I am 25 and currently live in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, known for its beautiful views of rolling countryside and river walks along the Dee. Since March of 2021, I have worked as a Trees and Timber Apprentice with Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) at the Durris office. Here, I help maintain woodland sites that stretch from the River Dee to the River Don and from the coast to the eastern edge of the Cairngorms. My job consists of an interdisciplinary set of skills and responsibilities such as regular trail inspections, chainsaw operation, removal of tree guards and fixing entry and access points such as gates. On a national scale, FLS manages forestry sites for recreation use, timber production, conservation and biodiversity creation and works with communities to encourage engagement with nature.
Before joining FLS, I completed a Bdes (Hons) in Textile design followed by a master’s degree studying Sustainability, climate change, and the green economy. Like many people, forests and woodlands have always been a place of refuge to me throughout my life, where I have found inspiration and comfort spending time under their leafy canopies. However, it wasn’t until I completed an i-Tree Eco Survey as part of my master’s thesis did I consider Forestry as a possible career path. Undertaking the Survey gave me a greater understanding of the ecosystem services trees provide and inspired me to learn more about them. Therefore, engaging with this research was the catalyst in turning my place of refuge into my place of work.
Since securing the Trees and Timber Apprenticeship, I have increased my understanding of woodland creation and management within a practical setting. The apprenticeship has allowed me to develop new abilities practically, such as using a chainsaw to fell trees, and academically, to improve my knowledge of native flora and fauna. Cultivating these skills and becoming confident in them is where I find my job satisfaction. Here, I am creating a foundation of knowledge I can apply across many different roles within forestry and can continue to build upon as my career progresses. Along with learning, working outdoors in beautiful locations with supportive and helpful colleagues is very rewarding. Another great addition to the apprenticeship is that you receive a wage while you learn. As the apprenticeship is full-time, I would not be able to maintain financial stability and freedom to immerse myself in the learning process offered if I did not receive a wage.
Before attaining the Trees and Timber Apprenticeship I had a desk-based background with a different set of skills. Therefore, my greatest achievement has been my ability to adapt to change and push myself out of my comfort zone. Since starting the apprenticeship, I have gained many skills that were nerve-racking to attempt at first, such as using a brush cutter, chainsaw, or something simple such as planting trees. However, by persevering through each challenge with patience, I realise I am capable of learning new skills I once thought to be unattainable.
Looking to the future, I hope to complete my Trees and Timber qualification and move into a ‘forestry craftsperson’ position where I can retain my practical and hands-on role undertaking forest maintenance.
This job can be physically and mentally challenging at times, but my positive experiences have outweighed any negatives. To anyone looking to pursue a career in forestry, whether you are leaving school or looking for a career change, I would wholeheartedly recommend it, as it is a wonderful industry for self and career growth. If working outdoors is calling you, always wear sun cream - you want to work with trees, not look like them. Lastly, carry a surplus of snacks - that extra chocolate biscuit will get you through the rainiest of days!
Rachel Orchard, 24, is originally from Wessex, and for the past year has worked with the Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) team in Durris, Aberdeenshire, as a Trees and Timber Modern Apprentice.
“FLS manages the public estate for the joint objectives of sustainable timber production, environmental protection and public recreation. I am part of the craftspeople team, and we carry out practical tasks to keep our forests working effectively for their multiple purposes. For example, we carry out trail checks, fix gates and clear paths of dangerous trees and overgrown vegetation for the visitor services team. We put up goalposts and clear unwanted vegetation from forest roads to help the harvesting team. We take tree deliveries for the planting teams, plant trees ourselves and then carry out beat up surveys to see how many saplings have survived a year after planting.
In addition, we also have ongoing forest management tasks, for example, we are using clearing saws to respace a block of regenerated Silver Birch to allow the trees to grow larger and be of more use as commercial timber as firewood. My favourite task personally is removing tree tubes as it is satisfying and rewarding to remove the plastic from the landscape and free the trees from the tubes when they have outgrown them.
After school, I took a gap year to work and travel as I had no clue what to do next. I found out about Liberal Arts and Sciences degrees in the Netherlands, which are taught in English and allow you to pick and mix courses from humanities, sciences and social sciences. This suited me really well as I was curious about a range of topics, and over my three-year degree at University College Maastricht, I realised that my main interest was environmental studies, particularly how humans interact with their environment.
I finished my degree during the pandemic through online learning and quickly realised that I did not want a job in an office staring at a screen, so looked into outdoors-based industries. I was particularly drawn to forestry due to a long love of trees, enhanced by visiting national parks whilst on a semester abroad in Ecuador. During the early pandemic, my sister and I started clearing ivy off oaks and I joined the local countryside service to carry out hazel coppicing. This helped me realise that being in a wood was where I felt most happy and so was where I wanted to work.
I applied for the FLS apprenticeship after university as it seemed like the best possible option for someone with minimal outdoors-experience to gain practical skills through a paid job. Over the past year I have completed the SVQ level 5 in Trees and timber, which has helped structure my learning about carrying out forest management tasks. For example, I have been working towards my clearing saw, chipper and chainsaw tickets and gained confidence with a variety of hand tools. I look forward to starting the SVQ level 6 as this will go into more detail about how these management tasks fit into the wider picture of forestry as an industry.
