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1st Interview at Clumber Park (Gareth, Dan & Tom)
My first interview at Clumber. I was so excited at being called for interview yet so scared at the same time. In fact, having spent 3 hours driving up and checked in to my b&b for the night, I almost turned around and went home thinking that I would never get the job and I didn't want to subject myself to any further disappointment.The interview was great, in the woodland, coppicing and den building, I mean could an interview get any better? -
2nd Interview at Clumber (Gareth & Tom)
I couldn't believe that I had been invited back for a second interview. It went really well but I didn't want to get my hopes up. It was hard though because riding around the park I so wanted to be the one they chose for the position. -
1st Day at Clumber (Gareth & Tom)
My first day at Clumber Park. Kitted out and shown around the park by Gareth. Met lots of people whose names I quickly forgot. Couldn't believe how lucky I was to be working at Clumber for the next year. -
Cattle Grid (Gareth & Vols)
My first cattle grid on my second day. Laid red shale, whacked it down with a 'whacker', bolted in cattle grid, made sure everything was 'flush', dug posts in and nailed rails on. Hard work but oh so satisfying :-) -
Tool sharpening (Joe)
What to do on a rainy day? Sharpen your tools and then go out and hack wood up. -
Stile creation (Hollie & Dan)
Hollie had to build a stile for her course so together we created the best stile on Clumber. Pouring with rain but that didn't stop us. -
Charlecote Park Training (Claire & Lisa)
Great to meet the rest of the group and finally put a face to Claire. Beautiful property. Came away still a bit confused about what was expected of me. -
NT Outdoor Conference at Hardwick (HRangers)
Was involved in setting up the NT Outdoor Conference at Hardwick Hall, Dug fire pits, put in large wooden signs, put up gazebos and smashed my finger with a sledge hammer. Apart from the black finger it was good to see another property and meet another ranger team. -
Bracken Bashing (Hollie & CMV Rangers)
Day trip down to Carding Mill Valley in the Shropshire Hills. A spot of bracken-bashing. Canes in hand I smashed the hell out of a load of bracken and felt marvellous afterwards even though we barely made a dent in the amount of bracken there was there. Great day, good to meet other people in the Trust. -
Bug hunting (Hollie, Bob and Alan Binding)
Little did I know that waving a net over long grass would harvest so many treasures! Shield bugs, spiders and ladybirds galore! -
Bell Heather Discovery
Proud to have found an undiscovered patch of Bell Heather, the third only patch on Clumber :-) -
Vegetation Surveying (Hollie & Vols)
For three weeks I covered the vast vegetation on Clumber, surveying the grasses and wildflowers I found along the way. I realised how much I just liked wandering around the park learning the names of many wildflowers and finding bugs, in fact I found the second only Banded Demoiselle ever seen on Clumber :-) -
Path Fixing (Gareth & Vols)
Swans had worn down the path, using the edges as a launchpad so I had to dig a hole, hammer in a few rails and fill in the gap with red shale. All that whilst unbeknownst to me, standing on a very active ant's nest. Spent the rest of the afternoon shaking out my clothing. -
Cleaning out the cascade (Hollie & Vols)
It was time to don waders and a life jacket before venturing in to clean out the cascade. Blanket weed and broken branches had clogged up the beautiful cascade and I decided that I wanted to clean it out. Stinky and wet, we managed to get the water flowing smoothly over the rocks again. Very satisfying! -
Lake Sampling (Carl Hawke)
Learnt how to take and test water samples from the lake, We're trying to find out why we have so much blanket weed coverage. This is something that we need to do monthly and then send off to Sheffield Uni for testing. -
Weekend of Wildlife Preparation Rangers
Being a teacher paid off! Plenty of preparation for our Ranger's Weekend of Wildlife. Timelines, posters and activity booklets... piece of cake -
Working Holiday (WH Vol)
I was 'in charge' of the working holiday. 3 adults and 6 teenagers. We spent the day removing ragwort from the paddocks and then a spot of scrub clearance. Also my first day out alone on the tractor with the trailer attached. Good fun but damn hard work those teenagers.... -
My first fanned tree (Jane & Hollie)
I never realised there was so much to pruning. Love how these fruit trees look when they are splayed out. Pruned, plum, pear and sour cherry, A fan and an espalier. -
50 Things - Den Building (Vols)
What fun it was playing with kids and being a kid again. Such fun den-building, I even earned my badge for building a den.... shame I'm a tad past 11 and 3/4! -
Bell Heather Propagation (Shirley)
Excited about propagating Bell Heather here on Clumber. Not sure what I am doing yet but have contacted the PCC and am hoping that along with my Gardens 'Buddy' we'll be able to produce some more. -
Jungle- Busting the Wetlands (Gareth Jones & Dan Booth)
Wicked fun! 3 flailing chains attached to the back of the tractor and away I go. Through wet, boggy, muddy reeds, knocking everything in my path down. Nearly got stuck in the mud on more than one occasion. Decided to call it a day when tractor began to sink profusely in the mud. Got 10ft further than my boss did last year! -
Meeting with my buddy
Shirley, having met with PTYF3 Janine Hagues this week, has scared me into thinking that I am very much behind with my portfolio and that I have to take the bull by the horns.......... -
Brush-cutting & Hedge Trimming Reeds (Tom Biddulph)
Great fun but bloody hard work. Hedge- trimming reeds in boggy, wet marshland is not that easy, some were so thick that a chainsaw would have been more appropriate. Brush-cutting was fun, nothing stood a chance of surviving.
