I just finished a two day course which covered brush cutting and hedge cutting. The course itself was really quite fun despite some of the worst weather we have had this year. Joe and I spent the two days learning how to take apart, look after and clean the machines. We learnt about some of… Continue reading Strimming and Hedgetrimmer Training
The other week I gave beekeeping a go. In the urban heart of Plymouth, high up on the roof of a multistory building, a group of people in white suits gathered around a small box, from which small buzzing insects came and went. Beesuits are strange things, once inside the beesuit, you become a sort… Continue reading Getting the buzz
A couple of weeks ago, rather unexpectedly I found myself crawling around in a cave searching for bats. Tim and I visited Paignton Zoo for a regional meeting of the Countryside Management Association (CMA). This essentially is a professional association for countryside professionals. It’s main focuses are training, sharing best practice and knowledge among rangers. We were expecting just to… Continue reading Bats, Caves and the CMA
Over the last month I been on quite a lot of training, which has been really varied. One day I was learning about how to lead public walks, the next how to put up a post and rail fence, the next I was looking at how to look for signs of protected species. Of these courses the… Continue reading The Wonders of Spraint, Surveying and Slow Worms
Saturday was the big community orchard planting at Poole Farm. We aimed to plant Plymouth’s biggest orchard, all in the space of a day! As Poole Farm isn’t a site I work on as part of my job, I arrived at the farm excited to do something different. A rural oasis within an urban landscape,… Continue reading Planting Plymouths biggest orchard
I have now been in my role as a trainee with Active Neighbourhoods for just over a month. So far it has been a great experience, meeting new people and getting to know the nature reserves. Although it has only been a month I have learned a huge amount. A large part of my time has… Continue reading My first month