After the apprenticeship, I am hoping to get a job as a craftsperson as I really enjoy the varied tasks and working within a team. In time, I would like to become a supervisor and a forest manager and perhaps be part of the planning or forest research teams at some point. I am really interested in restructuring our forests to enhance biodiversity balanced with sustainable timber production and creating space for nature connection experiences, especially given the challenges of climate change. For example, I want to look into continuous cover practices and better understand how using more mixed species planting improves soil health, and thereby, tree health.
From being inside studying in the homely comfort of southern England to being out in the wet and windy weather of north-east Scotland every day has required a fair amount of adjustment and re-defining what is ‘comfortable’ – with any temperature above 5 degrees now feeling balmy! Yet, the outdoors lifestyle of working in forestry has turned out to be everything I hoped for and I recommend it to anyone that will listen and certainly everyone that loves trees!”
Emma is an Assistant Environmental Officer for Cotswold Archaeology in Buckinghamshire.
“The company I work for is one of the top suppliers of professional archaeology and heritage services in the UK, employing over 200 professional staff to provide expert, bespoke solutions for both private and public sector clients nationwide.
I have been with them for six years. Before that, I was a steward for Historic Environment Scotland in Orkney where I also did my masters in Archaeological Practices with the University of the Highlands and Islands.
After leaving school I took a year out and did some extra Highers at Inverness College UHI before committing to a university course. I then went on to do a BSc honours degree in Archaeology and Environmental Studies, and an MSc degree in Archaeological Practices with a focus on archaeobotany,
I really loved doing my undergraduate degree as it featured a variety of different sectors that are involved in things like conservation, and also let me explore my love of history and archaeology by having some modules focussed on that. For me, it was the best of both worlds. I was also given the opportunity to study abroad in Canada for a semester which was one of the best experiences I have ever had.
The masters course really allowed me to gain all the practical knowledge and experience required to get a job in the archaeology sector. I was also able to focus my practical degree on archaeobotany where I worked and studied alongside my masters supervisor, Dr Scott Timpany, who really helped me become competent at species ID’s for seeds and also did some basic training on wood identification.
These qualifications have really helped my career, as without my masters in Archaeological Practices I would not have been taken on by Cotswold Archaeology. At the time, they were specifically looking for someone with environmental experience to hire so that they could train them up as an in-house specialist. With my background in archaeological assemblages from Orkney, Beauly and some parts of England that I did during my masters, I was able to successfully apply for the job. I initially started off as a post-excavation processor, then moved up as an environmental archaeologist where I started to do more environmental archaeobotanical reports. Here I progressed and became an assistant environmental officer where I take the lead in processing samples, writing up environmental reports and liaising with external specialists.
Initially, I thought that I might go into marine conservation as I have always had a love for marine life. It was when I studied abroad in Canada that I really fell in love with botany due to a very enthusiastic biology professor. She gave me the love that I have for botany today. When I came back from Canada I made the decision to move to Orkney from Inverness so that I could get the hands-on experience with archaeological assemblages to make sure that this is what I wanted to do. When I saw my first waterlogged sample under the microscope I was hooked and have not looked back ever since.
My morning consists of e-mail correspondence to project managers discussing work that needs to be completed on their projects. I then set up my microscope and get to work on environmental assemblages that can range from the Bronze Age to Post-Medieval. During this time, I am assessing environmental assemblages and identifying any molluscs and plant remains such as seeds, grains and tubers, and compiling a report as to how these items relate to the wider landscape. I do this in several different levels of details depending on the project requirements. For evaluations I do a quick assessment and suggest areas that could be focussed on for further work. For post-excavation assessment I do a more detailed assessment of the plant remains and locate comparison sites where the assemblages are similar. This means that I can link certain assemblages to the wider landscape and also look at different research questions outlines by the region. For analysis reports, I identify each seed and grain to their exact species and make exact counts. This is the most detailed report and takes the most amount of time.
My job allows us to form an image of past environments that may have changed over time. A good example of this is if you imagine a sandy beach. If I assess a sample from it, I can state whether this beach actually used to be a woodland area or arable pasture by the plant remains and molluscs identified within the assemblage. This then helps us to see how the world looked in the past and demonstrates how land use has changed, whether it be from human influence or environmental factors. I can also relay what types of crops and foods people used to eat and how they cultivated them. Which again, helps us to understand certain aspects of our past that may have been mis-understood before.
The kind of skills I need in my work are the ability to identify seeds to species as well as molluscs, report writing abilities, skills in communication and organisation and a wiliness to continue learning. Every day I still learn something new.
The best thing about my job is the diversity of what I do. I also really love identifying all the different plant remains and molluscs. It makes me feel connected to the past.
It takes a lot of determination and hard work to succeed, but don’t let people make you think you can’t do it.”
Caroline is the Stable Manager for Trump Turnberry Hotel in Ayrshire - here, she tells us about her learning journey into her role and how the stables offer a fantastic leisure activity for hotel guests.
