SCRA Grampian Training Programme 2015

Transcription

Scottish Countryside Ranger Association
Grampian Training Programme 2015
Introduction
Following a successful 2014 programme, we
have been able to keep our course costs low.
We hope you will continue to support our valuefor-money local training events that we have
organised to broaden your skills, enhance your
knowledge and aid your professional
development. Certain courses link to the
national SCRA CPD Programme and can
contribute evidence towards the Scottish
Ranger Award. These are indicated in our
programme by the SCRA logo and show the
most relevant elements of specialist competencies they contribute towards many such courses also relate to aspects of other specialist competencies.
We are repeating courses that have proved popular, running others on
subjects covered previously, but at another level or from a different angle and
introducing days on completely new topics, plus giving opportunities for
networking. We have tried to incorporate your suggestions as much as
possible and if you have any ideas for the future please let us know.
Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you on some of the events!
SCRA Grampian Regional Committee (Jackie Cumberbirch, Annabel
Drysdale, Doug Gooday, Emily Holmes, Helen Rowe and Toni Watt)
General Information
Events are open to anyone working/interested in countryside/environmental
conservation/education, including volunteers and students, so please circulate
to your contacts as appropriate. Reminders and further details of individual
events and possibly additional ones will be sent out nearer the time as
required. Please come equipped with appropriate outdoor clothing
(waterproofs etc.) and footwear (stout shoes/boots). Unless otherwise
stated, please bring your own lunch. Tea, coffee and biscuits are normally
provided, except on courses that are held outside all day.
SCRA Membership
Discounts for SCRA members are available on SCRA Grampian courses
(also applicable to volunteers and students) as well as on national SCRA
courses. To find out about other SCRA membership benefits (including
entitlement to register on CPD Programme), membership categories with
rates and how to join visit: http://scra-online.co.uk/join-scra or email
[email protected]
Booking & Payment Procedure
1. Please book by the date stated with the contact given for each event,
giving your email address and phone number (mobile no. if possible, e.g.
in case event cancelled at last minute due to weather/illness etc.) - early
booking recommended since places are limited on most events. If there are
no places left, you can go on a waiting list.
2. Once the event contact has reserved your place, please arrange
payment where applicable. Payment in advance is preferred and can be
made for multiple courses and/or participants - by purchase order (if used by
your organisation), direct invoice request or cheque made payable to 'SCRA
Grampian Regional Committee'.
Bank details for BACS payments can be provided at the time of booking.
3. Please send purchase order/invoice request (email preferred)/cheque
c/o: Helen Rowe, SCRA Grampian Treasurer, Burn O’ Vat Visitor Centre,
Dinnet, Aboyne. AB34 5NB [email protected]
Cheques or cash payments brought on the day of the course are also
accepted. Receipts for cheques and cash can be emailed on request.
4. Please inform the event contact ASAP if you have to cancel your
booking so that your place can be offered to someone else and you can be
refunded. If you have to cancel at the last minute due to emergency etc.
please phone the event contact if you possibly can. If a course is
oversubscribed and you make a last minute cancellation or don’t turn up, you
may still be charged!
The following also provide or facilitate local training that may be of interest:
North East Scotland Biological Records Centre (NESBReC)
Tel: 01224 664164, email: [email protected] or visit
http://www.nesbrec.org.uk
Cairngorms National Park Authority
Tel: 01479 873535, email: [email protected] or visit
http://cairngorms.co.uk/learn/training/
North East Scotland Outdoor Learning Group (NESOLG)
Email: [email protected]
http://www.deesideforestschools.co.uk/Pages/ForestSchoolYear3.aspx
Outdoor & Woodland Learning North East Group (OWLNEG)
Email: [email protected] or visit http://owlscotland.org/localgroups/north_east_scotland
Willow Lohr (bushcraft, nature-based handcrafts & beekeeping)
Organises & leads courses additional to those in SCRA programme
Tel: 07837 420494, email: [email protected]
Wildcats
Date: Thursday 12th March
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Meeting Place: NTS Leith Hall, Kennethmont, Huntly. AB54 4NQ (Nature
Room)
Cost: £25.00 SCRA members/volunteers/unwaged or £35.00 others
Contact: Stephen Reeves - [email protected] 07528555337
Book by: Thursday 26th February
NB: this course is limited to 10 people but is repeated on Wednesday 1st
April – please state preferred date when booking.
