New Forest Apprentice Rangers, where are they now?: Alistair, James and Shona
PUBLISHED ON: 4 NOVEMBER 2024Since 2016, the New Forest National Park Authority has supported 14 apprentice rangers alongside partner organisations.
These 12-16 month paid apprenticeships involved diving into a variety of tasks, from carrying out conservation work and wildlife surveys, assisting with public events, and looking after country parks and nature reserves.
They also took on placements at Forestry England, the National Trust, Hampshire County Council, RSPB, the Countryside Education Trust and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, with learning sessions at Sparsholt College and Kingston Maurward College.
As part of Green Careers Week 2024, we checked in with some of our apprentice rangers past and present to see how the opportunity sparked their green career paths.
This is part three of this series, click here for part one and here for part two.
Alistair and James:
Alistair and James completed their apprenticeship in 2023. Alistair now works as a farming assistant at partner organisation the Countryside Education Trust, thanks to funding from the Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme. James is now our Volunteer and Accessibility Co-ordinator.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your time as a New Forest National Park apprentice ranger.
Alistair: ‘I was really into STEM subjects at school, so I chose to do a chemistry master’s, but I became increasingly unsatisfied with the degree and none of the potential careers seemed attractive to me. After the master’s, I decided to start from scratch and try something closer to my true core interests, this led me to the apprenticeship with the NPA; something on the ground and practical with opportunities to learn heaps of new skills.
‘Working with so many different groups during the apprenticeship provided an enormous range of perspectives with regards to the Forest and conservation; I can’t imagine a better way to learn about the New Forest in such a short space of time. Additionally, each placement helped to develop a different set of skills, including practical restoration of heathland with the RSPB, maintenance of ‘forest furniture’ with Forestry England, and livestock handling with the Countryside Education Trust.
‘My favourite part by far was getting to know all the brilliant people involved with the organisations we worked for and with. Working in conservation and environmental protection rarely pays well, but you can tell just by being around most people in the sector that they’re truly passionate about what they do, it’s not ‘just a job’ to them. I think that having this sense of purpose and an underlying belief that the work you do is for the benefit of others and the planet, makes these people interesting, inspiring, and all-round good fun to be with.’
James: ‘I got into conservation volunteering through Duke of Edinburgh and the Scouts and discovered it’s a lot of fun to have big fires, so I stuck with it for several years. I later dropped out of uni and have worked in retail and hospitality but struggled from not wanting to progress in either career, until I was 30.
‘I applied to the apprenticeship more to practice/get feedback for work in conservation and didn’t expect to get it! I can confirm the college part is portrayed accurately by the tv show Community.
‘I also gained a psychic connection with the other apprentice, formed great friendships with two others at the Countryside Education Trust, got a chainsaw felling ticket – much to the terror of rhododendron, put up the wonky central barrier at Hatchett Pond, found a treasure chest at Lepe. Went on a weeklong camp in the Cairngorms with people from protected landscapes across Europe, made tons of friends, had tons of fun, it was the best 16 months of my life!’
What’s one thing a ranger can’t do without?
Alistair: The other apprentice! Going through the sixteen months alone, rather than working with James, would’ve been an entirely different experience. We both had a similar level of experience in most of the tasks we were doing, which made it less daunting if either of us had no idea what was going on. Also, neither of us has been praised for our memory or organisational skills, but going round as a pair meant that we only had to remember half the information each – a much easier task!’
James: ‘A partner-in-crime, who I see post-apprenticeship almost as often as I did during. Honourable mention to the apprentice van, which is definitely only used for approved work purposes.’
How did your apprenticeship help you get to where you are now?
Alistair: ‘Since finishing the apprenticeship last November (2023), I took a little time off to travel before starting a farming assistant role with one of the apprenticeship’s placements, the Countryside Education Trust. Most of my work involves helping out with the animals or carrying out general farm maintenance, but everyone does a bit of everything around here, so no two days are the same. We have an example of just about every type of farm animal you can imagine, and we specialise in rare native breeds, like Golden Guernsey goats and Shetland sheep. Having already worked with the CET for two months gave me a significant advantage in getting the job, so I really couldn’t have done it without the apprenticeship.
James: ‘As the apprenticeship ended a short temporary job came up helping out with planning admin, which gave me the opportunity to learn about an entirely different side to the National Park Authority. Planning being as busy as it is, my contract got rolled on twice before I was fortunate enough to gain my current role, Volunteer and Accessibility Co-ordinator!
