Week Ending 23rd March 2014. Catch up time!

Apologies that it has been a couple of weeks since my last post, but things have been just a little bit hectic lately!

So, since my last blog we have started our new trainee placement at the farm and so far it has been a busy but enjoyable few weeks. Vicky and I have teamed up with 2 girls called Emily and Jenny, and together we will make up the voluntary education team here at the farm. There is a good team spirit around the office and so hopefully we will all have a great summer together. 

Hopefully all being well we will be moving into our new accommodation tomorrow, so we will be living right by the beach for the next 8 months which will make a very welcome change!

The first few weeks of the new placement have been mainly getting the farm ready for the upcoming season. I have finally had the chance to fill in the drainage ditch that I made behind the Anderson Shelter quite some time ago, and directly next to this we have now leveled the ground as we are going to be introducing a couple of bee hives to the farm too!

A few photos of the Anderson Shelter for those who wanted to see more previously

Don't think we can fit 150 people into ours!

The inside is also getting some TLC after a tough winter. I love the old fashioned wireless at the top at the far end.

We have also made a lot of effort to get the "wartime garden" ready for the coming season. All of the growing beds have been re-edged and dug ready for planting, and we have even added a few new beds for extra space. All of the crops that will be planted in the garden will have been grown during the war, and we have developed a crop rotation plan for future years according to a dig for victory poster that we have at the farm. All of the children that come with their school to do WW2 cookery will be able to pick some of this veg and use it in their cooking project.

Part of the "wartime garden" before work started

Our level 2 diploma is very nearly at it's end now, and indeed I am half way through the final assignment. While I have enjoyed the course incredibly, I will be ready to have a little bit more time where I don't have to feel guilty about not working all the time! We have also started several units of a level 3 diploma with the trust, and it will be interesting to see how those develop as we go.

This weeks news story comes from right here in the UK, and is all about a pair of guide dogs who found their owners love... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-26705194

See you next time :)

Week Ending 2nd March 2014

And so we find ourselves in March already, and most of this week has been spent gearing up to start our new placement at Occombe Farm tomorrow. The week has flown by, and we have once again spent large chunks of it studying away!

We had been hoping to complete the course before taking on the new position, but alas we've not quite been able to do it. As we will be taking on more units of a Level 3 diploma as part of our new placement it looks like we may be working a 37.5 hour week as well as trying to study 2 diplomas simultaneously! Nobody can say that we do things the easy way!

At least there is not far to go with the current diploma, as we are currently mid way through the final unit. Probably around another 4 weeks and we will be there. We will have packed a 12 month course into 6 months, and as such we only have to pay half of the year's tuition fees which is a bonus!

The most exciting moment of the week was had over at Berry Head, where we went to help release a few Guillemots and Razorbills that had been contaminated with oil following the recent storms. They had been rehabilitated by the RSPCA and after several weeks rest were ready to make their way back out into the wild again. Vicky helped release some of the birds from their boxes, while I took up my position alongside the BBC camera crew to get a few snaps of the action.

These 3 weren't in a hurry to go anywhere!

Most of the birds immediately flew away off of the cliffs, while others seemed keen to hang around for a bit of publicity before making their way off out to sea. Hopefully the conditions out there will treat them a bit better this time around!

A Razorbill (near left) and 2 Guillemots freshly released

A short video of one of the releases is available here: Guillemot Release

Amusing stories have seemed a little light on the ground this week, but the idea of this potential new sport made me smile....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-26270603

Have a good week everybody!