A Trainee Warden

Cleaning, weeding and farewell to the island

2009-08-06T10:20:00.016+01:00

Hi there

I'm afraid this is the last time I'll be posting a message of my island activities on my blog. It's all a bit sudden, but having looked at my savings, unfortunately I can't afford to stay on the island. It's been an amazing four months and it's a real shame I couldn't continue for the full six months. I've learnt so much and have had a brill time. It's a shame I'm rubbish at keeping the posts up-to-date, I'm a tad late with this post. Seeing as I finished at the beginning of this month it's shocking really, but it's be strange to adjusting to a non-island way of life, but I guess this post is better late then never!
Anyway, I should give you a quick update on the activities completed in the last couple of days before I finished! They keep you working right up until you get on the boat!!!

Monday 3rd August 2009

So, Monday started with the usual weekly clean. However, the monthly clean also happened to fall on the same day, so my last clean was a bit more special! The clean was probably completed in the quickest time ever, being as there are so many volunteers on the island at the moment. All the cleaning tasks were completed by 10-10:30, which just left the monthly checks to be done.
Erin and I were given the monthly water checks to complete. Firstly, we needed to check and if needed change the particulate filters in the Farm House filter system. It can be a very wet job and water can go everywhere as the silicon on the seals can make it difficult to get a good grip on the outer container. Luckily though, we avoided soaking the drying/boot room and touching the filter with our silicon hands! Fresh water for all.
The next task was to check the temperatures of the first and last taps on the Farm House. This means remembering where they are and then waiting for the water to either get as hot as it is going to get or as cold, and then putting the thermometer into the beaker to record the temperature value. At the same time we checked that the outside taps were working and ran them for a short time to keep the system clear.
The water system checks in the Farm House were completed so then it was off up to Driftwood, with a slight detour to the Fog Horn Cottage. We needed to assess the strength of the wind, before checking the roof for standing water. It was unfortunately too windy and therefor unsafe to be working so high up. It would be very easy to go flying even in the slightest bit of wind, as you're so exposed to wind from any direction.
Driftwood was the next port of call. Again we were checking the tap temperatures at the beginning and end of the system and the outside taps; which all looked good. Then we checked and changed the particulate filter in the Driftwood water filter system. The last task was to check the level of water in the Victorian water tank.
This is a tricky and possibly a very dangerous job. However, it needs to be done and if you're careful and work as a team, it's a piece of cake. Firstly the big metal cover sheet has to be lifted off the tank's man-hole. There are usually one or two slow worms warming themselves underneath, and we found a couple of juveniles this time. So once the top sheet is removed, the next bit is lifting the man-hole cover. There is a reason why man-hole covers you see in the street are usually round, this is so they can't fall into the hole they cover. Unfortunately, the Victorian tank man-hole cover isn't round, it's square! We had to be very careful not to drop it into the tank as that would be the end of it and if you happen to be holding onto the cord attached to it, the end of you too. Well, if not the end, defiantly a trip in the helicopter, some surgery and a long stay in hospital. Hence some staff would rather not have to do this.
Anyway, we managed to take the cover off without it or ourselves falling in and check the level of water with the trusty weighted rope and the metre stick. Very technical apparatus... The water wasn't that much lower than the last time it was recorded. We had obviously been very good with conserving water and the staff weren't at all smelly!
After lunch a group effort was undertaken to weed around the Barracks building. It's amazing how much vegetation can grow in such a short time of a couple of months and how dense it can get. While removing the unwanted vegetation, we had to be careful not to uproot any of the wild leek. None of us fancied a £1000 fine, epically as this is a voluntary placement! With the weeds removed and the leeks intact, the building looked much tidier.
The last task for Monday was to start removing elder from around the WW2 buildings at the top of the ditch. It shows how over grow the vegetation was, as I didn't even know there were any buildings there!! Erin, Rob and myself made a good start and managed to remove a trailer load of elder vegetation which we added to the pile on West Beach. This will eventually be burnt as there is too much to remove on the Lewis Alexander, so there should be a good show when the wood gets lit. Let's hope it doesn't get struck by lightening beforehand!

Tuesday 4th August 2009

The day started off with continuing with elder clearance form around the buildings at the ditch, which was started the day before. I worked with Rob again for this task (another work experience student) and though it was insanely windy, we managed not to get knocked out! Erin joined us a little later after helping Ian with another vegetation clearing job. The three of us worked well as a team and soon there were a number of large piles accumulating. We worked up to lunch, taking a heavily loaded trailer to West Beach.
I had some surprising news waiting for me when I got to the Farm House. After my request to finish my volunteering on the island sooner rather than later, the night before, I was some what surprised to find I could leave later that day with the three-hour visit! The weather wasn't looking too good for the next couple of days, so it made sense to go that day and there was also enough room on the boat for an extra passenger with a couple of large bags! I completed my exit interview with Alex and then went of to eat some food.
After lunch I needed to pack all of my things, making sure not to leave anything behind. This wasn't too difficult, most of my things hadn't been unpacked as I (rather embarrassingly) had only been back on the island for six days! This was completed in time to help prepare for what would be my last, three-hour trip supervision. Again, the group who came over were all extremely nice. I've been very lucky, as all the visitors I've had the pleasure to look after have all been great.
My last task on the island was too drive the tractor up to Driftwood to collect my bags and take them to the boat. Luckily it wasn't raining, so my bags didn't get soaked, as they would have if the boat had been going earlier that day. It was all a bit of a crazy rush, but I was sure I had everything and the last thing to do was help the visitors onto the boat and get myself and belongings on the boat as well. The staff had been busy though, as I left I was handed a farewell card and a certificate to document my time on the island. The card was signed by everyone and I've put pictures of both the card and the certificate on this post so you can all see! SO kind of them to do that!

I've really enjoyed my time on the island and have met a good bunch of people, so it was a real shame I had to go. It was a fabulous experience to have and I will always remember my time on the most southerly point of Wales, Flat Holm Island. Even the gulls weren't that bad! So, here I am signing off for the last time. I hope the blog has been interesting and educational for anyone interested in pursuing a career in this kind of work. I'm sad to go, but the friends made here and the experience learnt on the island will stay with me forever!

So, for the last time - this is Verity Ann Brown Signing Off. Over and Out.

