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New tricks

Knocking in a fence post

Joe learns new skills at the Trust and at home...

Much of the past few weeks is a blur for me, mostly because I became a father at the end of August; I'm picking up new skills and experiences both at the Trust and at home.

As soon as I returned from leave, we began preparing for our chainsaw cross-cutting and maintenance course. This has been just in time, as the weather starts to turn and the risk of fallen trees increases. Fallen trees are unsafe for visitors and we will need to be ready to help with clearing them from paths on our reserves.

Training for chainsaw use is a serious undertaking. Health and safety is a major part of the syllabus, next to maintenance of the chainsaw. Actual cutting of wood is only a small part of the assessment. 

The same person in two different photos - in one they're cradling a baby and in the other they're cradling a chainsaw (with a nappy on the handle)

Maybe this is just sleep deprivation talking but I think babies and chainsaws are remarkably similar. Both require regular feeding and cleaning, make a terrible noise and expel a lot of nasty exhaust. They all have their own unique quirks too. Thankfully, though, chainsaws do not wriggle as much when you try to clean them up.

Between August and September we will have gained lots of useful qualifications - driving off road and with trailers as well as our chainsaw ticket. Because of this, we are also gaining a lot of independence, being given jobs with less supervision. For example, we erected a new barbed wire fence in the Ipsley Alders Marsh reserve, using all the skills and tools from the start of our traineeship but all under our own steam. 

Person wearing a cap and leaning down to touch fungi growing on a tree

Investigating fungi

We also joined Dom at Green Farm to undertake condition monitoring of the woodland we are establishing. It's early days and the dry summer has been tough on the saplings but with repeated surveys over the years we hope to see positive trends in the data we collect. This will be a helpful indicator of how the woodland is developing and the impact of all our hard work.

Everyone in the team has their own nerdy interest. For me it's probably fungi; the process of identifying is great fun. 

 

Joe has left a career in NHS management to gain practical skills to care for wildlife reserves with the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. 

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