About to start a conservation course....

[Dirty Karlos]

Hi there, haven't been on this site for a while but I was wondering if any of you lot have ever done a conservation course or similar? I have just started a conservation degree this week, I am passionate about wildlife and the environment but at the same time I'm not a tree hugging namby pamby and respect the views from all sides of the outdoors i.e. farmers, park rangers and general outdoor folk.
Anyway that's enough about me, can anyone recommend any good websites/books etc that may help with my course?
I'm sure environmentalists of some description must frequent this fantastic forum.

 

[Aaron]

The History of the Countryside by Oliver Rackham is a good start - I read it in my first year at agricultural college and still dive into it now and again. The BTCV manuals on woodland and heathland management give a good introduction to practical habitat management. It is also worth reading periodicals - your college library should keep copies of British Wildlife magazine which is a good read, and if you want to go into a land-based profession start reading Farmers Weekly, which should also be in there - you may not understand much in it at first, but after three years you should have a good understanding of current issues in the rural economy, agri-environment schemes etc, which will be evident when you go for a job or talk to anyone.

 

[Bob]

In addition check out the Naturenet website - full of relevant info.

Enjoy your course.

Bob

 

[jamie18thmo]

Hi Karlos
I certainly agree with everything on Aarons reading list and suggest you might want to include one or two of the forestry publications (Quarterly Journal of Forestry was one I used to look at I think). Good to have an open mind and a broad interest in all aspects of environmental management and no, you don't have to be a tree-hugger or fury animal cuddler to make a difference to threatened species/habitats. I'm certainly not! Enjoy the course and get as much out of it as you can. You never know where you might end up! Here's where I've ended up (that's me on the quad bike)!

http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=70019

LOADS of really interesting conservation jobs down here if you don't mind being the other side of the World!

Cheers,
Jamie

 

[Dirty Karlos]

Thanks chaps, I've now started my course, I was handed my first asignment last night.
New Zealand, hadn't thought about that, maybe who knows!?

 

[Shewie]

LOADS of really interesting conservation jobs down here if you don't mind being the other side of the World!

Cheers,
Jamie

Don`t be saying stuff like that Jamie

I`ve spent another day at work searching the horticulture and forestry vacancy sites in the hope somebody might want to employ a bored IT technician with no outdoorsy qualifications.

 

[Dirty Karlos]

Hey Shewie I know that feeling, it is why I am doing the course!!! well one of many reasons.
I am behind a desk all day every day, it's not good for us outdoor types, in fact it makes me ill, seriously!!!

 

[Womble_Lancs]

Just out of interest, where are you doing the course? I wonder if there's anything like that around the North West?

 

[jamie18thmo]

Sorry guys! Didn't mean to make you feel blue. It's just that there's so much conservation land down here that needs looking after and so many species are under threat here that there's a lot of work to do.
I should have mentioned earlier that experience goes a long way too . If you can, do some volunteering with the BTCV, NT, RSPB or similar, it will help you out when looking for a job. That's how I started, after a big career change.
Just having your chainsaw ticket can get you some work in the countryside (scrub clearing, hedging etc.) for a lot less time and money than it takes to do a HND or Degree.
Get as much practical experience and make as many contacts as you can. You never know where it might lead.
Don't give up!
Go for it!
Cheers,
J

 

[Dirty Karlos]

I am doing the course at a well respected agricultural college in a Village called Bishop Burton, near Hull. It is actually a vocational foundation degree aimed at getting you a job at the end of it, so as well as all the academic stuff we have to do work based learning (50 hours +). The work based stuff can be anything really, RSPB or countryside stuff. The good thing is it's just one night a week which fits in well with full time work, we will also have to do a Saturday around once every six weeks.
If there is lots of work in New Zealand that would be nice, tell me Jamie, what's the money like down under? and the locals etc???

Thanks.

