My name’s Jade and was a Working for Nature trainee with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife trust. I decided to apply for the traineeship scheme to give me a chance and opportunity to start a career in conservation, away from jobs I haven’t particularly enjoyed. I didn’t continue education after my GCSEs for many reasons and always struggled in academic studies, finding it easier to learn practically. As I got older I realised that environmental conservation was a career I was very interested in but didn’t have any of the right experience to apply and financially would have struggled relying on volunteering. It also proved very hard to find a traineeship scheme being over 25 until I came across the Working for Nature scheme.
Throughout the traineeship I have learnt so much. Being someone who suffers a lot with anxiety, I have found it to be an extremely supportive environment – support which I think has been crucial for me starting in a completely new sector and giving me the confidence to push myself and giving me hope that this is a career I can see myself progressing into.
“Working outside everyday has been amazing and so much fun. I sometimes can’t believe I’ve been given this opportunity; I feel very lucky and extremely grateful.”
I have learnt many different skills including ID Skills, coppicing and woodland work, dry stone walling, maintenance work including path work and step building and shrub clearance. The list could go on! Plus being able to pass my first aid and brush cutter course has been extremely useful for my career, something I would have struggled to finance without this traineeship. Working with other volunteers has been a great part of this job, they are a friendly bunch and it’s always nice to have chats with them whilst working and has also been helpful learning from other volunteers too.
There have been times when it’s been tough, the diploma side has felt quite overwhelming at times considering I struggle with written work, but over time I’ve managed to deal with this and there has always been support and patience throughout. I can also struggle when working and learning new skills in group environments but like I mentioned before the support has always been there and I feel I am listened to and have been able to overcome these situations in my own way.
This course has opened a lot of career choices for me. I am particularly interested in learning more about woodland work, which has inspired me to already book myself onto a woodland management course. I have been looking at applying for Assistant Ranger jobs and work with the Forestry Commission; jobs that I can now see myself applying for since starting this traineeship. After taking a good break since completing the traineeship, I am now going to be starting a new tree planting job.
“The traineeship has given me skills and experience that are crucial when it comes to applying for outdoor work within land management and conservation.”
Before this course I thought I would continue to work in jobs I didn’t enjoy. Now I have a chance to finally work in an area that I enjoy and a job that I can express myself in, being so passionate about nature and the environment. This course has also played a huge part in my self-development which has given me a huge amount of self-confidence.