Wildcats: S1.8-10 Prepare, carry out and report on field surveys
The aim of this workshop is to improve participants' understanding of wildcat
ecology, the identification of field signs and the proper set-up, placement and
baiting of camera-traps to capture wildcats.
The workshop will start with a morning session, where we will review our
knowledge of wildcat behaviour and ecology, using data from GPS-collared
cats to illustrate how they use their environment. In the afternoon, we will
head out to a nearby Forestry Commission Scotland site to look for field signs,
see what wildcat habitat looks like on the ground and set up some camera
traps. Some cameras will
have been placed in advance
of the workshop so that
participants get a chance to
see the wildlife that visits the
cameras.
Our tutor is Roo Campbell of
the University of Oxford, who
has a background in mammal ecology and conservation research including
recent/current involvement in Scottish wildcat conservation projects.
Wildcats
Date: Wednesday 1st April
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Meeting Place: NTS Leith Hall, Kennethmont, Huntly. AB54 4NQ (Nature
Room)
Contact: Jackie Cumberbirch - [email protected]
07799 658209
Book by: Wednesday 11th March
NB: this course is limited to 10 people and is a repeat of one on
Thursday 12th March (see description above) – please state preferred
date when booking.
Wildcats: S1.8-10 Prepare, carry out and report on field surveys
Four New Ways to Engage with Older Children
in an Outdoor Setting
Date: Wednesday 22nd April
Time: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Meeting Place: Burn O’Vat Visitor Centre, Muir of Dinnet NNR, Dinnet,
Aboyne. AB34 5NB
Contact: Toni Watt - [email protected] 07773 626981
Book by: Monday 13th April
Four new ways to engage with children: S5.1-2 work with
children during environmental activities
This day will include four new ways of engaging with older children and
teenagers in an outdoor setting. Today we will make a tin can hobo cooker
stove, cattail torches or cruisy wicks, a catapult or small leather tinder pouch
and parnas trout (fish preparation and cooking over a fire).
Our tutor is Willow Lohr. Willow's occupations have always been determined
by two mottos; work with a good view before you and be creative with your
hands. Her mission is to be an ambassador for both and entice young and old
to be outdoors as much as possible.
Willow has spent most of her life living in the
remoter parts of the Scottish Highlands. She
makes her home in the sparsely populated hills
of Corgarff. In 2003 she was apprenticed to Juha
Rankinen (Sweden) for three years learning
wilderness living skills and survival techniques.
She went on to instruct bushcraft and survival
courses for Ray Mears. In 2009 Willow joined
Woodsmoke, where she was given the
opportunity to design, develop and lead courses
that were virtually non-existent in the UK, such
as Buckskin Tanning, Bone & Antler carving and
Mukluk moccasin making. In 2012 she was awarded the Hazel-Handled
Instructors' knife by Ben and Lisa of Woodsmoke. In 2012 and 2014 she
passed with high marks the rigours of 2- day long International Tracking and
Sign Interpretation Evaluation exams in The Netherlands. She holds an
Expert Bee-Master’s Certificate and breeds bees as well as producing wild
heather honey. She taught herself spinning, tanning, leatherwork, felting,
bone and wood carving, indigenous arts, plant crafts and tipi making.
Currently she is working as a freelance bushcraft and hand-craft instructor in
Scotland, designing and instructing courses for professional institutions,
schools, corporate events, international bushcraft companies, local groups
and individuals.
