Woodlands team branches out to help young people get jobs in the environment sector

September 19, 2024

Getting jobs in the environment sector is not easy for young people. In 2021, we recruited our first YDMT Woodland Trainees to help address the shortage of young people coming into the forestry sector and to bring much-needed skills to the Dales.

Supporting young people to get jobs in the environment sector

As part of our continued commitment to supporting young people gain a foothold in the sector, our Woodlands Team welcomed three new members in 2024! Olivia Wass and Aila Taylor are our new Woodland Trainees and Eva Irving has come on board as our new Community Conservation Officer.

Aila:

“The last 3 months has flown by and I feel really lucky to have a job that I feel so passionately about. What I love most about the job is how varied it is – every day is different. One day I might be potting on trees at a community tree nursery, and the next I might be writing up a woodland management plan in the office.

“I love having so many opportunities to learn new skills and knowledge, and I’m trying to make the most of the traineeship by taking every opportunity.”

Olivia:

“In my first two months at  YDMT I have already gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in the woodland sector. I have had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, including site visits for prospective grant applications, community group and corporate volunteering events, and training courses.

“Already, this traineeship has opened my eyes to the variety of different jobs there are in the woodland sector, and I have met some really inspiring people.”

Eva:

“I joined YDMT in early June as the Community Conservation Officer. My role involves supporting and working with local community groups in the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland on the various environmental conservation projects we are a part of at YDMT.

“I loved it so far and have worked on some lovely projects connecting people with nature and the local landscape; including the community tree growing scheme, National Meadows Day and the One Acre Meadows project.”

Preparing our trainees for future success

Matt, our outgoing Woodlands Trainee, has completed his training, gained a wealth of new skills and has now taken his first job in the environment sector with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s woodlands team.

Matt said: “The past 12 months have been some of the challenging and difficult times for me in my career, but also by far the most rewarding. For anyone, a change of career can be daunting and finding and opportunities to do so are incredibly rare. I feel extremely fortunate to have been given the opportunity by YDMT and the Woodlands team who have all been so accommodating and supportive over the past year.

“I have developed a wide variety of skills over the course of my traineeship, most of which were taught by my YDMT Woodland Team colleagues but also by utilising the generous training budget I was given alongside my colleague course.

“The knowledge I’ve learnt over the past 12 months has been fundamental in helping me to secure a dream job, which without YDMT would probably have never happened.”

Matt will start his role as the Conservation Support Officer, Trees and Woodlands in August and we wish him all the best as he makes the step into his new career in the woodlands sector!

Woodlands in the Yorkshire Dales

Planting trees is very close to our hearts at YDMT, read about our wide-ranging woodland work and activities designed to restore woodlands in the Dales and surrounding areas, and help tackle climate change and nature loss.