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Putting new skills to the test

Photo by Craig Raxster

Callum shares what he's learned during his traineeship so far...

Hi readers. A lot has happened since I last blogged. Summer has been and gone, and the drought feels a world away from the current foggy and misty autumnal days. Here are some of the things I’ve been up to in the traineeship:

  • Planning what we can do to fill the gaps in our knowledge and experience for our future careers during our most recent ‘dream job session’
  • Spent a day learning about wildlife management at the Forestry Commission Wyre Forest base, including a talk about their beaver enclosure
  • Repairing and constructing fencing in the rain at Pound Green
  • Hay cutting with the trainees in the beautiful Knapp and Papermill orchard.
Person in safety wear chainsawing a tree

My favourite days recently have been at Upton Warren working with Craig and Chloe to open up two access paths. Working with reserves officer Ellie Reast we put our skills and teamwork to the test, chainsawing and brushcutting a path through uneven and deeply overgrown brambles and reeds. This was to allow access for contractors and to allow Ellie to inspect the site before extending and repairing the wildlife fence that protects breeding birds and their nests. 

The other access path that we cleared will allow us to get to the scrapes that were dug out a few years ago so they can be maintained to become even better wetland habitat. I really enjoyed getting stuck into these tasks and feeling accomplished at the end of the day, knowing that our hard work will help Ellie to improve these valuable habitats over this winter.

Looking towards the last few months of the traineeship, I'm excited for chainsaw small tree felling in January and exploring the paths that have been opened by the traineeship, particularly following my interest in arboriculture.

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