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Moving on

Iain Turbin by Romy Clarke

As Iain moves to pastures new, he reflects on his last couple of years in Worcestershire and the ongoing success of our trainee scheme and trainees...

After two and a half years of supervising the trainee team, seeing aspiring conservationists grow in confidence, ability and knowledge before securing their first job in their dream careers, I now find myself saying goodbye to the trainees, the Trust and Worcestershire. I am leaving this month, heading northwards to begin a job with Staffordshire County Council and be closer to family (the proximity to some of the UK's best climbing in the Peak District is a huge bonus).

To say that I have enjoyed my current role is an understatement. I feel immensely privileged to have played even a minor part in the careers of so many trainees – all of whom I know will make invaluable contributions to wildlife conservation wherever they may settle. To have helped in the formation of the traineeships is an honour I can’t put into words and I hope that the team dynamic that's grown carries across trainee teams in perpetuity.

It goes without saying that I’ve thoroughly loved the countryside of Worcestershire as well. Seeing the Malverns looming over our nature reserves was always a pleasure and I recall the hills slowly becoming visible on many an M5 southbound journey - a homecoming sight if ever there was one.  I have favourite country walks, country pubs, nature reserves, woodlands...I could go on. It’s lovely here and I'm sad to be leaving.

One of the many things I’ve loved about my role is the wildlife and the wild places we take care of; the opportunity to learn about new species on a daily basis is always exhilarating.

I am by no means a naturalist - I probably misidentify common garden birds or walk straight past rare orchids without batting an eye - but, luckily, I have eagle-eyed trainees and colleagues to point things out. Only the other day, Romy pointed out a juvenile cuckoo flying overhead – a first sighting for me that thoroughly made my day. 

Carrying out tasks over the last few weeks has been a little bittersweet; I've known that each job will be the last time I'll work on a particular reserve. Sometimes that’s not a bad thing - like finally leaving behind a boardwalk that has repeatedly required repairs for the last two years! At other times, it's reminded me of special times and how proud I am of the two years of practical work with the trainees; proud of how much they all developed and, to give myself a little credit, proud of how much I developed as a team leader.

Iain and Romy 'thumbs-up' posing for the camera on the boardwalk at Ipsley Alders Marsh (by Andy Bucklitch)

Iain and Romy thumbs-up to the boardwalk by Andy Bucklitch

Back to that boardwalk. I felt almost sad last week to have replaced my last section of boardwalk at Ipsley Alders Marsh, especially as I had to advise on a few sections in need of repair in the near future, passing the torch to my successor in a most fitting way! The bearers (long sections of supporting beams) would often rot through, requiring replacement for health and safety reasons. We replaced a section last week with the help of one of our volunteers, Andy Bucklitch. The three of us - Andy, Romy and I - removed the boards and rotten bearers and Andy assisted in cutting the boards to the exact size to slot perfectly into place. The bearers were installed and the boards re-fixed after some very picky reshuffling by me. As the last nail rang out in a steadily descending ding from the hammer, the boardwalk was finished – safe and unrecognisable from the sections either side. I couldn’t resist posing and giving it the thumbs-up of approval with Romy after a job well done.

Iain with thumbs-up after working on steps (selfie)

A job well done by Iain Turbin

Our last day out on practical work was spent installing steps at Crews Hill, thankfully shaded from the sun. We worked hard to clear some of the surrounding rocks so we could drive the step pegs in. Once again Romy was able to point out something I'd missed but this time it was in the form of a fossil, which Romy informed me was a bivalve. I never would have thought to give a stone among rocks a second look. A photo of the bivalve is below and here's me looking smug in front of the new steps 😄

Bivalve fossil by Iain Turbin

Bivalve fossil by Iain Turbin

There’s nothing left for me to say other than goodbye and thank you to all our members and to all those who work or volunteer with Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. I know that I’m leaving an amazing trainee to keep the team spirit going and a truly dedicated reserves team to take care of these special places.

 

Iain Turbin has been our Practical Land Management Officer and part of the reserves team. He supervised the team of conservation trainees and was the first point of contact for our volunteers. In July 2022, he was moving on to join the countryside team of Staffordshire County Council.

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