Over the past four days, we have been on work experience with the Great Fen team at the Ramsey Heights nature reserve. Here's our diary of the week's activities.

Tuesday

On the first day, we visited Holme Fen National Nature Reserve, litter picking as we walked and learning to identify bird song with Laura and Becks during the morning. We heard willow, grasshopper, Cetti's and sedge warblers, cuckoo and chiffchaff. In the afternoon, Laura gave us a presentation about the Great Fen to find out more about the project. We also had a tour of the Ramsey Heights reserve.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we joined the West Cambs Reserve Officers and their volunteers for a practical day in Wansford Pasture, helping to put up a fence. The new fence will keep the conservation grazing cattle in the field and stop them from getting up and over the railway line. We used a post bar to make the holes before using a post basher to put the new posts in. The reserves team showed us how to tension the wire too. It was hard work, but satisfying to see the progress we made over the day.

Thursday

Today, we took part in Ramsey Heights wildlife surveys. This included pond dipping, a bird survey and using grassland quadrats. We did this to monitor the biodiversity around the whole site. We identified the types of bugs using a net, field guides and a microscope. It was a relaxing and interesting activity to learn more about the wildlife.

Friday

On our last day, we did a 4km walk around Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve. We took a parabolic microphone to identify and record different birdsong. We learned that the parabolic's bowl-shaped reflector makes it easier to hear bird songs from far away whilst minimising background noise.  We also did some bird watching from a bird hide and plant identification with Becks. It was very scenic and we saw lots of wildlife including a Chinese water deer and a kingfisher! We were able to observe animals in their natural habitat and it made us realise how important it is to maintain nature reserves in order to protect these species.

This experience has allowed us to have an insight into careers in conservation. This is something we are both interested in and hope to pursue in the future. We learnt about various management skills in this area and have gained an understanding of the extent of the project and the importance of keeping it progressing in order to tackle climate change as well as protecting all biodiversity. We have both really enjoyed our time here in the Great Fen and believe it has benefited us experience-wise to help us with future careers.