 

[jamie18thmo]

Hi Karlos,
You sound like you've found a good course there.
As for NZ. We've been here about 18 months now and the cost of living has gone up in that time (like most places I suppose) and the money isn't that great, but people don't generally do conservation work to earn big bucks (although hopefully they'll get bigger as time goes on!).
We came here for the lifestye, for the whole family and so far we've had nothing to complain about. The people are great and genuinely friendly and helpful, the scenery is fantastic and very varied and the opportunities to get out amongst it and enjoy yourself are numerous (fishing, hunting, tramping, skiing, kayaking/canoeing and working). It's not crowded (by UK standards) and you can often have an entire beach to yourselves on a nice sunny day. It's not everyones cup of tea and there are a few things we miss (like English broadleaf woodlands), but it's better to accept the differences and make the most of them.
So far I've had lots of opportunities to see out-of-the-way places through the work I've done here, from an 8 day trip around Fiordland doing stoat eradication work to Possum control at the bottom tip of Stewart Island (the land that time forgot!) and exploring old goldfields in central Otago etc. and I work with some really awsome people.
It's a fantastic place and well worth the trip (and yes, it is a long trip, but not that bad) for work or a holiday.
If anyone is ever heading down this way, flick me a PM and I'd be happy to help you out however I can.
Sorry if I've rambled on a bit. This probably should have been a PM!
Good luck with the course.
Cheers,
J

 

[Dirty Karlos]

Thanks for the reply, sounds good to me, my wife and I are all for starting a new life. We have no kids at present though that could all change soon. We are both 35 and disillusioned over here!

I have only just started my course and it is three years so I'll work as hard as I can in that time. I guess I could even pop over to New Zealand for a working holiday that would count towards my work based learning

 

[subedarmajor]

Hi Karlos,

I can now put a face to this name

I'm on the same course at Bish Bur as you are.
See you next week.

Cheers, Alan.

 

[TallMikeM]

I've just finished my first week of an ND in countryside management at capel manor (where rebel is also studying, tho I haven't met him yet). It's been mostly interesting and has given a certain amount of underpinning to the volly work I've been doing over the last 9 months. If you can find the time to do something like it and love the outdoors then I can most certainly recommend it.

 

[Dirty Karlos]

LOL Hi Alan! I did wonder if you would be a member of BCUK to be honest, see you Tuesday

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'm trying to persuade my Missus to go for a holiday to New Zealand next year to check it out, it is somewhere that I have always fancied.

 

[silvergirl]

Good Luck with the course. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I'm doing an MSc in Environment and Sustainability education after working as a Ranger and Naturalist for the past 15 yrs.
Getting back into studying has been an interesting experience (I even get exams!)

I wouldn't class myself as a tree hugger (but maybe some see me that way?) but one book I'd recomend for general reading in conservation and our understanding of land is Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac.
Published in 1965 (I think), after he died fighting a fire on the neibouring farm, it is a series of observations about nature and how we interact with it. In his day was head of Conservation for the US forestry department and has been listed along with John Muir for his writings and contribution to raising awareness of conservation issues.

There are so many good books and journals out there though.

As for NZ fantastic place, I was out there 10 yrs ago for a year doing voluntary work for DOC (dept of Conservation) but I thought getting an actual paid job was almost impossible unless you were already a resident. Maybe the rules have changed?

 

[jamie18thmo]

As for NZ fantastic place, I was out there 10 yrs ago for a year doing voluntary work for DOC (dept of Conservation) but I thought getting an actual paid job was almost impossible unless you were already a resident. Maybe the rules have changed?

Hi again,
Ideally I think they do want you to have permanent residence status before they can offer you a job (a permanent one anyway) but I think there are some ways around it, depending on the job type and length of position, but I'm not positive. Here's a couple of links you could check out:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/defaultlanding.aspx?id=42182

http://www.conjobs.co.nz/lists/lt.php?id=LR1STQBXB0kEBwk=

Cheers,
J

 

[Jackdaw]

I too am at the infamous Bishop Burton College reading BSC Wildlife and Countryside Conservation (Environmental Conservation nowadays) and am about to embark on year two after a year out in Iraq.

Have fun as I am sure you will. Any need for pointers just PM me though am not on this forum that much these days.

Marten

 

[Salix]

Just out of interest, where are you doing the course? I wonder if there's anything like that around the North West?

There used to be a Conservation Biology degree at Bolton INstitute, thats where i did mine, although it was over 10 years ago now.

Are you in the town of keaw yed then, im a daisy hillier mate

Mark

 

[MikeE]

I specialised in Land Use Ecology and Conservation at what was called UWIST in Cardiff but that was in the 70's (grad 1980). Only managed three and a bit years paid work in conservation before financial pressure made a different path necessary. Don't ever expect to make big bucks in the field, mind you I still don't in my current job!!