Supervising, weeding and scraping

2009-08-02T18:27:00.007+01:00

Evening all

Well, today I was in charge of the three work experience lads, who have come over to the island to help with our conservation management.
The first task was weeding up at the Light House compound. The project has an arrangement with Trinity House (the owners of the light house and a couple of other buildings on the island) to keep the area around the light house weed-free through manually removing the unwanted vegetation, so they don't have to use any chemical weed killers. As we are a nature reserve and a SSSI, it is important to prevent the introduction of harmful chemicals and anyway, it provides an activity for groups of volunteers to do!
After lunch, when the weeding was finished, the next task was scraping paint off of the Fog Horn Cottage. I've been involved with this activity before, as mentioned in previous posts, and there is still a lot of work to do though a little less after today. Once the paint has been removed, the next task will be to repaint the exterior, though I'll have finished long before that comes up. It's a big building, and there's a lot of paint that needs to be removed before it's ready for painting!
Well, that was today done with. I think it's time for dinner soon, so I'll be off ... Standing By.

Chickens, cleaning and tours

2009-08-01T18:16:00.004+01:00

Phew!

I took my first tour today and it went well! I had a really nice group of visitors, who were really interested in the island and it's history. I'm doing some more tours in the next couple of days, so I can only get better.
The first activity today was a quick piece of editing of the new shop takings sheet I put together. I tried out a draft yesterday, which worked well, but there were a couple of changes that would make it a little easier to use. Alex seemed to figure it out when she was using it, so fingers crossed the others will find it easy enough to also use.
Next Gosia and I cleaned the strip lights and smoke detectors in the farm house. We then cleaned out the chickens, washed our hands and then prepared the Barracks ready for the arrival of the three-hour trip.
We all said "Good-bye" to Gosia, who was finishing her volunteering on the island. We all gave her a hug and a big wave when she left on the boat with the three-hour visitors. It was sad to see her go, but she was really fun, a good friend.
The last task of the day for me was the cash up of the shop and a quick sweep of the building, to make it look tidy for the trip tomorrow. Well, that's another busy day over and I'm ready for my dinner! Standing By.

Surveys, duties and visitors

2009-07-31T20:36:00.004+01:00

Hi there

I'm back on the island after my shore leave. I'm sorry I didn't post anything yesterday, but I was really tired, as I'd gotten up at 05:30 to be able to get to Cardiff and catch the boat over. I slept very well last night and managed to get up early today to complete the daily duties. Anyway a quick catch up I think:

Saturday 18th - Wednesday 29th July2009 SHORE LEAVE

Thursday 30th July 2009

An early start as mentioned above, to catch the early morning boat at 09:45. My mum had booked to come over to see the island, so I spent the three hours trip time showing her where I'm staying and introducing her to my work colleagues. She though the island was beautiful and my work colleagues very nice!
Once I'd said cheery-oh to my mum and the other visitors, we all had lunch. The island is very full at the moment, 17 people are currently staying here. As well as the three paid staff and the vols (including myself), there are 6 international volunteers from across Europe, two work experience boys and Erin has come back for some more volunteering! So there was a lot of activities going on yesterday!
While the International volunteers and work experience boys were being show around the island, Erin, Gosia and I carried out to of the regular surveys we undertake on the island. These were the weekly Shelduck survey and the monthly Vegetation Photography survey. We didn't see any Shelduck, as their breeding season is nearly finished, but we need to keep monitoring a little longer just to make sure we don't miss any last minute pairs. The vegetation survey is much more pleasant to do now as your not getting white-washed as we did earlier in the gull breeding season. There are even fewer gulls left now and any juveniles are pretty much able to fend for themselves now. But they still like to act like little chicks, begging for a free and easy meal brought to them by their parents!

Friday 31st July 2009

Lots of things happening today, with a number of activities being carried out by different work groups. The international volunteers, supervised by Sam and Jo, started on their project to clear and landscape the pond area. Lots of moving of dirt and mud, so they will all sleep well tonight!
The work experience boys worked with Simon and Erin clearing vegetation from around the Hospital Stores buildings and Gosia and I tided the Farm House and prepped for the three-hour trip. We then manned the Barracks while the others carried on with their tasks. The three-hour trip was here during lunch time, so after it had gone, Gosia and I were able to have our lunch! Then there was just enough time to tidy the Barracks and cash up before the end of the working day. Everyone is tired after the days activities, so we are all relaxing now. Well, until tomorrow, Standing By.

3 Hr prep, weeding and HOME!

2009-07-18T19:25:00.003+01:00

Good evening

Tonight's post is being written back in Gloucestershire. The three-hour trip managed to get over and double-tripped, taking myself, Sam and Nathan off the island, before returning for the day trippers. We were sharing the boat with a large amount of the 'off-island' rubbish, which we then off-loaded at the Environment Quay in Cardiff docks.
This morning before I came back, was a group effort spent preparing for the three-hour trip (it was a full boat today, so a busy one for Matt, Alex, Gosia and Jo) and weeding around the Barracks. The weather was still a little blowy, but not too bad. However it did start to rain a little, but this is good, as it usually calms the sea surface down; thus making it smoother and increasing the chances of a good crossing.
Anyway, I'm back at home now. I've been fed, watch some telly and will go and have a lovely warm shower before bed; then I'll sleep like a log. Lovely. Standing By.

Wind, raking and crossed-fingers!

2009-07-17T20:44:00.003+01:00

Hello there,

The weather was still really windy today, but it seems to have reduced a little, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The reason for this activity is due to the weather. The forecast is predicting poor situations for the next couple of days. Therefore, Sam, Nathan and I have been booked to come off the island tomorrow instead of Sunday and Tuesday. Hence the crossing of fingers!
As the trip had been cancelled yesterday, today was spent finishing some more computer work on the shop and helping Gosia with more raking up at the Barracks.
The picnic area up at the Barracks is looking much tidier now and a lot bigger too. Luckily it is coming to the end of the gull breeding season, otherwise they would find this area very suitable for making their nests. A nice spot in the sun maybe.
Well, it's a quiet evening involving some packing in preparation for the boat tomorrow. Let's hope the wind becomes a little calmer. The forecast is OK for tomorrow morning, but then the wind is forecast to get stronger later in the day! Crossing toes too ... Standing By

3Hr prep, money and computers

2009-07-16T18:07:00.003+01:00

Evening all
A less hectic day than yesterday and the weather was good enough for the three-hour visit to come over! Matt and Alex came back onto the island, so there are six staff on the island now. Gosia is on duties today, so she'll need to cook for two extra mouths tonight!
The day started with preparing the Barracks for the arrival of the three-hour visit at 09:45. There were 25 people today, consisting of a secondary school group on a day out for their 'activities week' and a smaller family group coming over to explore the island. Alex took care of the school group, as she is the Assistant Educational warden, while I manned the Barracks. Both groups were all very nice and really enjoyed the experience, saying that they will probably come again.
After the visitors had left, it was time for lunch and afterwards I came back to the Barracks to cash up and re-stock the shop. Once this task was completed, I carried on with organising the shop.
Tomorrow's weather is looking poor, so the three-hour visit has been canceled. Again this is a real shame for the project as we are not making any money. But, at least the conservation work can continue. The weather doesn't stop that activity! Till tomorrow ... Standing By.

