Author: fm1811

Last Week at DWT

Sadly, this week is my  last  at DWT. I was out with the reserves’ team again this week, this time at a coastal reserve called Blackhall rocks near Hartlepool. The views of the County Durham coast were fantastic. In my first week I was the only girl and this week I was one of only 2 girls out on site! But I go to Imperial, so I’m used to that. The habitat at Blackhall rocks includes woodland, scrub and para-maritime magnesium limestone grassland (wow, what a mouthful). Although scrub provides a good habitat for birds, it is common around the UK. Para-maritime magnesium limestone grassland however, is a lot rarer and most of it is found along the Durham coast. It supports a large number of plant species, including sea plantain and scabius. I was helping to remove coarse scrubland species like brambles and some small trees. Some DWT staff used strimmers to cut back the vegetation while volunteers raked it up and put it into bags. This will allow the grassland to grow back instead of scrub. In ecological terms we are preventing succession. The grassland is teaming with invertebrates and we even came across a few frogs. I never knew that such a unique habitat existed in my area. The North East is certainly not as “desolate” as some people may think. The land was very steep though, and I had a few aches and pains in the morning!

I would like to thank both DWT and Charity Insights (especially Amy and Eileen!), without whom I would not have been able to do this internship. For me, it has been a much more rewarding and valuable experience than having a summer job could ever have been, and I am sure it is going to look great on my CV. Thank you!

Penultimate Week at DWT

It’s my penultimate week at DWT. I’ve really enjoyed myself so far and I find the work I’m doing interesting and, most importantly, relevant to my future career goals. As well as this, I feel like the document I am working on will really be of benefit to the overall project and I have written something that my supervisor can actually use. I have been encouraged to add headings and any other information that I think is relevant while reading papers, and I am able to focus on the sections that I find most interesting. Not only does this keep me motivated, but I also have the opportunity to be creative and add my own input to the project, which I think is rare for an intern! This week I have been viewing GIS maps made by DWT for County Durham in a computer programme called ArcMap. I’ve got to grips with different colour schemes and overlaying different kinds of map.

I haven’t suddenly become a GIS expert over the past 3 weeks, but I have learned a lot about a tool I had never come across before starting my internship. I feel that this internship will benefit me when applying for jobs in the conservation sector because I will already have experience of working for a conservation charity and I have experience with GIS that another candidate may not.

2nd Week at DWT

I have been continuing work on the user guide, this week focusing on producing case studies from Living Landscapes and NIAs, where the use of GIS maps would help. Living Landscapes is a nation wide project, created by the Wildlife Trusts, that aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitats o support  native wildlife. This will give species more space to move between patches, increasing their chances of adapting to threats such as climate change. The point of this part of the document is to allow people who would potentially use the maps (trust staff, housing planners etc.) to see how GIS maps would benefit their project. I have regular meetings with my supervisor who then makes me word documents with pointers and advice.

DWT’s office is in Rainton Meadows, a nature reserve just north of Durham that has been restored from an open cast coal mine. During my lunch breaks I’ve been taking advantage of the fact that I’m working on a nature reserve. So far I’ve seen over 20 species of bird from various bird hides around the site, including some fledgling kestrels learning how to fly. One had fallen out of its nest and became stuck in the long grass, but a friendly passer by rescued it and it flew off on its way.

1st Week at DWT

Last week I started my internship at Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT). I’ve always had a love for nature but it is only recently that I have thought about working for a conservation charity. At the trust, I am working on a project concerning GIS maps of ecosystem services. GIS maps are a relatively recent development in ecology and aim to map ecosystem service demand and supply. This information can then be used to identify areas that provide valuable services and should therefore be conserved, but also “gaps” or areas where there is demand for a service but supply could be improved. A technical user guide for producing the maps has already been made, but my job is to start a more user friendly guide for interpreting the maps for potential users of the maps such as DWT staff or housing planners who have little experience of GIS mapping. For a break from the office, I did some practical work with the reserves team on Thursday at one of DWT’s reserves, Hawthorn Dene. Work involved removing an invasive plant species, called Himalayan balsam, from the woodland. Himalayan balsam was introduced to Britain in the Victorian era, when it was brought back from the Himalayas for its pink flowers. However, the plant is an excellent propagator and can completely take over habitats, out competing native species. Overall, my first week has been a great experience to see how a conservation charity is run and what kind of careers are available in this sector.