Monday: 

Monday was our first day of work experience with the Great Fen team at Ramsey Heights. We helped the team guide photography students from Peterborough College around Woodwalton Fen. They're learning about paludiculture and how plants can be transformed into textiles and other items. We visited the historic Rothschild Bungalow and met the Highland ponies who graze here. See some photos of our visit on Instagram. Afterwards we had a small tour around the Ramsey Heights reserve and were able to see some of the local wildlife, such as grass snakes basking in the sun. 

Tuesday: 

Tuesday was spent mainly at the Ramsey Heights site surveying local plant and insect species, such as spiders and beetles. We joined Reserves Officer, Sam, to assist with some site maintenance, before unwinding with some pond dipping to understand the animals living in one of the numerous small ponds. To finish off in the evening, we set up the Trust's trail camera to capture the hidden wildlife. 

Wednesday: 

Today, we were introduced to a new team, the West Cambs Reserves Team. We travelled to Woodston Ponds in Peterborough to help them repair a damaged boardwalk, making the area much safer for visitors and helping to keep the reserve looking and functioning well. 

[GF NOTE: We were devastated to hear that just a week later, part of the boardwalk was destroyed by fire! As Reserve Manager Eamon Lawlor said, "A lot of effort by staff and local volunteers goes into maintaining the boardwalk and to have a large section like this destroyed is frustrating." We hope this doesn't discourage young people from participating in this essential background work.]

Thursday: 

In the morning we travelled to Holme Fen with Laura and Ellen from the Communities and Education Team to tour the wider Great Fen area. We saw how different wildlife inhabits other locations depending on the environment of the area. Then we did some litter picking to help keep the area clean around Holme Fen and the Northern Loop. Back at Ramsey Heights we reviewed footage captured on the trail cams. We were pleased to see a variety of deer, plenty of rabbits and to hear the bird song they captured. 

Friday: 

Friday was our final day working with the Ramsey Heights team. To begin, we showed a second group of photography students around Woodwalton Fen NNR. It was a slow pace around the reserve in order to capture the images and we observed muntjacs and rabbits in the distance. Then we enjoyed our last lunch in the reserve. 

This week has been a really positive experience and we particularly enjoyed the practical work with West Cambs. When there's a lot of doom and gloom, seeing a project that's ahead of schedule and doing great stuff is really inspiring and makes us feel more hopeful than a lot of what we usually hear.