WIND, cleaning and brambles

2009-07-15T21:37:00.003+01:00

HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS!
I was lucky today. I managed to stay on the island and not get blown off! So, you wont be surprised that the residential was cancelled. Shame, would have been nice to have some new faces on the island. Oh well, if the weather is OK, there should be a three-hour visit coming over tomorrow (fingers crossed).
Anyway, the day started off with a Shelduck survey. Gosia and I didn't see any, this might have been due to the weather and that fact that it is also coming to the end of the breeding season. Like with all the sea-birds on the island, the breeding seasons have nearly been completed and soon they will all be flying away. It doesn't feel that long ago that you had to duck and run for cover to avoid the white-washing! Can't stop time, it just keeps on going!
After the Shelduck survey, Gosia and I went up to the Barracks and Driftwood to put on the generator and pump water, put the dehumidifier into the Barracks museum and then I cleaned out the fridge in Driftwood. It wasn't very nice, but I'm happy with it now.
This took us up till lunch and then afterwards we made a start on clearing vegetation from around the back of the Barracks, which involved cutting down a rather large Elder tree/shrub. I really enjoyed this and managed not to have any branches knock me out. Though I did find that I was covered in little spiders and bugs that had fallen out of the branches! Luckily, I'm not frightened of things like that. I'm sure they are more scared of a larger being staring at them and making a loud high-pitched noise! And on that note I think I'll be off ...Standing By.

Ladybugs, poo and rubbish

2009-07-14T18:26:00.003+01:00

Phew, busy day today!
First job of the day was a ladybug (ladybird) survey. We found over 300! They were mainly the native 7-spot species and a couple of other species. I was seeing red dots on everything after Gosia and I had finished! Once we had finished the survey, the next task was not so nice.
Due to the weather of late, which has not been that pleasant (wind and rain), the sheep have been taking shelter around the Farm House. This has meant that they have left lots of piles of 'presents' for the staff and anybody wanting to come into the Farm House through the front door. Our job (Gosia and I) was to clear the poop from the entrance area, so the residential hopefully coming on tomorrow won't trample poop into the Farm House, making it smell! It took about an hour, but it looks and smells a lot better now. This took us up to lunch and luckily I hadn't been put of my food. It takes a lot more than that, to put me off my food. Lucky really.
After lunch we were set on clearing the 'off-island' rubbish pile in front of the workshop. The weather was horrid! It absolutely tipped it down! I won't need to take a shower now as it was that bad!! But I think I'll have a wash though, rather hot work moving large objects and having to carry them all the way down the steps to the jetty. This took us two and a half hours and we spent most of the time getting drenched. But the jobs hadn't finished there, there was one last task. We had to check the jetty to make sure it was all ready for the boat carrying the residential coming over tomorrow. There were a couple of mesh coverings that needed nailing down a bit more securely, but all good apart from that.
Anyway, the weather has cleared up nicely now! Shame it wasn't so nice when we were working. However, it does mean that a relaxing evening can be had watching the sun go down; that's if I don't fall asleep first! Standing By.

Wind, rain and nettles

2009-07-13T20:28:00.003+01:00

Hi there

What do Mondays mean - WEEKLY CLEAN & CHECKS! Gotten used to this routine now, we all work well as a team and it gets done pretty quick. We were done by 12:30, had our break and then worked till 13:30, as it would have been silly to only work for half an hour and then having lunch!
Only four of us on the island at the mo, so it's quite peaceful and relaxed. The others will be coming back later in the week, along with a couple of Scout residential trips. The island will change to being some what noisier and less relaxed!
Today, Gosia and I spent the day clearing up vegetation cuttings from the path strimming, done at the end of last week. It didn't look like a huge amount before it was raked, but we managed to take THREE trailer loads to the grass pile! I was rather pleased with myself today, as I managed to reverse the tractor and trailer out of the grass pile in one go and get it back into the Agri shed completely square! YAY! Not bad as I haven't driven it for a while.
Nathan carried on with fixing some more of the wooden furniture and Sam got on with some office things and then worked on the Farm House garden. Gosia and I attempted the ladybug survey, but after only covering 100 m of the route it absolutely chucked it down! We had to take shelter behind building, though we were still getting soaked! If only the island had trees! Then you could shelter under then for a little bit.
Anyway, I think I'm going to watch telly or if there is nothing on, I'll read my book. Night ... Standing By.

Spread sheets, rain and sleeping

2009-07-12T12:40:00.006+01:00

Good day

Well, the weather isn't that good, but that doesn't really matter to me as I have a day off today. I'm being very lazy and just reading and blogging, keeping out of the rain. Sam, Nathan and Gosia are all working today. Gosia and Sam had a day off yesterday and Nathan still has a few more days work till he has a day free.

Saturday 11th July 2009

I would have been leading the residential trip on a tour of the island, but as it was cancelled on the Friday due to a poor weather outlook predicted, I spent the day setting up a stock control spread sheet. Hopefully the formulas and conditional formatting will all work when new data is added?! Therefore, I didn't spend much time outside, but I can make up that time on my day off.

Sunday 12th July 2009

Well, it is my day off today. So far I have been relaxing, reading my book and listening to the radio.
Since I started this placement in April, I have seen the island and its inhabitants change. At the beginning everything was new to me. I hadn't ever spent more than a day at a time volunteering for different natural organisations. I have volunteered for the local Arboretum near to my home, as well as volunteering for local wildlife groups. The Flat Holm Project, is my first full-time volunteering experience.
I will have spent four months here when I take my shore leave later this month. I will only have two months left of the six month placement. I've really enjoyed myself so far and have experienced lots of different activities that I can expect to encounter in this line of work. If anyone reading this blog is thinking of starting work in this sector, this "Trainee Warden" post is a really good opportunity to apply for. You will gain a great understanding of the activities and responsibilities you would encounter in paid employment and there are plenty of opportunities to lead groups of different ages, in different activities to build up your confidence and abilities. I'm really hoping that this experience will put me in a good position to gain relevant employment and set me on the path to reach my ultimate goal of working in a National Park in the States or Canada.
Spending time on the island has allowed me to apply the knowledge I learnt in my degree course to the habitats present here. Watching the gulls through their breeding season has been thoroughly interesting. Their behaviour and voices change throughout the season from very manic, when nests are being built and eggs laid, to a more relaxed attitude as the chicks are beginning to be fledged. The likelihood of being "white washed" is reducing, but the chances of being kicked are still high.
The south-easterly side of the island, left for the gulls, has changed from a busy, crowded, noisy and intimidating place to a quieter, calmer environment. Many of the nests, though not very nest-like to begin with, have become very flattened and indistinct as the chicks have grown and trampled them. The chicks can still be seen in the local vicinity of the nest and still make the same high-pitched squeak to gain their parents' attention. Even though most have made the transformation into larger and darker adolescent forms, from the cute white fluff-balls when first hatched, they are still quite cute.
It will be a shame to leave the island, but I will always remember my experience here and I still have two months left! Anyway I think I'll go and get some lunch now ... Standing by.