SOAC – Know the Code before you go
Date: Wednesday 29th April
Time: 10am - 3pm
Meeting Place: Bennachie Centre, Chapel of Garioch, Inverurie. AB51 5HX
Cost: FREE
Contact: Annabel Drysdale - [email protected] 01358 751330
Book by: Wednesday 22nd April
Know the Code: S4.1-2 Communicate with and care for the
public and others
An introduction to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code for new rangers,
seasonal staff or those wishing to brush up on their knowledge, perhaps
testing some situations you have experienced! The workshop will start with
an indoor session at the Bennachie Centre with Access staff from
Aberdeenshire Council, then site visits and discussions outdoors. This is a
good opportunity to network at the start of the season too.
Birch - Survival and Pioneer Tree
Date: Tuesday 19th May
Time: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Meeting Place: NTS Crathes Castle, Banchory. AB31 5QJ (Nature Room,
above Rangers Office at far end of “Go Ape” building)
Book by: Monday 11th May
Our local Birch trees have much to offer in terms of survival, crafts and
medicine. Today we will pick just a few of the lesser known, as well as some
traditional standard ‘gifts’ from this lovely, graceful and resilient tree. Learn
how to make birch tar for glue, medicine, leather protection and anti midge
propellant. Carve a Sundqvist Swedish spoon, dye some cloth or wool with
leaves or bark, make antiseptic ‘soap’ wash and make medicinal tea or tinder
with Chagga fungus.
Our tutor is Willow Lohr - for her biography see Wed 22nd April course.
Bumblebees
Date: Saturday 30th May
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Meeting place: Glen Tanar Visitor Centre, Glen Tanar, Aboyne.
AB34 5EU
Bumblebees: S3.7-8 Monitor and report on environmental
change
The day will consist of a morning indoor workshop of identification of the 6
commonest bumblebees and life cycles of bumblebees led by Mike Martin.
Lunch, then an afternoon of field work where we will identify and photograph
the bumblebees we come across.
Mike Martin has been looking at bumblebees for 10 years now. He started
under the tutelage of Dr Ray Hewson looking at Bombus monticola and other
montane bees, their life cycles, population trends and food sources. He has
started looking at parasitic, solitary and other bees in Glen Tanar and as he
says is: ‘a happy amateur still learning’. He works as a Ranger for the Glen
Tanar Charitable Trust and is also a Landrover Tour Guide and Wildlife
Photography Guide for Glen Tanar Estate.
Carving for All - Greenwood Carving Ideas
Date: Saturday 6th June
Time: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Meeting Place: Burn O’Vat Visitor Centre, Muir of Dinnet NNR, Dinnet,
Aboyne. AB34 5NB
It is always difficult to think of suitable projects for kids and adults to carve
when time, funds and skills are limited. Hopefully these ideas will help. Today
we may carve a deer, some foxes, a candle holder and a fancy coat hook,
with nothing much more complicated than birch wood, a Mora knife and some
little Flexicuts.
Upland Habitats and Plants
Date: Friday 12th June
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm (approx. finish)
Meeting place: Visit Scotland Information Centre car park, Crathie, Ballater.
AB35 5UL
Contact: Helen Rowe – [email protected] 07787 583976
Book by: Friday 29th May
Upland habitats and plants: S3.7-8 Monitor and report on
environmental change
This course will look at typical upland habitats in the Lochnagar area, with the
focus on recognizing key species and plant communities to understand
habitats in terms of natural physical factors such as hydrology and acidity, and
also in terms of land management and habitat condition. No special botanical
knowledge is required so the course is suitable for beginners as well as those
with some plant identification skills. To enable coverage of remote areas in a
day, we will be using 4-wheel drive vehicles to travel between some sites, so
numbers will be limited accordingly – please state when booking if you can
bring your own 4-wheel drive to supplement those of the Balmoral Estate
Rangers.
Please bring sufficient food and drink for being out in the field all day.
Our tutor Andy McMullen is an ecological and land management consultant.
He was previously a lecturer in Palaeoecology at Aberdeen University and a
land and project manager for the Cairngorms National Park Authority so
combines a strong academic background with practical experience.
