Twelve young people from across Anglesey kicked-off our busy summer this year as trainees with our 5^th annual Climate and Conservation Traineeship. This jam-packed two-week course gave young people the chance to gain hands on experience, develop skills and earn accredited qualifications in a number of areas; from marine conservation to peatland restoration. Culminating in a Woodland Fun Day event organised by the trainees and attracting hundreds of attendees - this year was one of our best yet!

“I benefitted from the traineeship through just getting outside and starting to see the little ways we can help the planet” – Eddie Rawnsley (Participant)

Week 1

The traineeship began with the immersive exploration of Llyn Parc Mawr, a community woodland in Newborough on Anglesey, which would be their base for the next two weeks. From identifying edible plants and learning how to cook on an open fire, to removing invasive cotoneaster and measuring how much carbon the community woodland can absorb, the first few days of the traineeship were about exploring and appreciating this wonderful site.

This first week was also the wettest, as our trainees got a taste of working outdoors in traditional Welsh weather on one of our oldest nature reserves – Cors Goch. After a tour of the reserve from our Reserves Team,  our dedicated trainees got properly stuck in, creating habitat for wet loving plants in the peat in the pouring rain! Despite the weather this day was a highlight for many.

The trainees also got a good insight into the inner workings of North Wales Wildlife Trust, and how we run many of our events and campaigns. After a workshop with our CEO Frances Cattanach, the trainees worked closely with our communications and events team to plan the Woodland Fun Day event they’d be  holding during the last day of the course.  These sessions  gave them an understanding and appreciation of how our work involves engaging with people and communities just as much as it does delivering practical conservation tasks on our nature reserves.

“I’ve learnt a lot about nature, I’ve learnt things I didn’t even know about. I’ve learnt a lot about Newborough forest which is really important as it’s a local area to me which I think more people should know about and more people should come to!” – Ellie Balahura (Participant)

Week 2

The second week gave the trainees the opportunity to explore other ecosystems. We begun with an early start journey to Porth Dinllaen to practice snorkel skills and hear about the amazing seagrass conservation work going on along the Llyn Peninsula with our Living Seas Team. The trainees also got to learn about the impressive sand dune ecosystems in Rhosneigr and the benefits this essential habitat provides to coastal communities and local wildlife.

The trainees also 'became' first aiders!  Honing their acting skills while imagining different scenarios in which they might be called on to administer first aid while in the outdoors!

At the end of this intensive two weeks, the Woodland Fun Day event had finally arrived. Entirely planned and delivered by these twelve young people, the event was a massive success. Drawing in 200 people to Llyn Parc Mawr, the trainees led guided walks around the woodland, showed attendees the site’s amazing insect life and engaged younger children with woodland arts and crafts. An initially quiet group had grown in confidence to deliver our most successful event of the traineeship’s history.

“The group’s hard work and positivity during the course, even when some of the tasks were less than ‘glamorous’, was  brilliant. Their confidence has grown so much over the two weeks and I think this will be an experience they’ll never forget.” – Megan Parkinson (Course Co-Ordinator)

Awards and Achievements

In early November we got to reflect on the two weeks and celebrate the group’s achievements by presenting the trainees with their Accredited Qualification Award certificates. These were awarded to the trainees for each of the skills they had learnt during the course, such as Fire Safety, Conservation and Climate Change Theory, and Species Identification just to name a few. It was a great way to end such a successful year.

How to get involved?

If this sounds like the ideal opportunity for you or a young person you know, find out more about all our youth work on our Stand for Nature Wales page.