Accounts, kitchens and scraping

2009-07-10T20:51:00.006+01:00

Evening

I am really rubbish at keeping my posts up to date, I apologise. The title of this post is a little cryptic I guess, but it should all make sense if you read on...

Monday 6th July 2009

Monday started off with the usual weekly clean of the Farm House and Driftwood, and then I went up to the Barracks to set up ready for the three-hour visit. Unfortunately the wind was too strong, so the trip was cancelled. Because of this, Matt decided to change the work allocation. Usually we would all meet in the morning for a briefing of what jobs needed to be done that day. Matt's new idea was to give each person a list of things to be done by the end of the week. This means we have to manage our own time in order to get all the tasks done. And if done well, it is a really good skill to put onto your CV.
So, my list included counting all the stock in the shop and making note of items that need to be reordered if they are getting low in numbers. So I started counting on Monday. I was also put in charge of compiling some information on the amount of electricity produced by our wind turbine, so that it can be sent to a local primary school for use in an ongoing class project. The third job on my list was to undertake kitchen inventories for both the Farm House and Driftwood, making note of what equipment we have and its condition, compiling a list of items we need and any replacement items needed.
The last task on my list was to supervise the residential party who had been booked to stay on the island over the weekend. I would be required to introduce the group to the island, letting them know what they could and couldn't do while they were here. Telling them about the water and electricity conservation and how they could help with this and then give the group a tour of the island. The main activity would be a Pirate Treasure Hunt to find some prizes hidden on the island. I would need to dress up as a pirate and speak as a pirate, so I have been practicing since I found out! Shiver me timbers!

Tuesday 7th July 2009

Very early start on Tuesday. The boat that had been cancelled on Monday had meant to bring over some Work Experience students, but as the weather had been too windy, they came out on Tuesday instead. High tide would be at 07:42, so we needed to be up and ready for 07:30 to meet the boat and welcome the students to the island. We were also needing food, so the boat also brought this over.
Sam looked after the four work experience students, while Gosia and I unpacked the food. Simon and Jo were taking a day off, so they got to have a lie in! Lucky devils! But it was good to get up and start the day early and because we had a much earlier start, we were going to finish earlier, so it all worked out in the end.
After Gosia and I had finished unpacking the food, we went back up to Driftwood. Gosia was to weed the steps down to the Victorian water storage tank and I carried on with counting the stock in the shop. There are a lot of items in the shop and I still hadn't finished by lunch! However, after lunch Gosia was able to help with the count and this meant it was a lot quicker! Thank you Gosia.

Wednesday 8th July 2009

More counting! I will be happy if I never have to see another Bouncing Gull Egg again! But I like counting and organising things, so I actually enjoy work of this type. I was also tidying the shop as I counted, so it all looks neat too.
I finished off the day supervising the Work Experience students in using the two-man saw to cut up some of the larger pieces of driftwood. They worked really well and got through a number of large branches. Matt will stay nice and warm this winter!

Thursday 9th July 2009

NO MORE COUNTING, ALL FINISHED! So I entered the stock data onto a spread sheet I had created and added some formula to add up different totals. The last bit of information to add to the data was the expiry dates of the food and drink items. This will hopefully reduce any wastage from food that has passed its expiry date. The law prevents any shop or company selling food or drink items past their expiry date to the general public. Therefore to prevent the shop losing money from wasted stock, all the food and drink items need to be rotated, so that the later dates are at the bottom and the earlier dates at the top.
As I had finished the "big count" as it will now be called, Matt had me go through the past shop totals and recalculate them into a new format. I really enjoyed this too. I like counting. And then the last task of the day was to update the stock take spread sheet with the final totals of stock.

Friday 10th July 2009

Today, I started on the inventories for the kitchens at the Farm House and Driftwood. I was able to complete the list of items in Driftwood before the morning break. I started here as this kitchen is used less often than that of the Farm House, so I could count all the items without someone needing to use the kitchen at the same time.
After the morning break, I supervised the Work Experience students in the task of scraping the old paint off of the Fog Horn cottage, in preparation for it to have a complete new layer of paint. There is still a long way to go.
Due to bad weather being forecast for the weekend, the decision was made to cancel the residential booked to come on over the weekend. I was a little bit sad, as I had been practicing my tour notes and my pirate voice during the week. Never mind though, I'll be ready for the next group of land lubbers who come over to the island!

Well that's the catch up for the posts missed, so I'll be off. Only myself and Nathan are working tomorrow as Sam and Gosia have the day off. Until tomorrow ... Standing By.

Cleaning, meetings and visitors

2009-07-05T17:31:00.004+01:00

Afternoon all
Had a day off today, so I was able to catch up on some sleep, as of late it has been rather hectic. Anyway, on with a catch up!

Saturday 4th July 2009

Yesterday started off with the Quarterly clean. This is a more thorough clean than both the weekly and monthly cleans, so it had been arranged for a time when we had as many staff on the island as possible! I had the joyous task of cleaning the cooker. That was a mission. The amount of grease and carbon that had built up in only a short time is scary, but it's all lovely and clean now! All the doors had to be cleaned, as well as all the windows, the kitchen and bins needed a deep clean. This wasn't just at the Farm House, Driftwood also needed the same treatment! Both buildings look sparkling now!
The next item after the clean was the monthly staff meeting. This wasn't as long as the last one. The staff that weren't present for the last meeting were brought up to date with the items from the last meeting and the two new volunteers were officially introduced. So welcome Nathan and Gosia! When we finished the meeting, we had lunch before the three-hour visit arrived.
The visit included families, for which activities had been arranged for the children, and some couples who could explore the island at their own pace. Jo and Simon looked after the activities, while I took care of manning the Barracks and shop.
As well as the family groups and other visitors, the boat brought over a group of volunteers who were going to attach identification rings onto the new generation of gulls hatched this year. After the three-hour visit had left, I cashed up the shop takings and the other staff members helped with the ringing. The evening finished off with a big BBQ with staff and the gull ringers. This was a lovely finish to the day and I was looking forward to my day off the next day!

