A Yorkshire Lass

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find a paid conservation job for the winter, despite applying for several! It’s a very competitive career, especially in the winter as there are far fewer jobs than there are in the summer and almost all of the jobs that come up involve a lot of practical work, which I just don’t have a great deal of experience in! Practical work on reserves is habitat management work, which can be anything from painting hides to building fences to digging ponds, cutting down trees or cutting back heather and gorse. The type of task really depends on the habitat on the reserve, and each reserve is different depending on what species it focuses on, but with all reserves the vast majority of habitat management work takes place on reserves over winter, as there are no birds breeding then. I have gained some experience in practical work by volunteering with the Box Moor Trust and other organisations but the fact is there are just a lot of people out there with more experience than me in this area. I would have loved to have stayed in Orkney over winter, but there just isn't a lot of habitat management work that they need to do up there, and they have the necessary staff to complete the tasks that they do have.

So, what now? If you can’t get a job because you have no experience, how do you get the experience? Well, the answer is volunteering. I managed to save up enough money whilst working in Orkney this year and last year so that I can afford to volunteer for six months. It’s going to be tight, as I don’t have a lot of money, but I should be able to just about do it! So I got in contact with the volunteering department at the RSPB and they set me up with a lovely Residential Volunteer Intern placement at their reserve at Blacktoft Sands in Yorkshire! I moved up at the end of September and will stay in this placement until the end of March or until I find a paid job elsewhere. It’s a pretty good deal really – I get a house where I don’t have to pay rent or bills, I get to experience life in a part of the country that’s new to me, and I get a lot of good practical experience out of the deal, which will really help me to find a permanent job or a job over winter next year! Plus, they are going to train me up a bit! I’m being sent on a brushcutter course later this month, where I’ll learn to safely use a brushcutter (like a strimmer but with big metal blades on the end instead of the plastic string) and I’ll get a certificate to prove it! I’m also being sent on a Child Safety and Welfare course, but that sounds less fun; no machines to play with on that course. So all I really have to pay for while I’m here is food and any trips that I want to take on my days off, a pretty good deal really!

I’ve been here a week now and really enjoying it so far, but they’ve kept me pretty busy with building fences, installing barriers, cutting down trees, chopping firewood, and several inductions. Only one hiccup so far – I accidentally cut down the wrong trees! Luckily, it’s not been too much of an issue, and I have since cut down the correct trees, but still felt pretty silly cutting down the wrong ones! I’ve also been trained up to do some visitor work, which should be good. Lots of membership stuff and showing people the birds – which are mostly waders, ducks and Marsh Harriers here, a bit different to Orkney, so I’m definitely learning some new birds! The staff are all lovely here and I’m also working with (and living with) the short term volunteers, who come and stay at Blacktoft for a week or two and do pretty much all of the same things as me! The house that I’m living in is pretty nice too – it’s a two storey semi-detached house in a little village about a mile from the reserve. Big kitchen/dining room, and the living room even has a TV! The luxury! Now I just need to find a bike that I can fit on (#shortpeopleproblems), and then I can get around the local area and even start cycling to the reserve every day instead of getting a lift – I WILL get fit!

Anyway, I’m really enjoying my time here so far, and really looking forward to finding out what else is in store for me here. I don’t have Wifi here though, so I have to use the office computers to use the internet, which means I won’t be updating this blog as often as I would like, but I’ll try to update at least once a month! And hopefully I won’t make any more big mistakes – next time I’ll make sure I’m definitely cutting down the right trees! Photos to follow in the next blog!