Surfing Waves

We've got a kind of 'apprenticeship' scheme within the National Trust called NT Academy and the posts are out for applications now. One of them is based at the estate I manage here on the North Coast, N.Ireland

Heres the detail on the Academy - http://www.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/oth ... ll_me_more

Heres the post based at Downhill - http://bit.ly/ImizsW

Pretty sweet opportunity if your looking for a change in career or out of college/work as the 2.5 yr paid post also gives to a diploma at the end and puts you in excellent stead for any positioned within National Trust and other conservation bodies.

Ask me any questions, no worries.

Hey Papa, looks a sweet job for a young 'un. Pay's a bit on the low side for me at the moment. 10 years ago I'd have snapped it up. You guy's ever in need of an arborist, I'd appreciate a shout. I'm working for the top Tree Surgery company in Ireland, but we do some work for NIE and have teams up that way regularly. Would be nice to do some more ecology/retention tree work.

Hey man, I'll keep that in mind as there are a few large trees that are going to need dismantling in coming years.

- btw there will also be a full Estate warden/ranger post coming up in late June/early July thats B9 starting at 16.6k

Double that is closer to the mark with a nipper on the way, but cheers for letting me know. Will be looking for an exit strategy in the next few years, as getting to the end of my climbing days. At least full time anyway. Still leaving the young lads for dust, but it's getting harder by the year. Dismantling isn't exactly retention work, but we do that well too. Seems to be the order of the day these days more often than not. People don't seem to want future costs of managing trees after they have been pruned. Get them down and problem solved attitude. I tend to price keen, for pruning jobs, just cos I like doing them. The boss gets a bit annoyed though, but seems to let me away with it, as 90% of them opt for dismantling anyway.

Here's hoping the recession ends soon, before all the mature specimens fall to cashflow problems.

The ones I had in mind are a couple of big sycamores they over hang a lay-by and main garden area. I suppose a 60% reduction would suit.

Tell me about it thats why I took the opportunity to go for the site mgr post. my back and knees arn't going to last foreve1

Sycamore are one of the few species that would survive a 60% reduction, but that would depend on their condition/age/site/competition and a load of other factors. They are rarely as dangerous as they look. Crown clean for dead wood and structural defects, and reduce weight on heavy laterals is normally the order of the day with sycies, unless there is decay or root/ butt-rot, or the tree is in obvious decline. A lot depends on the scope of the work. For a residential client the costs of retaining a mature specimen are often prohibitively expensive or perceived that way. One big hit of around 500 and then around 200 every couple of years.

I'm a little young to be considering these things for a tree surgeon, but want to still be able to surf when I'm retired and as you say the knees and back aren't going to last forever. Might have to take up spongeing!

It's amazing what you can learn on here.

Can't believe with the shortage of work about the place, that no-one has taken him up on it. Sounds like a great oppurtunity for someone. Working outdoors keeps me regulated. I've tried indoor jobs before and suffer insomnia first, which after a few months becomes depression. I reckon it's the natural light, as it was always worse in the winter.

A job like that will always get a better response in the summer when the sun's shining.

garbarrage wrote:Can't believe with the shortage of work about the place, that no-one has taken him up on it. Sounds like a great oppurtunity for someone. Working outdoors keeps me regulated. I've tried indoor jobs before and suffer insomnia first, which after a few months becomes depression. I reckon it's the natural light, as it was always worse in the winter.

There is actually a name for this, SAD = Seasonally Affected Disorder. The closer you get towards the poles ( the earth's that is) the longer the winters and so the worsening of the disorder. A home remedy in Russia and Poland is chronic Vodka alcoholism, sad ( the other sort!

Have heard of that before, and pretty sure that's what it is. I still get it a bit, just not as much. As much daylight as possible, and plenty of exercise seems to do the trick. Physical outdoor work ticks both those boxes. When I was at school, I'd look outside at the rain (it rains a lot here) and would have laughed if anyone had told me I'd end up working outdoors. Never say never. Absolutely love my job.

41 applicants for the trainee role.!

We have another post coming up shortly which will be Estate Warden/Ranger. Very much a comprehensive position Circa Grade 9 starting at 16.6K + benefits

I'm sure you'll see some more applicants for this one.

Hey Papa, have a mate who may be interested, what quals are necessary, where can he find out more about it?

I'll post up the link once its live

Cheers for the heads up. Glad to see you got some takers for the other position. Was up in Campsie, Derry last week doing some training for NIE. They had a large group of young lads training on pole climbing/line construction with a guaranteed job at the end of it. Never seen such a happy bunch. One thing about the recession, people appreciate an oppurtunity. I remember seeing a similar group about 8 years ago moaning and whining that the social were making them do a course.