Sunday 5th July 2009

I enjoyed my lay-in this morning, a very welcome rest. We said good-bye to the gull ringers today when the three-hour visitors arrived. And now Alex and Gosia are taking care of the three-hour visitors, who'll be leaving at high tide, while Jo, Simon and Sam are carrying out some conservation activities. Anyway, I'm off to read my book in the sunshine. Standing By.

Checks, photos and driftwood

2009-07-03T18:36:00.006+01:00

Evening all
Lovely day today, still hot, but at least there was a breeze to cool things down a bit. Much more comfortable than yesterday, when there was no breeze and it felt really hot and sticky.
Anyway, today we started with the quarterly checks of the water systems, first aid boxes, ladders and also prepared for the three-hour trip. Erin and I carried out the water checks. This required us to change the particulate filters in both the Farm House and Driftwood, check the temperature of the water from both the hot and cold taps and run the outside taps at both buildings. We also needed to sweep the roof of the Fog Horn Cottage and Visitor toilets, clearing any debris and standing water from the flat roofs. There was quite a lot of standing water on the Fog Horn roof, as the drain had gotten blocked, so it took about half an hour to sweep the water away. The hot sun we had today will have dried up the little puddles that wouldn't sweep away!
After lunch, Simon and Jo took care of the three-hour trip, while Erin and I completed the monthly Vegetation Photography Survey. We needed to take panoramic shots of the vegetation at different locations on the island. These are kept on the computer and can give a visual record of what and where different plants present on the island are growing. This in turn helps with the management of the island Nature Reserve and helps to maintain suitable habitat for the animal and plant species who make their home here.
The last task of the day involved cutting up some more of the driftwood that is continually collected from West Beach. This resource helps keep the Warden (Matt) and a couple of volunteers warm in the winter. It can get very cold on the island and this year even saw a light dusting of snow! Though, if you came over to the island now it would be hard to think that it'll be getting so cold again. It's roasting at the moment!
Well, dinner is nearly ready so I'll be off. Standing By.

Schools, raking and residentials

2009-07-02T21:52:00.007+01:00

Good evening

Phew, been busy for the last couple of days, so sorry I've not been updating the posts. Okay, here's the low-down for the last couple of days.

Tuesday 30th July 2009

Quite a busy day, starting with the daily duties and then leading one of the three primary school groups in "Treasure Island" activity. This was the first time I'd lead this activity, so I was a little apprehensive, but I shouldn't have worried as the group I looked after was great. They were really well behaved and appeared to have lots of fun!
One of the tasks they needed to think about was how they would go about catching rabbits to eat, if they became marooned on the island. They came up with the idea of using their jumper to throw over the rabbits and were determined to catch one, which they nearly did! When I asked them what they would have done if they did catch one, they said that they wouldn't eat it, they would take a picture of it and then let it go. They thought the rabbits were too cute to eat! They would have to make do with the blackberries instead and try and catch some fish!
After the school groups had departed, the sheep needed to be watered. We didn't tip water over the sheep, we just topped up the water trough, so they didn't get too thirsty in the hot weather. The next task for myself, Peter and Erin (both on Work Experience) involved us raking up some nettle cuttings at the Fog Horn and the top of the jetty steps, which had been cut the previous day and then taking them to the grass pile. There always turns out to be more vegetation than you think there is. Very strange. The last task of the day was cleaning out the chickens and making sure they had enough water.

Wednesday 1st July 2009

Another busy day. There was to be a three-hour trip, as well as another primary school residential, coming onto the island for the night. Alex, who usually looks after the school groups, had to help out on the boat. So, I was put in charge of running the activities she had arranged for them. The kids were brilliant! Firstly I gave them a tour of the island and took them through the gull colony up to the Light House Common to look for creepy-crawlies. They really enjoyed looking for bugs and found lots of different kinds including snails, woodlice, spiders and they even discovered some slow worms!
After the bug hunt, the next task was to design and build model rafts, that they could use to escape from the island, if they got marooned. They worked in pairs and collected twigs from West Beach. There were lots of different designs, which all floated and were able to support added weigh in the form of a stone! Good builders!
We finished off the evening with a campfire and a run around in paddock one. However, this didn't seem to tire the kids out, as they were awake till 3 a.m! The poor teachers and Matt didn't get much sleep!

Thursday 2nd July 2009

I was in charge of the residential group again today and the kids were still full of beans even though they hadn't had much sleep the night before! The task for the morning, before an early lunch and tidy up was "Nest Building". We went into the gull colony to find some examples of nests and listen to the sounds the gulls make. Then the kids went into paddock one, paired up into "mummy" and "daddy" gulls and collected materials from around the field to make their nests. They weren't allowed to talk, so had to communicate making noises that they had heard the gulls make, using their hands as beaks to pick up nest materials. They made very good nests and were very convincing as gulls! After they had lunch, the Farm House was cleaned. It was a case of packing and meeting the boat to go back to the mainland.
As it had been a busy morning for myself and Erin (Peter had left with the residential), Matt gave us the task of weeding the Wild Peony, while he, Jo and Simon looked after the three-hour visitors. There was a lot of vegetation to clear, but it looks a lot better now and hopefully we can plant some more seedlings, when the seed pods develop later this year!

Well, after the busy last couple of days, I think I'll be getting some well earned sleep! Night, night ... Standing By

Cleaning, sheep and cutlery

2009-06-29T22:01:00.004+01:00

"It's just another manic Monday"
Well, not really, but I like that song. The week started off with the usual weekly clean of the Farm House and Driftwood. This also included the weekly checks, so we were busy till lunch.
It's only been a week since the sheep were moved to a new area of grass, but they've already munched their way through it! We had to move them again today. This meant taking the whole of the fence down and then putting it back up again. It wasn't too bad as it's much quicker now we know what were doing. Of course that's not to say we didn't before! We are just more practiced at it. Unfortunately though, five sheep managed to escape!
After all the fun of the farm, it was back to more serious things. There were a number of jobs needing to be done, so we were all given a task to complete. I was to clean all the shower heads in both the Farm House and Driftwood. This was a pleasant job as there were only four to do. However, I did manage to get bleach on my new trousers! Oh well! Silly me. While I was scrubbing showers, Iain and Simon were mowing and strimming and Erin, Jo and Mat had the stressful task of cleaning the filter tubes. The last time this was done, the tube broke and we couldn't pump water! But it all went smoothly today. No breakages! Phew.
When the tube cleaning was complete, Erin and Jo finished off raking some cuttings from a previous strimming session and I started on the kitchen inventory. Hopefully finding out what items we have and what condition they're in, with the idea of getting new things if the old ones are becoming unsafe. Got quite a long way to go with that, only managed to count the cutlery and tidy the knife drawer before the end of the day! D'oh. Oh well, I like counting things I guess...Standing by.

