals who were lucky enough to be selected to do these wonderful posts.
I may stick around on the island to complete some SRDP applications, there’s not much opportunity in the conservation field right now and it’ll give me a chance to regroup, see what becomes available in January and start blitzing with job applications again. I’m confident that something will come up, I have a good support network so if anything you think will suit me comes up, let me know!
A huge thank you to all of the BTCV and the RSPB staff for giving me the opportunity to shine and for welcoming me to the fold. A big thanks to Craig Macadam, to all of the other apprentices (particularly Amy Burns for sharing our RSPB experiences) and like I said in my Curracag talk, thank you to everyone on Uist for making me feel exceptionally welcome.
Special thanks go to John McFarlane who has treated me like one of his own, I would never have become who I am today without his support and also to Jamie Boyle for having the patience early on in the apprenticeship to help me learn all of the skills required to be an assistant warden for the RSPB.
For those thinking about applying for future apprenticeships but aren’t sure if they are “smart” enough, I came to Uist with a basic idea of what machair was and what I would find there. I am leaving as an expert, it’s been a fantastic 15 months and I recommend sending that application in.
If you would like to keep in touch, please do! Email me at Kieren_Jones@hotmail.com
Thank you and I’ll see you again soon
Kieren