Now onto the practical stuff, we’re doing a lot of it! Just last week three of us and Iain went to the beautiful Gwen Finch Wetland Reserve near Pershore (no public access, it's an undisturbed wildlife haven). We were set the task of gathering up previously cut reedbed and burning it. This is an important job - instead of creating a habitat pile, for instance, burning can create a much-needed temporary open area within the reedbed habitat that can be used as feeding areas by wetland birds. Burning can also be used to create an irregular structure of old and new reeds within the habitat, which is beneficial for some reedbed birds, especially for nesting as it creates different areas of shelter. Along a major river, habitat piles can also get washed away. A simple task then, some may say, but let me tell you it was tiring work. The reeds lower in the pile held far more moisture and were, therefore, far heavier.

As well as reed burning we needed to check on some saplings that had been planted earlier in the year. Unfortunately, flood water had interrupted the growth of these saplings and consequently there weren’t many left. This shows that regular monitoring is important to ensure the end goal, which in this case is the growth of new trees.

One specific task that stands out in my mind is the construction of a new fenced area in Bewdley Meadows. In this specific area there is a re-growing hedge that, without protection from cattle, would never re-grow. When we started this task, I did not know a thing about fencing. I didn’t know what monkey strainers were, what a strut was, how useful a pair of pliers could be and - most importantly - how much time it all takes! The area that needed a fence line was rectangular and on a slope with one end of the rectangle meeting a hedge. Over three or four sweaty, rainy and windy days our fence was up! The photo shows the wire twisting - this is done once the fence had been built to ensure grazing cattle don’t scratch themselves on pointy parts of the wire. These pictures alone show the progress that can be gained with practice and a good teacher; thanks Iain!

Issy Troth is on a placement year from university where she studies Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Science. She has previously volunteered with Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre and the Trust and is enjoying putting her learning into practice!