About Emma (2016)
Two and a half years ago I was working in London in a large visual effects film company with long hours and where, more often than not, I was sat in the dark in front of a computer. Although I got to work on some amazing films, such as Gravity, Iron Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy, I craved daylight and the outdoors. Whenever I had the occasional Sunday off I would either bundle my bike into the car and hit the mountain bike single track at Bedgebury or I’d be off tending to my allotment. The lure of the outdoors was growing and the thought of pursuing a career in this field was becoming ever stronger.
My experience as a Production Coordinator excitingly enabled me to get a job in a visual effects house in Adelaide, Australia last year. Whenever I could I took trips to different parts of this beautiful country. I saw the Ottways in Victoria, the rainforest of Fraser Island and most spectacularly the Daintree Forest in the North.
Upon my return to England it was these experiences that helped me decide that now was the time to break from the film industry completely and pursue my new career. I began volunteering at Bedgebury and also with the Conservation Volunteers trying to pick up as many skills as I could. It wasn’t long until I heard about a job in the Visitor Centre and I accepted a place there in February. My time as a Visitor Services Assistant enabled me to gain valuable knowledge of the Pinetum and forest.
I love working at Bedgebury and when the Apprentice Forest Craftsperson vacancies were advertised I jumped at the opportunity to apply to learn and study with the knowledgeable people here.
Back in September 2016 I was excited to hear that I had been offered one of the positions and I have decided to keep this blog as a journal of my experiences during the apprenticeship.
Emma's 2016-2018 blog:
Month 1
Wow, I cannot believe a month has gone by already in my new role as Apprentice Forest Craftsperson at Bedgebury!
The first week was a whirlwind of ‘re-meeting’ everyone in my new capacity as Apprentice and starting to get to know the role. I was pleased to discover my partner in crime was to be Phil McGovern who I had met at the interviews a couple of months before. He is also really excited to be undertaking the apprenticeship at Bedgebury and to be working for the Forestry Commission.
We will be under the mentorship of our extremely knowledgeable supervisors: Curator, Dan Luscombe and Pinetum Supervisor, Julian Dormady.
The second week consisted of a training course with the other six apprentices who are placed at three different Forestry Commission sites throughout England including Cannock Chase, Thetford and Kielder. It was really interesting to meet them all and learn about the different paths that had brought them to the apprenticeship. The course covered the basics of pollution control, plant handling, electricity and driving at work.
During week three we worked with the Wednesday Wild Crew volunteers, tidying up the ‘Shipwreck’ area of the play trail.
Last week we had the opportunity to go out ‘on the beat’ with one of the craftspeople, Bill, who is responsible for the Sussex area. We began to learn some valuable skills in building and straining fences, all in heavy rains and high winds of course! On the second day we cleared some forest drains of logs and debris ready for further winter weather.
The remainder of the week was spent clearing rhododendron with the volunteers near Churchill Wood, tidying up the dwarf conifer collection at the back of the nursery and the areas near the Visitor Centre. Phil and I were able to put our fencing skills into practice on a small section near the car park.
Each week we have been learning to identify five different conifers by the appearance of their cones, leaves, bark and canopy. So far we have covered some of the basics such as Scot’s pine, Douglas fir, western hemlock, sitka spruce and Chinese fir.
October 2018
August / September 2018
June / July 2018
May 2018
March / April 2018
February 2018
January 2018
November / December 2017
October 2017
September 2017
July / August 2017
June 2017
April / May 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016