Life as a Ranger Student - 2024 Course Highlights

Now in its fifth year, the NQ Countryside Skills with Ranger Training course has just wrapped up after a very busy 6 months for the 8 new students! We run this course from January to June in conjunction with UHI North, West and Hebrides and support from our brilliant partners around Nevis and the wider area.

With previous tutor Rory now managing NLP, Engagement Ranger and ex-course student Ellie took the reins for the first time as external lecturer for the practical work. There were learning curves undoubtedly, for both us and the students, but overall, the course was another great success with all 8 students qualified and ready to take on roles in the conservation world!

So, what did they all get up to?

February is where all the real work started, post inductions and PPE fitting. The students’ first task was to build new wooden platforms for barn owl boxes, providing future chicks with a safer runway to take their first flights from. The group did an excellent job of installing them on a cold and windy day, getting to grips with new tools and the wintery Glen.

Next up, we were working with Arkaig Community Forest, helping to build new raised bed homes for their hazel saplings. It was grubby but productive work and allowed the group to get closer to nature in more ways than one.

The rest of February was spent with Glen Nevis Estate, this time ripping things out instead of establishing the new! Non-native Sitka Spruce, invasive Rhododendron Ponticum, rotten old fences; they’re no match for these ranger students!

March was a busy month, getting stuck in with a huge variety of work in all kinds of weather. From learning about coppicing and halo thinning to planting native bog plants, we covered it all! We had our first site visit, courtesy of Forestry and Land Scotland, to an active large scale peatland restoration where the students learned about landscape scale efforts tackling climate change.

Then commenced two tough but enjoyable weeks of path building. We joined the John Muir Trust up at Steall Meadows to redirect a section of path that had eroded into the river.

We ended the month by helping the Woodland Trust and Arkaig Community Forest plant around 700 hazel trees in an area previously used as a forestry plantation. Being able to accomplish such a tangible task has been an enriching experience, as well as providing a great opportunity for the students to learn about different tree planting methods, why we plant native trees, and carrying all of this out in a restored area.

April was the month of LANTRA tickets: brushcutter, chainsaw, and fencing were added to the students growing list of industry qualifications, on top of ATV and outdoor first aid. Hosted by the National Trust for Scotland in Glencoe, they got to grips with new tools and machinery, built a fence beneath the Westernmost of the Three Sisters, and tidied the place up in the process.

The month of May shot by incredibly quickly, kicking off with a Leave No Trace Awareness workshop that qualified all of the students with more certificates, and then an excellent day out with the John Muir Trust Nevis Junior Rangers. Both groups had been working towards their John Muir Awards throughout each of their programs so came together for a riparian habitat survey on the River Nevis and share their experiences so far.

The group spent the final two weeks doing surveys with the John Muir Trust, learning to complete herbivore impact assessments and visiting another peatland restoration site to discover how species of dragonflies were repopulating the area. We managed to fit in a lepidoptera survey in Glen Nevis on an unusually warm and sunny day, and finished the course by building a boar gate with the Woodland Trust that allows the animals to pass through the woodland without damaging vital deer fencing.

The 2024 NQ Countryside Skills with Ranger Training course was a great success. We’re excited to see where the 8 freshly qualified students head to with their new skills and knowledge. They’re going to make a brilliant difference in the world!

A huge thank you to our partners who provide opportunities for a variety of practical work on the course. Your input is vital to its success each year and we couldn't do it without you: Glen Nevis Estate, Forestry and Land Scotland, Arkaig Community Forest, National Trust for Scotland, the John Muir Trust, Jahama Highland Estates, Woodland Trust Scotland, and Friends of Nevis.

The classroom side of the ranger course is expertly delivered by UHI North, West and Hebrides, and covers essential countryside management topics such as recreation and access, interpretation, visitor management, and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Until next year!