Back on the island

2009-06-28T20:45:00.004+01:00

Evening all

Well, back on the island. Watching the guys playing pool. It's Alex's birthday today, the grand old age of 24! Just back from shore leave and ready to start working. Anyway, I missed a couple of days so I'll fill you in!

Saturday 20th June 2009

Okay, if I remember correctly the Saturday started off with a joint effort including the Scouts Residential group, Alex and myself attempting to relocate the electric fence while the sheep were still enclosed. It took rather a long time, but we got there in the end! They all started munching straight away when the new area of grass became available! Greedy lot.
While Alex kept the Scouts busy with activities around the island, I looked after the three-hour trip. Again, a really nice bunch of people who seemed to really enjoy their stay.

Sunday 21st - 28th June 2009

Last Sunday, the morning started with preparing the Barracks for the three-hour visit, which I wasn't going to be around for as I was due for my shore leave! However, I was working all the way up until I was sitting on the boat travelling back to the mainland! They keep you busy here! All good fun!
So anyhow, after preparing the Barracks I helped Matt clear the Light House Common of the nettles and less attractive vegetation growing there. This filled the time up until lunch and then the last task I had on the island was helping the Scout residential clean the Farm House, before sailing back to the mainland and home!
Today, after coming back on the 10:45 boat, it's been a calm day as we have all had the afternoon free, in celebration of Alex's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX! We all enjoyed a BBQ and now we're playing pool the Barracks having a Wales of a time...ho ho ho! Standing by.

Meetings, Scouts and radios

2009-06-19T22:33:00.007+01:00

Hey there
Another busy day today! This little island may look idyllic and peaceful for the mainland, but it's all good hard work! New and interesting activities every day, learning all the time.
Started off today with the last topic areas we didn't get through last night in our staff meeting. Much easier in the morning, than last thing at night! Then after our meeting I needed to prep the Barracks for the three-hour trip coming over. So I was washing cups, checking tea and coffee supplies and ensuring the weather forecast was written up onto the board.
There were two boats today as there was a three-hour and a residential Scout group. Simon was also coming back onto the island after his holiday. I think he had a very nice time. However, it was straight back to work and he helped me in looking after the visitors (full boat today), while Alex took care of the residential group.
The next part of the evening was spent listening to Glyn using the amateur radio he'd brought over to help the Scouts obtain their Communications badge. It's all a bit quick for me to understand, but I did work out that he was able to talk with individuals in Russia, Sweden and Spain! All from this little island in the middle of the Bristol Channel! Good old Marconi, working out how to use radio signals to communicate! We owe a lot to him! On that note I'll say good night. Standing by.

Weeding, visitors and meetings

2009-06-18T19:28:00.005+01:00

Hello there

Rather a mixture of things today. Started off with some weeding up at Driftwood, to make it easier to get into the generator room. And while I was vegetation clearing, Matt was in "The Room Of Death" clearing the bi-carb powder from the top of the battery bank. Glad I don't have to do that, it scars me a little. I know where I am with fire, but not so keen on electricity! Though it is very useful in this day and age.
We all had an early lunch, so that we'd be ready for the visitors coming over for the three-hour trip. Full boat today, lovely bunch of people and the weather wasn't bad. Little windy, but the sun was out for a time.
After the trip had gone, the sea was getting a little rough, so I'm sure the trip back was some what rocky! Lets hope everyone was able to keep their lunches down! Anyway, we all had a staff meeting that lasted nearly THREE hours, but we were able to get a lot of things sorted. There is still some more to get done, but I think that will wait to tomorrow. We all want some tea now! It's ready now so I'm off! Night, Standing by.

Visitors, strimming and a day off

2009-06-17T21:38:00.005+01:00

Evening,

Tuesday 16th June 2009

Busy, busy morning starting off with getting up early for the dailies, with the added job of boiling water and getting tea/coffee ready for the group of teachers booked to come over for the three-hour visit. They were to come over to see the island and get a first hand experience of the island and activities we can offer to the pupils.
There turned out to be THREE groups of teachers! It was just like being back at school, teachers at every turn! They were all very nice and really seemed to love the island, so hopefully they'll be booking to come over and stay! As well as the teachers, there were some contractors to test the Fire System and some surveyors to undertake an Asbestos survey for the island.
Was a lovely hot and sunny day, so everybody really enjoyed themselves. While Matt, Alex and Sam showed the teachers around, Iain accompanied the Asbestos surveyors, Natalie (Project Manager) accompanied the contractors, Jo and I carried on with some more strimming between Half Way House and JP's plot.
After the boat had taken everyone needing to go back to the mainland, we could have some lunch. The sunshine continued into the evening, so I continued with the strimming, while the other three got on with other jobs. All-in-all a busy but very efficient day.

Wednesday 17th June 2009

Had my weekly day off today and I was able to have a lovely lye-in which was needed it after yesterday! The weather hasn't been very nice today, raining on and off, so I spent the morning organising my bag ready for my shore leave in the next couple of days, and the rest of the day relaxing, reading my book and listening to the radio. Well it's getting late and it's back to work tomorrow. If the weather improves, then the boat can come over with the three-hour visitors, which is always a pleasant experience. Night... Standing by.

Cleaning, strimming and Treasure Island

2009-06-15T18:10:00.003+01:00

Hi there
We haven't found any treasure, as the title of this post may suggest! Jo and I were setting up one of the activities the school groups can do. Tomorrow, there will be a group of teachers coming over for a look around and to see what sort of activities we have on offer; hence the reason why Jo and I were running around the island putting clues and task materials out ready! Lets hope the gulls don't take a fancy to any of the items and fly off with them!
Anyway, we started the day with the weekly clean and checks. I can't believe a whole week has gone past already! Only feels like yesterday that we did the last clean! I guess that's what happens when you working hard all day, time passes quickly. The clean took us up till lunch and afterwards Jo and I set up the Treasure Island activity and Sam and Iain set up the next area of wire fencing.
My last task today was some strimming, while the other three rounded up the sheep into the electric fenced area and then we all worked together to collect in the cuttings. Much quicker with four people, took me nearly all afternoon when it was only me! But all good in the end. Tomorrow sees us saying "good bye" to Jo and Iain, they have their shore leave, and it'll be "welcome back" for Matt and Alex, who are back from their shore leave! All change! Anyway, I think dinner might be ready soon so I'll be off... Standing by.

