with Herefordshire Nature Trust
Title: Wildplay and Heritage Ranger Trainee
Trainee code number: 7R
Responsible to: Reserves Manager and Senior Nature Play Ranger Officer
Overall purpose of placement
This is a split placement shared between the Nature Reserves and WildPlay teams at the Nature Trust. This is a rare opportunity for a motivated and enthusiastic person to develop key wildlife skills (species identification, working with volunteers and practical habitat management) and then use these skills to inspire both children (0-16 years) and adults.
WildPlay role: The trainee will work alongside highly experienced and inspirational WildPlay staff in engaging children and their families from socially deprived areas within Herefordshire. The trainee will organise, prepare play resources and deliver environmental wildplay sessions and educational walks to children and their families in parks, green spaces and natural environments in Herefordshire. More information about WildPlay at the Herefordshire Nature Trust can be viewed at www.herefordshirewt.org/wildplay.
Heritage Ranger role: The trainee will work with Reserves staff to undertake land management duties on the Trusts’ reserves, work with reserve volunteers, lead guided educational walks and events and implement some habitat and species surveys at key nature reserves in Herefordshire.
Main responsibilities & areas of learning:
Your application should clearly illustrate your potential to carry out these responsibilities and meet the Trainee Specification.
The Wild-Play role
- Assist in organising, running and evaluating 'nature play' sessions involving children (0-16 years).
- Inspire and support children and young adults to engage with the natural environment during play by applying your knowledge of U.K habitats and species in a playful way.
- Develop simple on-line species identification resources and activity packs, showing local species and habitats for school teachers, Watch Leader volunteers and play-workers to use with children and young people.
- Support Wildlife Watch Leaders and participate in the running of their monthly Watch groups.
- Share your knowledge of U.K habitats and species with Watch Leader Volunteers, Play-Workers and Sessional Play Workers by leading a training event and participating within nature play sessions and Watch meetings.
- Engage with parents, partners and local communities to promote the importance of play, and the importance of providing challenging, playful environments for children in easy to access green spaces.
The Heritage Ranger role (Trust Reserves)
- Assist in practical habitat management of our nature reserves and roadside verge nature reserves.
- Assist in organising and delivering volunteer habitat management activities on Trust reserves.
- Assist Reserves staff and volunteers with habitat, species surveys and site assessments for practical works on nature reserves and roadside verge reserves.
- Implement bumblebee surveys on a selected trust reserve; create artificial bumblebee nest sites at the Trust HQ and support the organisation and delivery of a training day on gardening and conservation for bumblebees.
- Gain an understanding of the management planning process and write a short management plan for a nature reserve.
- Assist in the delivery of guided walks to the public on our nature reserves.
- Assist reserve staff in undertaking dormouse monitoring work on reserves.
- Collate reserves data using I.C.T and produce reports as appropriate.
Generic features of this placement
- Undertake any other duties, as requested by your line-managers, commensurate with the aims of the Herefordshire Nature Trust.
- Undertake health and safety duties that are commensurate with the placement and as detailed in the Trust’s health and safety policy.
- Undertake Continuing Professional Development as identified in your Individual Learning Plan.
This post will be subject to an enhanced CRB disclosure.
» Download trainee description
» Download trainee specification
» Find out more about Herefordshire Nature Trust.