Damselflies and Dragonflies
Date: Tuesday 23rd June
Time: 9.30am for tea/coffee to start 10.00am - 4.00pm
Meeting place: NTS Castle Fraser, Inverurie. AB51 7LD (Stable offices
meeting room - limited parking so use main car park and walk across if
possible)
Book by: Monday 15th June
Damsels and dragons: S1.8-10 Prepare, carry out and report on
field surveys
Juliette Dinning will run a day’s training for us looking at dragonflies and
damselflies (Odonata). The day will start indoors looking at Odonata life
cycles, ecology and identification features of adults and larvae. We will also
discuss issues affecting their local distribution and conservation, as well as
survey methods and recording.
We will then go out to the Flight Pond at Castle Fraser - which is recognised
as a site of national importance for dragonflies and damselflies - to practice ID
techniques, getting used to the features to look for and how best to spot them.
There may be a chance to see the rare Northern Damselfly, a UK Red Data
Book species and priority species in the Aberdeenshire and Cairngorms area.
Please bring close-focus binoculars, digital camera and 10x hand loupe if you
have them.
Juliette has been surveying dragonflies in the north of Scotland and beyond
for several years and is keen to improve development of wetland habitat in
our area and encourage dragonfly monitoring.
Camera Trapping
Date: Friday 24th July
Time: 10.00am - 3.00pm
Meeting place: James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen. AB15 8QH
(Macaulay Suite)
Book by: Monday 13th July
Camera Trapping: S1.8-10 Prepare, carry out and report on field
surveys
This workshop will look at how camera traps can be used to record local
wildlife, including some of the more cryptic species. The session will cover
camera trap features, siting the camera, baits and lure to use for different
species and some adaptations that can be made to the equipment to enhance
recording. There will be a session focusing specifically on camera trapping of
small mammals and a brief discussion of software for editing camera trap
videos and pictures.
The course will be led by Rose Toney, NE Scotland LBAP Coordinator. Rose
is a self-confessed camera trap addict who has worked with a diverse range
of groups over the last four years, including community groups, schools,
allotment holders and local businesses to introduce them to the joys of
camera trapping and help them set up their own projects. She has been
involved in extensive small mammal camera trapping to support the
forthcoming North East Scotland Mammal Atlas and co-ordinates the North
East Scotland Camera Trapping Facebook page.
Ancient Woodlands and their Restoration
Date: Thursday 6th August
Time: 10.00am – 3.00pm
Meeting place: Deeside, Exact location tbc
Contact: Emily Holmes - [email protected] 07833 436676
Book by: Friday 24th July
Ancient woodland and restoration: S1.1-2 Carry out habitat
management work
Ancient woodlands are very special, crucially important habitats supporting a
vast diversity of life, as well as being important places for our health and
wellbeing. There are only a few tiny fragments remaining, and bringing
damaged woodland back to life is an enormous task but a critical one. This
workshop will teach you about these fantastic habitats, what makes them so
special, how to identify a woodland as an 'ancient woodland' and the key
indicator species and discusses what work is being done to restore these
historic woods and how you can get involved.
Our trainer, Alan Crawford has a long-standing interest in trees and
woodlands and works as an ecological and arboricultural surveyor. He spent
several years working as a surveyor for the Forestry Commission’s ‘Native
Woodland Survey of Scotland’. He published a book of tree tales, ‘Whispering
Woods - tales from the Caledonian Forest’. He finds woodlands aesthetically
beautiful, endlessly fascinating and full of wonder. As the years have passed,
he has become more and more intrigued by the diversity of life in woodlands
and by the range of different ways in which people have interacted with and
been inspired by them.
Introduction to Green Woodworking
Date: Friday 21st August
Time: 10.00am – 4.30pm
Meeting place: 2 Parkmore Distillery Cottages, Dufftown. AB55 4DL (Ged
Connell’s workshop - from Dufftown turn left/from Keith turn right off B9104
opposite Fernbank B&B – 2nd cottage down track)
Cost: £30 SCRA members, volunteers or students / £40 others
Contact: Ged Connell - [email protected] 07919624164
Book by: Friday 7th August, but only 6 places available
Green woodwork is the process of working freshly cut, unseasoned timber
that has a high sap/water content. Wet wood (compared to seasoned wood) is
easy to cut, split, shave and shape. Using traditional methods there are
several stages involved in converting a 'green' log to a finished product or
chair part:
Cleaving: A section of round log is split down its length to produce smaller
parts ready to be shaped. A tool called a froe allows you to control the
direction of the split.
