An amazing experience

Carolyn looks back on the highlights and challenges of the past 12 months...

Where has the time gone?! As August rolls by, the pressure is on in my hunt for a job in nature conservation and it's time to reflect on how much I have learnt and the skills I have gained as I write my applications, CV and cover letters.

Since receiving the phone call last July offering me a position as a trainee to then starting my conservation journey in September, it has been an adventure where I've learnt new skills and gained valuable qualifications and knowledge. As well as learning from fellow trainees, being able to work alongside the reserve officers, testing them on their knowledge of each reserve, has opened my eyes to different species and different habitat management techniques.

Since starting in September with just an ecology degree and some conservation volunteering experience, I have learnt so much about identification of different species, including botany and invertebrates (even though my fear of spiders is still there), to having experience of practical conservation skills and qualifications in chainsawing, brush-cutting, tree inspection and outdoor first aid to name a few. The teamwork experience has been amazing with both the other trainees and the volunteers too, learning much from them whilst also passing some of what I have learnt to new volunteers.

A woman lying on the floor under a bridge, smiling as she fits bolts to the underneath of the bridge — Fitting bolts to a bridge

Many of the experiences and memories will stay with me; from learning to survey dormice, bats, grassland botany, great crested newts and many other species to learning many practical skills. Some of these were more of a challenge than others - from having to dig a hole to place a post in for a gate at Upton Warren with the hole becoming a pond and the area becoming a bog to being told to get kitted up in waterproofs to go under a bridge to place bolts in it to make it more sturdy at Ipsley Alders Marsh. The best challenge was being dressed up in a wetsuit to face the icy cold pond at Monkwood on the coldest day of the year to help improve the habitat for great crested newts, which was later rewarded with the chance to revisit the pond and see the great crested newts thrive. Other challenges that I've learnt from include learning how to use a chainsaw, creating a video for social media and learning to work through different weather conditions; all of which is part of the fun of working in nature conservation! Each challenge has been approached with humour, whether it’s been with the volunteers or with the trainee team - at the end of the day, we always know how to cheer each other up.

The last 12 months has been an eye opener into how hard people work within the Trust to help protect and provide suitable habitats for wildlife and to educate people, whether through social media or face-to-face, into learning to love what is around us.

For anyone looking to pursue a career in nature conservation, I say go for it! Take advantage of volunteering and any opportunity that comes your way.

Being a Worcestershire Wildlife Trust trainee has been an experience I will never forget and as I move on to the next step in my career I am going to miss the people I have worked with - my colleagues and volunteers but, most of all, the reserves officers and the trainee team. I wish the best of luck to the trainees who I started with that have got jobs and the new trainees whose adventure is just beginning. But I want to say thank you to everyone at the Trust who has welcomed me and educated me, including my line manager Andy who I have gained so much from!