Finding a placement wasn't easy

As a year 10 student my school gave me the opportunity to do a week of work experience. It was hard to find a placement as not many companies offered work experience. A lot of the organisations I asked only wanted students over 16 or had too many applicants. Then I saw that Yorkshire Wildlife Trust had work experience opportunities - so I applied and got it! 

I have loved every minute of my work experience, and my week has been so varied, giving me a chance to experience all the different roles that go into creating this amazing Trust. 

Day One

My first day was spent at the head office in York with Volunteering Manager Marie Fooks. She took me through her role in the Trust and how the volunteers are a vital part of the organisation. There are over 900 volunteers in the Trust and the work that the Trust does wouldn’t be possible without them! 

I looked at the different volunteering opportunities and the many projects that the Trust have in place to save nature. This helped me to come up with some ideas of activities that young people might want to come and take part in - such as photography sessions and camping!

I found it amazing how many volunteers the Trust has!

Day Two

My second day took me to Moorlands Nature Reserve just outside of York where I was met by reserve manager Dave Powell and the team of devoted volunteers. 

I got stuck in, picking Himalayan Balsam which is an invasive plant that takes over many of the reserves during summer. Dave talked to me about how they are trying to reduce the spread of balsam and the volunteers’ effort seems to be working as it has decreased significantly since last year, although there was still a lot to pick!

After some hard work and a lot of nettle stings we had a much-needed tea break where the volunteers talked to me about their time in the Trust. We continued the balsam pulling till lunch -  when we stopped, we were rewarded with the sight of balsam free woods!

In the afternoon Dave and the volunteers took me on a tour of the reserve where he talked about what they do to manage the reserve year round and their future plans to increase the woods biodiversity.

Himalayan balsam removal keeps many of the Trust's volunteers busy in the summer months!

Day Three and Four

On day three I met Marie and Matt at Staveley Nature Reserve where we spent the day with 10 volunteers from Aviva. I learnt about the benefits that corporate days have for the Trust - such as increasing the number of volunteers and how these big companies can donate money towards Yorkshire Wildlife Trust projects. 

The morning was spent picking more balsam as this is one of the main jobs the reserves face during the summer season. Matt showed us around the meadow, and we identified many wildflowers from musk mallow and ragged robin to ladies bedstraw. 

Staveley has many ponds and I saw a huge number of dragonflies, which the reserve volunteers have started to survey this year to see what species they can find. The day finished with us identifying some of the species that we saw - including a massive brown hawker!

For my fourth day, I was back in the head office spending the day with Amy and the amazing Communications team. I looked at the different posts they put on social media to encourage more people to take an interest in the wildlife around them. Then the design team gave me an insight into how they create their seasonal magazine and the different leaflets, information boards and posters for the reserves. Amy then took me through her role in writing articles for regional and sometimes national newspapers and the crazy jobs that they get given!

Brown hawkers are some of the largest dragonflies in the UK, they have chocolate brown bodies with golden orange wings

Day Five

On my final day I met Chris and Rachel who took me to the River Esk to see a part of the BEACH Esk Project. We headed to one of the tributaries off the river and did kick sampling to survey the inhabitants of the water. We wrote a list of the species that we found and used it to assess the quality of the water. Then we headed back up to the farm that Chris works with to help improve habitats for nature on private land and were rewarded with ice-cream! 

All my expectations exceeded!

I’d had no real idea of what to expect on my work experience week but all the staff and volunteers have been extremely friendly, supportive and excited to tell me about what they do in the Trust. Everyone has such an important role in the Trust and makes a huge impact on restoring nature in Yorkshire. They make such a big difference in ensuring our environment and the wildlife in it is not lost and I would love the chance to come back and volunteer in the future! 

I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time here and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a work experience place or to volunteer. 

Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that I met during my time at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for taking the time to show me the incredible work they do and to all the people that I did not meet for the hard work they put in to saving nature as our countryside would not be as beautiful and diverse as it is without them.

My final day spent freshwater invertebrate sampling was a real highlight!