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Looking back...and forwards

Iain, Amy, Jake, Ruthie, Issy

Iain, our trainee leader and mentor, reflects on the first year of our conservation trainee scheme...

This time a year ago four budding young conservationists had just begun their traineeships with the Trust. As of last week, they have all completed their placements and gone onto greener pastures and bright futures.  It’s been an amazing year and I was truly fortunate to have a such a great team for our first intake of trainees. The twelve-month scheme started last year and was the brainchild of my line manager Rob Allen. Though the Trust has a long history of taking trainees into the reserves team, this was the first time a dedicated team of trainees was put together and I was privileged enough to be recruited to lead this team.

It's been said before but the Covid-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to the scheme. In March 2020 we recruited our team, with two trainees (Jake and Ruthie) due to start in April and another two (Amy and Issy) due to start in September. Unfortunately, the two April trainees had to be delayed as it wouldn’t have been safe to begin the traineeship at that time. Whilst I waited for my team, I undertook smaller jobs on various reserves and recall several occasions when I was toiling in the summer heat and wishing I had a few trainees to help get the job done!

Many hands make light work

two photos showing the beginnings of a wildlife pond (and the trainee team that worked on it) and the pond as it matures

Wildlife pond in Lower Smite Farm garden - before and after by Ben Rees and Iain Turbin

Thankfully in September 2020 the trainees were able to join us and I welcomed my team for the first time. Jake & Ruthie started in early September, followed by Amy & Issy two weeks later, and I went from having no trainees to having to juggle four! The Turbinators, as they affectionately called themselves, formed a strong team dynamic immediately and the benefit of the trainee team was immediately apparent: many hands make light work! As a team we handled all sorts of jobs and watching the team develop skills in reserves maintenance, such as hanging gates and fencing, and develop skills in habitat management, such as coppicing and pond clearance, was a particular joy (even if the pond was frozen over)! The enthusiasm of each trainee was also inspiring and I found my own knowledge of wildflowers, trees, birds and butterflies improving as the trainees learnt more throughout the year or shared their existing knowledge and passion with the team.

As the trainees started to approach the last third of the traineeship it became apparent that the end was in sight. For Jake and Ruthie this meant looking for jobs as they now had knowledge, skills and experience to follow their careers in conservation. The first to leave the team was Jake, who left in June to join Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust as a Reserves Officer. In July Ruthie left for Staffordshire Wildlife Trust to work as their Southern Heathlands Assistant Ranger. Issy left in August for the final year of her Wildlife Ecology and Conservation degree in Bristol. Amy left last week to begin her degree in Wildlife Conservation and Environmental Management at Harper Adams.

Looking back

When I look back at how the team started, and how much they all developed throughout the year, it’s hard to put into words quite how proud of each of them I am. Throughout the year they remained dependable and always had each other’s backs, no matter what challenges they faced. They gained practical certificates in chainsaw, brushcutter and first aid, and assisted with a plethora of tasks for other departments within the Trust. As the first intake of trainees, they were also instrumental in establishing the trainee team and helping it to get things running smoothly.  I owe each of them a heartfelt thanks for their part in this.

Thank you to the original Turbinators for making this first year amazing. You were all great trainees and I wish you all the best in your future careers. Who knows, maybe we will be working together again someday?

Coming soon….our new trainees….

 

Iain Turbin is our Practical Land Management Officer and part of the reserves team. He supervises the team of conservation trainees and is the first point of contact for our volunteers. He started his career as a conservation trainee for Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust before working as a countryside ranger in Eastleigh and a Public Rights of Way Assistant for Worcestershire County Council.

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