This year, we proudly welcomed the second cohort of participants to our acclaimed Woodland Skills Course – a free programme aimed at helping adults build the skills and confidence needed to pursue careers in the green sector. One of our recent participants, Claire Stone, has shared her personal journey and reflections on the course. Read her story below.

“I’ve long had the niggling feeling that I wanted to do more work ‘outside’ and in the green sector – like many people, I want to help save the world – but didn’t know where to start.

Without any specific green skills or qualifications, or the time and ability to undertake lots of volunteering, I felt at a bit of a loss. I knew that loads of enthusiasm is a good thing but that a little direction would be even more useful.

When I heard about Avon Needs Trees’ Woodland Skills course, it seemed to be just what I needed – as chance to get away from my office chair, learn more about myself, my skills and the opportunities out there. My aim was to try out new things and see how I could combine my current freelance work with moving into the green sector. Basically, to figure out what I was meant to do!

I was very excited to be accepted onto the course and didn’t want to waste a moment of this opportunity to get stuck in and explore what might be a future path for me. It was with a hint of trepidation that I headed to our first session, but I needn’t have been concerned. The course leaders are brilliant and so welcoming, the participants an interesting range of people with various reasons for attending. We all settled in quickly, aided by an excellent selection of biscuits!

The set up of the course was grand: a useful combination of interesting and educational days out and online sessions which mean that I’ve been able to fully commit to the course around work and family commitments and still benefit from the momentum gained from each session.

I’ve loved every single day and session so it’s tricky to pick a highlight of the course. So instead, I’ll list my top 5 days to save me from having to decide which I enjoyed the most:

1. The day spent shadowing the Fundraising Team.
2. The ‘building a willow dome’ day.
3. The day we learned how to prune fruit trees in the freezing cold wind.
4. The coppicing day at Westonbirt Arboretum.
5. The day out with the Park Ranger at Stoke Park

One of the most useful parts of the course has been the realisation that I’m probably not destined to spend each and every day doing hard physical labour. Yes, I love being outdoors, getting stuck and using my hands one or two days a week. But I doubt my body will be able to cope with doing that full time! While it is a disappointment, it’s useful to know this before committing full time to a coppicing apprenticeship!

Now that I know what I can’t do, I’m much clearer on what would work for me. The one-to-one sessions with Debs, the course leader, where we discussed my career to date and my aspirations were an important part of that. My big moment came from my shadowing day. A day when I had the opportunity to work and talk with the fundraising team. Prior to the course, I hadn’t considered fundraising as something that I might be able to do. But the day with the fundraising team was a real eye-opener, and I came away understanding that many of the skills needed for fundraising crossed over with my skill set quite significantly.

Fundraising is now something that I’d like to dig deeper into to see how I could help small green sector charities to help them raise money rather than solely plant trees. The various skills that we learned during the course have proven to be very beneficial from a personal level but they will also be put to practical use in the local group that I help run and I’ve already done quite a bit of fruit tree pruning in our local community orchard.

The course has finished now and I’m very sad to see it come to an end. I’ve learned so much about the wide range of opportunities out there and how I might be able to take advantage of them. I’ve also made some great connections and I’m looking forward to seeing how things progress. Most of all, I’ve loved every minute of the course with all the other participants and I’m grateful to know that whatever happens, I’ll be able to find a way to work more in the sector that is vital for nature.

If you’re looking to break into the green sector and discover where you fit within it, I would highly recommend joining the Woodland Skills Programme with Avon Needs Trees!”

We would like to give a big thank you Claire for sharing her inspiring experience. If her story resonates with you and you’re interested in developing practical, nature-based skills, keep an eye out for future opportunities on our website.

Photo credits: Debs Hoy