The apprenticeship was such a fantastic opportunity to meet people and network across the industry. I’ve found everyone I met in green careers to be super helpful and supportive, especially when you get to the job-hunting stage. One of the reasons I was keen to stay on with the NPA post-apprenticeship was how much I enjoyed working with everyone I’d met!
Why are green careers important to you?
Alistair: ‘I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a childhood where I spent a lot of time in nature. I didn’t realise it at the time, but this gave me a profound appreciation for Britain’s unique and wonderful ecosystems. I haven’t been on this planet for that long, but even in my short life I’ve seen these systems changing; winters just aren’t as cold anymore, there are fewer and fewer insects around, the nights seem quieter. Human actions have caused this change. Nature has a formidable resilience to change, but the pace at which we are altering fundamental systems is too great. Without having a chance to catch up, the natural world is losing species and habitats alarmingly quickly. This affects the most vulnerable first, including human communities. We know that this change can’t simply be stopped overnight; humans, though we seem to think otherwise, are part of the natural system, and as such we don’t change our minds very quickly either. However, we know that the healthier an ecosystem is, the more resilient it is. Furthermore, we know how to improve or preserve the health of these ecosystems. I strongly believe that we should use this rare knowledge to do our best to justify our place in this beautiful world.
James: ‘Working in a career where my efforts directly go into protecting and enhancing the landscape, both for the benefit of nature and for people, is really cool. I think this was the missing element from a lot of the jobs I’d worked previously.
What advice would you give to someone starting out and looking for a green career?
Alistair: Volunteering is, for me, the single most important part of starting a green career. Not only does it hugely increase the likelihood of you being considered for a role, but it also gives you a chance to find out what sort of work you enjoy doing. It can be hard to find a group to volunteer with if you’re already working full time, but any volunteering you can find, even if it’s only once in a while, is worth doing. Volunteer groups are also a great place to meet people already in a green career, and to learn about what sort of roles are available within a conservation organisation. Do some research about which charities or organisations are active in your area and get in touch with them all. Volunteering isn’t always well advertised, so you might have to do some digging, make some phone calls and write some emails, but it is 100% worth the effort if you’re serious about getting into a green career. The Countryside Jobs Service is a good place to look for volunteering and entry-level jobs. Good luck!
James: ‘There’s no wrong time to consider changing career tracks! People come into the industry at all different stages of life. There’s also a wide variety of jobs in the green sector beyond what you might consider; we have Planning, Ecology, Archaeology, Data Protection, Finance, IT, Legal, Comms and more, who are all integral parts of the New Forest National Park. Volunteering is always a good way to meet people and learn about opportunities (and it’s fun).
Shona:
Shona is one of our current apprentice rangers and is enjoying gaining practical experience from our team and our partners.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your time as a New Forest National Park apprentice ranger so far.
‘I’m a 41-year-old mum of two and before my apprenticeship, I worked in the New Forest Birth Centre as a housekeeper. I always wanted to work in the outdoors and would spend my free time out in the Forest learning to I.D plants and trees. I saw the National Park apprenticeship online and took my chance to apply.
‘In the short time on the apprenticeship, I have learned an incredible amount about how the Forest works and what each organisation contributes to it. I can now use chainsaws, brushcutters and many hand and power tools. I’ve learned about Forest maintenance in lots of different ways, from invasive species control to fixing and installing fencing, gates and styles.
‘My favourite moments so far are stalking with the keepers and being part of a stone curlew survey, but I’ve loved every minute of every placement if I’m honest.’
What’s one thing a ranger can’t do without?
‘I would say food! A ranger can’t live without snacks, lunch, afternoon tea, elevenses, second breakfast etc. We never part with our rucksack of munchies.’
Why are green careers important to you?
‘Green careers are important to me because it’s why I’ve got the chance to do this. It’s opened so many doors for me and I’ve met so many great people. Anyone looking to get into a green career just needs to go for it they won’t regret it ever.’
The current apprentice rangers have been gaining practical experience and developing environmental conservation skills thanks to funding through BMW UK’s support of Recharge in Nature.
This is part three of this series, click here for part one and here for part two.
Find out more about the New Forest National Park apprentice rangers programme here.
