My Working for Nature Story: Melissa

My Working for Nature Story: Melissa

The Working for Nature Traineeship is a partnership between Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. It enables those with no previous experience or qualifications to gain practical conservation experience and achieve a Diploma in Work-Based Environmental Conservation.

Thank you to our 2021 trainees who have shared their personal journey throughout the traineeship last year. Our final post in the series, telling her Working for Nature story, is Melissa.

Hi, I’m Mel, and I live in New Mills, Derbyshire, on the edge of the Peak District. Prior to applying for the traineeship, I had spent 8 years in the financial services industry but had become increasingly unhappy and my job was taking a huge toll on my mental wellbeing. I decided to leave my job in search of my “why” and my search soon led me to the Working for Nature traineeship on the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust website. I think fate was at play because the information session took place the day after my final day in finance!

I remember feeling very intimidated and that there was no chance of me obtaining a traineeship place (that all too familiar imposter syndrome creeping in!) but my advice would be this… If you have a genuine passion for the environment, for wildlife, and caring for the precious world we live in, and think that perhaps a career in conservation might be for you, then push all those doubts aside and just go for it! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I will never forget my nanna saying to me “we’ve got Mel back” only a few weeks into the traineeship, because the transformation and happiness it brought about was almost instant. It is such a healthy and supportive environment and the friendliness of everyone will soon put you at ease.

The traineeship has equipped me with more knowledge and practical skills than I could ever have imagined in a relatively short space of time.

Some of the things I got up to were: learning tree and wildflower ID skills, taming sheep, assisting with cattle TB testing and the badger vaccination, driving the pickup truck, visitor risk assessments, fixing fences, building drystone walls, QGIS training (mapping), volunteer work parties, installing waymarkers, building steps, forest school, outdoor first aid… the list really does go on. The opportunities available depend on where you are based and the supervisor you are assigned, but there is the ability to tailor the traineeship to some degree through discussions with your supervisor based on your interests.

The traineeship has been a pivotal period in my life.

It has helped lift me out of a dark place, given me a renewed sense of purpose and confirmed that this is a sector that I wish to pursue a career in. The traineeship has provided invaluable experience that demonstrates a range of transferable skills for future employment. However, the biggest thing for me, in addition to everything I have learnt, is the confidence that the traineeship has given me. For the first time in a very long time, I feel I have found my place and I am around people who hold similar values, and for me, it doesn’t get any better than that!

We want to say a big thank you to the Heritage Fund, for providing funding for six trainees to take on the fantastic Working for Nature traineeship!

Our new 2022 trainees have now started their Working for Nature traineeship! Watch this space and on social media for updates on their journeys this year.