In this latest blog we hear from Lucy who recently completed a week of work experience with DCRT.

Hi, I am Lucy and for the past week, I have been doing work experience with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust. I have an interest in the environment, and working with the rivers trust has been a great way to expand on that interest by learning new information about conservation. Before starting this work experience, I knew very little about what organisations that help the environments do. By working with the rivers trust I have seen and learnt about the work they are doing and why they are doing it. I found it very interesting to understand why they focus on certain things such as getting rid of invasive species of plants, that outcompete the natural vegetation of the area. 

Below are some of my highlights of my work experience with the Don Catchment rivers trust:

I helped, despite my lack of knowledge on birds, with the wetland bird survey that took place in Fishlake. At first glance, there seemed to be very few or no birds in the wetlands but with a closer look (using the binoculars) there were many birds dotted around the area. Mallards were the most frequently seen bird with little clusters of them across the wetland, including a row of ducklings following the parents across the land. My personal favourite was seeing an Egyptian goose, who had burnt orange tail feathers and dark circles around its eyes. The survey is part of a larger survey that is taken all over the UK, which tracks migrations of birds and can help identify when there is less of a certain type of bird. Fishlake is of a particular interest to the trust as they would like to improve the habitat in that wetland for the birds, who live there. 

As part of Chesterfields walking festival, the DCRT put on a walk around Chesterfield looking at fishery management and natural flood management (NFM) in the area. As well as the employees of the rivers trust and I, five interested members of the public joined us. Before the walk I did not know how much of the river was in and near the town, it surprised me how many waterways flowed through Chesterfield. I learnt more about the previous work that the trust has done of the river, especially with taking down weirs and inputting fish passes, which make it easier for the fish to go up stream in order to lay their eggs. 

I was lucky enough to be able to go to one of the trusts volunteer days at Wain Avenue. The volunteer work was around clearing the surrounding area, riverbanks and river of litter. We didn’t manage much clearing in the river, as the river was much deeper in areas than anticipated. Whilst in the river, I misplaced my footing and fell in the river. I couldn’t find my footing, and the life jacket around my neck was activated. I was swiftly helped out of the river along with the other volunteer who was in the river as well. After drying off from my unintentional swim, we continued picking up litter from the area and filled quite a few bags. 

Lucy also took part in a water vole surveying training session at YWT Potteric Carr.

Thank you so much for having me this week for work experience. I learnt a lot more about rivers and how to look after rivers and their surrounding areas. I have enjoyed every minute of my time with the DCRT. 

Interested in work experience? Get in touch at [email protected]