Trimming: The 'cleft' lengths are usually triangular in cross section. The
corners can be quickly trimmed off with a side axe.
Shaving: The wood can now be gripped in a device called a shaving horse.
Because this device is operated by your legs as you sit on it, your hands
remain free to shape the part with a draw-knife.
Pole-lathe turning: If required the pole-lathe is used to finish and shape the
wood for its end use, e.g. chair leg, rolling pin, rounders bat etc…
The aim of this workshop led by Ged Connell who has set up his own green
woodworking enterprise, GedWood (and is also Moray Council Ranger) is to
practice the above techniques with these greenwood tools and go away with a
finished greenwood product at the end of the day. All tools and equipment will
be provided; however feel free to bring along your own greenwood tools if you
have any. The day is for complete beginners as well as those who want to
build on previous experience.
Tracking and Sign Interpretation 1 – Beginner or
Refresher
Date: Friday 28th August
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Meeting Place: Glen Tanar Visitor Centre, Glen Tanar, Aboyne.
AB34 5EU
Book by: Monday 17th August, but only 8 places available
Tracks and signs 1 and 2: S1.8-10 Prepare, carry out and report on
field surveys
Today we will be looking at foot morphology, sign interpretation, track and gait
interpretation and tracking exercises. The day will start with an indoor session
then move outside onto Glen Tanar Estate.
This workshop is suitable if you have not done any tracking before, but also
serves as a refresher on the tricky science of gait analysis, foot morphology
and interpreting spoor and tracks. We’ll engage in practical tracking sessions,
games and exercises to sharpen your senses and awareness.
Our tutor is Willow Lohr – for her biography see Wed 22nd April course.
Fungi
Date: Friday 4th September
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Meeting place: NTS Crathes Castle, Banchory. AB31 5QJ (Nature Room,
above Rangers Office at far end of “Go Ape” building)
Book by: Monday 24th August
Fungi: S1.8-10 Prepare, carry out and report on field surveys
A day with Liz Holden our local expert, looking at fungi, not just concentrating
on identification this time but looking more at how they function to give us a
better understanding of these fascinating organisms.
The day will consist of an indoor session with Liz demonstrating some basic
microscopy on a screen to show hyphae, basidia, asci and fungal spores,
helping us to understand what fungi are made of.
We will talk a bit more about fungal ecology and adaptations, showing some
specialised species like those of sand dunes as their fruit bodies have
adapted to a difficult situation.
Depending on how the season is going and what is fruiting we will also go
outside and find fungi in different habitats and habitat niches. Comparisons
may include looking at what we find below old oaks with fungi under conifer
plantation trees, looking for dung fungi with their adaptations, and comparing
improved and semi-improved grassland. Another possibility is looking at an
improved field, grazed by cattle or sheep and comparing this with the lawn,
which last year had a good crop of Hygrocybes (Waxcaps).
Liz Holden is an active field mycologist involved in fungal survey work in a
range of habitats across Scotland. She has a particular interest in sharing her
enthusiasm for the subject and runs regular workshops for both beginners and
improvers in mycology.
Tracking and Sign Interpretation 2 – Advanced
with Evaluation Exercise
Date: Thursday 17th September
Time: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Meeting Place: St Cyrus National Nature Reserve, Nether Warburton, St
Cyrus, Montrose. DD10 0AQ (public car park by visitor centre)
Book by: Monday 7th September, but only 8 places available
Tracks and signs 1 and 2: S1.8-10 Prepare, carry out and report
on field surveys
This day is suitable for those who have some previous experience of studying
tracks and signs. The focus will be on movements and gait; this will teach you
how to reconstruct what happened, e.g. where an animal was going and what
it was doing in addition to what left the track or trail. In the afternoon you will
be able to test your tracking, trailing and interpretation skills.
