Working
as a volunteer is a good way of getting on the job experience, but if
you're lucky enough then you might get to do some training and
qualifications as well. Through volunteering I've gained First Aid and
Brushcutter qualifications and learnt about many interesting things from
Forest Gardening to how to make yurt wheel. This week I went on a
course about Bee Keeping specifically designed for community volunteers.
The course was at Trafford Hall,
which is the home of the National Communities Resource Centre. Having
won some funding from the Tudor Trust, they are offering bargain courses
for community volunteers, which include food and accommodation, and
have a linked small grants scheme where volunteers can apply for up to
£500 towards their project. The whole programme seems like an excellent
way to give volunteers more skills and greater ownership over the
projects they are involved in. It was also a great way to get well fed
for a couple of days! I've got another course in March and I can't wait
to have another volunteer's "mini-break"!
The
course itself was very interesting and informative, and extremely
thorough! We had two days of learning the theory behind bee keeping,
from the biology to the practicalities, and in May we will return to
have a practical session, although I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to
put some of the things I've learned into practice before then. We are
due to have some hives on Stirley Farm, and following the course I feel
much better equipped to get involved and hopefully if we get the grant
we will literally be much better equipped too! Doing the course actually
made me feel very nostalgic about university. I studied biology and on
my year abroad I did a research project on ants, which have a very
similar social structure to bees. It felt great to get back to the
classroom! I'd love to do a Masters degree but I know that it would be
mostly for my own enjoyment, and that volunteering is the best thing
that I can do for my career at the moment. Whilst my training allowance
won't get me through a MSc, I'm very happy to be learning about bees and
meeting lots of other people working on community projects!