Shelducks, slow worms and butterflies

2009-06-14T20:46:00.008+01:00

Evening all

Beautiful day today. The sun has been shining all day and still is! Not quite sunset yet. So, later start today as it's a Sunday. Started work at 11:00 and the first task of the day was the weekly nest sweep.There are fewer nests and eggs we have to clear now, as it's getting later in the breeding season. Most of the chicks have hatched and some are getting really quite big. They look really cute when they first hatch, but then look less cute as time goes on. That's not to say they're not at all cute, they still are, just less so! Anyway, less than 100 nests and just over a 100 eggs, so much fewer.
We were finding nearly 300 nests and even more eggs when the season got really going! We then undertook the weekly Shelduck survey and the national WeBS survey (Wetland Bird Survey) which is carried out across the UK to identify the species of wetland bird and how many there are at each location. The data from Flat Holm is then sent off and is then added to a national record of what species are present in the UK and where they can be found.
We finished the nest sweep, after a slight delay to pump water, and had some lunch about 14:00. After lunch we all, Sam, Jo, Iain and I, undertook the monthly Slow Worm survey. We found 20 in all, mostly males and a couple of females. I was rather pleased, not one of us got "white-washed". The gulls are still very protective of their chicks, but seem to make more noise and kick you, instead of using the poop tactic. I'm really quite happy for them to do this, less cleaning required! We then split up into pairs and completed the weekly butterfly and ladybug surveys. Jo and I saw 11 butterflies (Painted ladies, Small and Large Whites). The boys only found five ladybugs, and typically they had walk the whole route only finding the individuals at the end!
As we'd finished a little early and there was a steady breeze, I thought I'd see if I could fly my kite. I got it to fly a little, but it wasn't quite windy enough. The wind was was only about a 3 or 4 (7-16 Knots) so I think a stronger breeze would be needed to get a good flying session. Iain was cooking tonight and made a really HOT curry! We all had to drink lots of squash just to be able to finish our plates! But it was very nice, may be a little cooler would be easier on the taste buds! Well, I'm off to go and drink some more water... Standing by.

Shearing, fleece and flying sheep!

2009-06-13T18:53:00.005+01:00

Hi there
Phew...busy day shearing the sheep. Started at 09:00 work through till lunch and then finished just before 18:00. All the sheep are clipped now and should be a lot cooler! We had nine to get though today, five big sheep and four little flighty ones. They are so strong and it took all my strength to be able to pin them against the wall, so Sam could remove the fleece.
Most of them behaved themselves and we got through them quite quickly, but others gave us a right run-around! Namely, the Badger Face sheep. They are smaller and much quicker, but at least when you do catch them, you're able to pick them up. and move them around more easily. However, one managed to escape the paddock, so we spent an hour trying to get this last sheep - typical - into the sheep shed so it could be clipped like all of its friends! We succeeded! I think it was the quickest clip of the day and probably the best!
So now after a day of being kicked, head-butted and nearly knocked out by flying sheep, Sam and I are ready for dinner and a quite sit down! Well done to Sam, who deserves his shower now. He smells a little bit sheepy after shearing the sheep for the last four days, with help from Iain, Jo and I. Anyway, I'll be off to get my tea. Standing by.

Strimming, raking and duck oil

2009-06-12T19:36:00.007+01:00

G0od evening

Sorry again for missing a post yesterday. Technology is wonderful, but not always 100% reliable!

Thursday 11th June 2009

Just had the one task today, but that didn't mean it was easy! I was to use my new strimming skills to remove a very large area of bracken, that we don't want to encourage on the managed side of the island. The bracken is rather out of place on the island, you would expect to find it on such a small and isolated location. The reason for it's being on the island is a remnant of when Flat Holm and Steep Holm were not islands, but a continuation of the Mendip Hills that are in the English mainland. Before the sea rose the Severn Estuary was once land supporting species such as bracken and bluebells, which can still be found on Flat Holm, on the managed side of the island.
Anyway, I strimmed my way through the vegetation in a couple of hours, but then the bigger job was spent clearing up the cuttings and putting them onto the grass pile. The tractor was being used by Iain to move a large quantity of driftwood, so I had to load up a wheelbarrow and take a number of trips to clear it all. At least the weather was sunny with a breeze, which stopped me getting too hot. I thoroughly enjoyed myself using the strimmer, it's a very satisfying activity seeing the difference that can be made in a short time; and it's even better when you can listen to the radio while raking up vegetation!
This placement keeps you fit and you get to be outside all day while other people are having to sit in an office, in front of a computer screen. I know which I'd prefer!

Friday 12th June 2009

Today I started again with strimming vegetation, but this time I was clearing nettles near the Farm House area. Lots of thistle as well as nettles, which we want to prevent the spread of, as they will encourage other larger species to colonise the grassland and out compete the Maritime Grassland species; thus reducing the area of this type of habitat. I also removed the areas of longer and larger species of grass, to also help encourage the dominance by the smaller maritime species such as Buckshorn Plantain and Sea Storksbill.
After lunch I continued with clearing the cuttings to the grass pile and then duck oiled all the windows in the Farm House and Driftwood buildings. This will keep them all jam free and prolong the life of the hinges, and it smells quite pleasant too.
Sam and Iain spent the day shearing the sheep, of which they only have nine left to do. It's taken them a number of days, as they are having to use manual clippers, not electric ones! It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. The sheep were starting to get very hot in their woolly coats!
Well, I think I'm going to read my book and relax. It was an early start this morning as I was on duties. With only four people on the island, the cycle of daily duties comes round pretty quick. But it's okay, I like getting up early and was very pleased to find the chickens had laid two eggs! We now have so many eggs, we're running out of boxes to put them in! We need to start eating them! Maybe that is a good excuse to bake lots of cakes... Standing by.

Catch-up!

2009-06-10T20:55:00.007+01:00

Hello

I'm ever so sorry for not being on here for such a long time! The last week on the island was rather hectic and then I had a weeks shore leave, which was extended due to the weather and then there not being enough space on the boat for me. But that's not a bad thing, as it means the project was making some money. This is important as we need the funds to continue the important ongoing conservation and up keep of the island nature reserve. So do come along and help contribute to a very worthy cause!