Please bring sufficient food and drink for being out in the field all day.
Ecology of Large Rivers - the Dee
Date: Wednesday 23rd September
Time: 10.00am – 3.00pm
Meeting Place: NTS Crathes Castle conference room, above courtyard cafe
Contact: Annabel Drysdale - [email protected] 01358 751330
Book by: Wednesday 9th September
Ecology of large rivers: S1.1-2 Carry out habitat management
work
This day is an introduction to some of the aspects of a large river system;
some specific to the Dee and others equally applicable to elsewhere. Species
such as Freshwater Pearl Mussel, Salmon and invasive non-natives will be
covered, plus water quality, riparian management, community involvement
and access issues.
Joanna Dick and Jamie Urquhart of the River Dee Trust will lead a series of
topics at various stops along the river, with input from a ghillie and others
connected with the Dee.
We’ll aim to car share during the workshop, returning to the meeting point at
the end of the day.
Lichens
Date: Tuesday 6th October
Time: Tea / coffee from 9.30am, Course starts at 10.00am – 4.00pm
Meeting place: Crathes Castle, NTS, Conference room above courtyard café.
Book by: Monday 28th September but only 10 places available.
Lichens: S3.7-8 Monitor and report on environmental change
Ever wanted to know more about lichens, but been put off assuming their ID
will be too complicated. Today we are not looking purely at ID but instead at
what lichens are, how they function and what we can learn from and about
them. This course is all about lichens, learning more about them and their
adaptations, associations and ecology. The course is being led by Andy Acton
Andy is an ecologist and lichenologist involved in survey work in a range of
habitats across Scotland. He has a particular interest in woodland lichens, has
written several guides for Plantlife Scotland and runs workshops/lichen walks
for the general public and agency staff.
Discovering Our Historic Environment
Date: Thursday 8th October
Time: 9.30am – 4.00pm
Meeting place: The Bothie, Allandale Gardens, Kintore. AB51 0UT
Contact: Emily Holmes - [email protected] 07833 436676
Book by: Monday 28th September
Discovering our Historical Environment: S5.6-7 prepare and
deliver interpretive and educational activities
This workshop will introduce the skills of observing and interpreting the
historic environment. Using Balbithan Wood near Kintore as a case study
(prehistoric roundhouses to 19th century ruins), field monuments will be
explored and resources available to understand them and many other sites
will be highlighted. Activities to engage the public and young people with field
monuments and the wider historic environment will be demonstrated. The day
will commence with an indoor session, moving outdoors in the afternoon (carsharing to site as parking limited).
Participants will leave with a better understanding of the types of prehistoric
and historic monument found throughout the Scottish countryside, methods
and resources to help investigate them, and example methods and activities
to interpret them to the public.
Our tutor Brian Wilkinson is a freelance educator and partner at CSW
Heritage and Education. He has several years’ experience of historic
environment education, heritage interpretation and involvement in community
archaeology projects.
Research Talks
Date: Thursday 5th November
Time: 12.30pm for tea to start 1.00pm – 3.30/4.00pm
Meeting place: NTS Crathes Castle, Banchory. AB31 5QJ (Conference
Room above café – directions will be signed)
Cost: £5.00
Book by: Monday 26th October
Following the success of last year’s afternoon of research talks, SCRA
Grampian are pleased to host another session looking at research being
carried out here in the north east.
We have four provisional speakers lined up although the exact participants
may change nearer the date according to their commitments - we will confirm
the final programme of speakers nearer the time. But we will have an informal
afternoon of 4 talks, with plenty of time for questions and tea and cake!
So far speakers include:
Emma Sheehy on Pine Marten research in the NE
Ewan Weston on juvenile dispersal in golden eagles
Rupert Houghton on stopping the invasion of Scotland by Signal Crayfish
and possibly Sarah Hoy on tawny owl and goshawk interactions.

SCRA Grampian Training Programme 2015

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