Mary-Jane Lawrie (nee Fleming), farmland conservation apprentice
When John asked me to write up what I have been up to since I finished my farmland conservation apprenticeship, I honestly struggled to remember when I even finished it! It feels like a lifetime ago that I started with BTCV, as so much has happened since then, so I’ll start at the beginning.
My last placement of my apprenticeship was with Edwin Thompson. When my apprenticeship was coming to an end, they offered me a full time job to continue the work I had been doing. I was delighted to be offered a permanent position, and I really enjoyed my work there. I worked at Edwin Thompson for a further 18 months, doing biodiversity SRDP applications, habitat surveys and HLS applications on the English side of the border. It was rewarding work, but particularly stressful around SRDP deadline times, where I was often frantically typing up reports and adding data just minutes before the deadline. But on the whole, my applications were successful, and I finally felt like I knew a subject inside out and was really making a difference to farmland conservation.
I got married in May 2011 (uncomfortably close to an SRDP deadline, let me tell you, I have never been so stressed!), and moved up to Edinburgh to be with my new husband. I had started to look for jobs closer to Edinburgh before we got married but not a lot was coming up. I was really excited when I saw a job at the Scottish Agricultural College (I only spotted the advert the night before the deadline for applications, but being an SRDP pro, I worked well under the pressure to get the job application in!). I was on honeymoon in Malaysia when I was invited to an interview, which I obviously couldn’t make, and I thought that chance had gone. When I returned to work, Edwin Thompson were really accommodating and let me work from home a few days a week, so that I only had to make the 140 mile round trip a couple of times a week. I thought I would really enjoy working at home, but I actually found it quite hard going. My husband is a farmer and in those first few months of marriage when he was working long hours at harvest, I often sat in my wee home office and didn’t speak to anyone all day! But then a few weeks after I returned from honeymoon, SAC invited me to another interview, and luckily they had an opening in Edinburgh, and I got offered the job!
I started at SAC in September 2011 as an agricultural consultant. The job role is a lot more varied than my old job; I am involved in general agricultural advice rather than just conservation. The advice we offer ranges hugely from feed rations for livestock, to soil analysis, to financial advice, to crop advice, with all sorts in between. I really enjoy my work as I get out and about on farms, and get to meet a whole host of new people. There isn’t much happening on the farmland conservation side of things at the moment; SRDP money is tight and the scheme is due to finish next year. There will likely be a gap of a year or so before any more conservation schemes come along, so I’m glad that I took the opportunity to broaden my knowledge of other areas of agriculture, to give me a well rounded understanding of how conservation and agriculture fit together. I look forward to the new scheme and the associated challenges it will undoubtedly bring. It’s a really interesting role, and I have learnt so much already. It’s also interesting to think about what I am learning about at work, and how it could change things that we do on the farm at home. We have an SRDP scheme running at home, so I help out with that when I can, and it’s good to have a bit of practical conservation to do too.
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, I don’t think I would be where I am today had I not had such an amazing opportunity to learn about farmland conservation and work with such great organisations. The Natural Talent scheme was great for my career, it gave me a chance to break into the conservation sector, the skills and confidence I needed to get my current job, and I learnt loads along the way and made some great connections. I still keep in contact with a few ex-apprentices, and it’s great to hear all their news. If anyone would like to hear more, or discuss any work opportunities, please feel free to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you: mary-jane.lawrie@sac.co.uk.