Hello, my name is Oliver for the past week I have been doing my Year 10 work experience with the DCRT. I have always been surrounded by nature and further interested in conservation of that nature. Due to my location when trying to get closer to nature I am surrounded by train lines, this gave me a very large interest in the trains that run on these lines, and around the UK while also developing an interest in worldwide train types. This week has given me a good insight into what really goes on to protect and heal our rivers and surroundings. I’ve found it insightful to experience everything I have this week. From a standard office day to building a stile on the Don Valley Way extension, no day has been the same.
On my first day I had an introduction to the work DCRT has done and what they are currently doing. I also had the opportunity to experience new things I had never done before, sharpening tools with an oil stone and a chainsaw with a… well chainsaw sharpener was a new experience and something I have always been curious about the methodology of. After that we had a quick visit during lunch to the local “Right Up Our Street” art exhibiton. It is a contemplatative piece on AI and its possible scientific uses.
On day 2, it was the Yorkshire Rivers Trust Conference, hosted by the Don Catchment Rivers Trust at the Electric Works in Sheffield, which is home to an extremely specific record, being “The UK’s Largest Indoor Slide in An Office Building”. Weird and extremely specific but still cool. The conference was also quite interesting, featuring lots of talks including two talks from the trustees. There was then a break, followed by a group workshop. After this there was 2 more workshops in smaller groups. My first workshop was about “specific species, surveys, and monitoring”. This allowed me to hear different methods of catching/monitoring specific species. The second workshop was about “apprentices, work experience, and youth engagement”. During this workshop I was invited to talk to the group of people on my table on possible ways to fill the “teenage gap” in volunteers. After this there was closing remarks from Rachel and then after a quick group photo I ventured home… not before I could get some trainspotting in, there was the line clearer train running up and down the line all day.
On day 3 I was at Hexthorpe Ings helping with a volunteer day. This involved cutting down the trees. While sounding counterproductive this is very important, there has been lots of tree growth on this wetland site. This increase in tree size has caused an increase in water absorption which has caused the wetland to turn into just land. This area used to be inhabited by megafauna. These megafauna by their nature regulated the amount of trees on the site by just walking around they would damage and fell trees. To manage this site in the modern day without megafauna we must recreate their actions. This includes felling trees and allowing them to rot away and therefore lowering the amount of water absorbed from the site. Tree felling was also a new experience for me allowing me to learn new skills that could help me later in life. Using the trees we felled and their branches we created a willow spial fence. Spial fences are very interesting to me, they are made out of materials that are still alive. This means that they grow roots become sturdier (which is good for the fence) and stay alive (which is good for the environment).
On my fourth day, I built my first ever stile. As someone who goes hiking a lot I have been over many stiles in my lifetime. As an engineering student I love building things, and building something I have used an I know is useful to others is something I really enjoyed. On a larger note this is the first stile built for the Don Valley Way Extension. Being part of such a big moment for the All Hands On The Don Project after many delays is truly an honour.
As my final day of work experience comes to a conclusion, I’d like to thank all members of the team for being so welcoming and warm towards me. I would like to thank Anthony separately for accommodating me into his schedule. I would further like to thank Ben for putting up with my general shenanigans day to day and being so friendly.