Monday 18th May 2009

Monday started with finishing the painting in the visitor toilets. It looks clean a tidy now, very professional. This took quite a long time as it was rainning and paint doesn't dry very quickly when the atmosphere is full of moisture. So remember, don't expect paint to dry quickly if the environment your're painting in is wet! We didn't really have a choice to wait till the weather improved, as we need the island facilities to look presentable for the visits who come over to see the isalnd. The afternoon consisted of the weekly Shelduck survey and then finishing off with more wood chopping. We would have been painting benches, but the weather still wasn't suitable!

Tuesday 19th - Thursday 21st May 2009

These three days were taken up with an "Abrasive Wheels Trainning Course" on the mainland. Simon and I travelled over to Cardiff on Tuesday morning and were then free to look around, before we were to meet up with Sam and Jo later.
On Wednesday we all travlled to the training centre in Monmouth and spent the day learning about the saftey aspects of using different types of grinders and cutting machinery. We all had the opportunity to use our gainned knowledge to replace and fit grinding/cuting disks to different types of equipment and then we had the oportunity to use a bench grinder to sharpen some tools. We even had a go at using one of the large concrete cutters you see workmen using to cut paving slabs! Lots of sparks and noise, but I really enjoyed myself and now wea are all trainned to use the equipment on the island to help in our work!
We travelled back to the island on the Thursday, after a good nights sleep in the local Etap Hotel. A very comfortable hotel and for a very reasonable price. I would recommend using this company if you need to have a short stay in Cardiff. It's pretty basic, but all the esentials that you'd need.

Friday 22nd May 2009

Friday's plans had to be changed a little. We had been expecting a three hour trip and the gull counters (a group of volunteers to help with the anaual gull count). But as there were only two people for the three hour, just the gull counters came over. Shame, I had been looking forward to showing the visitors around the island.
Before the counters came onto the island we had a few things to get ready. Each visit requires water to be boiled for teas and coffees, which can be purched by visitors in the shop. You can also buy souveners - pens, rubbers, postcards and bouncing gull eggs - good fun they are! We also needed to transfer some desil into the Driftwood tank, which required the tractor to carry the barrel. This would have been dangerous with visitor walking past, so it neded to be completed before the trip arrived. It didn't take too long and my arm was still attached and working, after all the handle turning that was required!
The tide was late, so the gull count was postsponed till the Saturday as it was going to take a number of hours! So the plan was to start at 07:30 the next day! Everybody, not surprisingly, had an early night!

Saturday 23rd May 2009

The day had come. The Gull Count was upon us. We were all up early to get everything ready. Clothing protected by boiler suits and hard hats to withstand the attacks from the gulls. They have a really nice habbit of kicking you in the head, and that's if they haven't pooped on you. If you're especially lucky you might even get both!
I had not been looking forward to this event. I don't really enjoy having my clothes smell off gull poop, but there was no way out of it. After the fisrt couple of hits, you kind of don't notice it all that much. However, one hit and I soon relised the extent of how horrible it can be. It was warm and slowly soaked through my boiler suit and T-shirt, till I could eventually feel it on my back! Oh, that was horrid and I wanted to jump straight into a shower, but alas, there was still the rest of my section to do. So it was head down, teeth gritted and just crack on!
We were all finished by about 11:00 and met to add our counts to the board . While we waited for the results to be callculated, we all compared the splats and patterns we had collected during the count. One poor volunteer was hit and it all went down her top! I though my experience was bad, but I think she won the "Most Unfortuate Pooped" award. One to tell the kids...
The result obtained from the mornings work reveled over 4000 nesting pairs! Over 8000 individual birds! No wonder the din was SO loud! Well, I'd done my duty and my reward was to escape from the island for my monthly shore leave! Huzzar!
Home and then a lovely hot shower! But alas, this was not the case. I had to spend an extra night in Cardiff as my car was run into by another car! Subsequently, the car has now gone to that big scrap heap in the sky and I am car-less....but I should have a car sorted for when I get my next shore leave!

Sunday 24th May - Wednesday 3rd May 2009

My leave was a bit longer than planned as the boat was canclled on Sunday 31th, due to there not being enough boat crew to safely bring the boat out. So I came back on the Wednesday instead. Bit of a shame I was delayed, but I did have a lovely time at home in the beautiful sunshine that the country was bathed in and I didn't have to work! Yay! Though I did miss the routeen that the island placement requires. I like getting up early and working hard all day, being ready for bed and sleeping like a log. All good fun!

Thursday 4th May 2009

Straight back into work on my first full day back. I needed to be up for the 07:50 VHF Inshore Waters Weather report and then down to the Farm House from Driftwood, to undertake the moring checks and feed the chickens!
The next task for the day consisted of helping Jo to remove the large areas of nettles from the managed grassland area near the Farm House and raking up the cuttings, puting them onto the grass pile to compost and create soil we can use in the garden for growing vegatables.
The managed grassland is looking really tidy now we've been able to mow and strim the vegetation regularly. Soon we should be able to increase the area of Maritime Grassland, thus increasing the significance of Flat Holm's SSSI status!

Friday 5th May 2009

The fisrt task of the day involved running around the island trying to herd the Soay sheep back onto the right side of the island. Someone had left a gate open and the herd had all come over onto the managed side and started eating plants they shouldn't! After running around for a couple of hours, we finally managed to get them all back. I even got to hold a lamb! It was SO cute. All wooly and SO small. Baby animals are SO cute!
Anyway, moving on, the second task was to weed the helicopter landing pad up by the Fog Horn. Alex and I worked in the blazing sunshine listening to the little radio I brough with me. It was a very good idea to bring a radio. I can listen to it as I work and in the evenings I can sit in my room and post entries onto here, while listening to some calming classical music! Lovely. I continued with my weeding task while Alex looked after the three hour visit and then before I knew, it was time to finish work for the day.

Saturday 6th June 2009

We were full to bursting point on the Friday night as we had two residentials staying on the island. This ment some reorganisation of were we all spept, but it all worked out in the end.
Saturday morning consisted of organising a group of Duke of Edinbrough students into smaller gruops, of whom could be set to work on some practical conservation tasks. My area was supervising the correct and safe use of saw to cut up drift wood, the clearing of soil from one of the WW2 building floors and the weeding of the pond area. Lots of this for the guys to get on with, which they did really well, even while it was tipping it down! My hat goes off to them, well done. Lotsof wood cut for the winter, soil moved and plently of vegetation added to the grass pile!
The student were leaving on the boat later that day so the next task was for them to help with the cleanning up of the Farm House. Each residiential that comes over is required to help with cleanning the Farm House after they have stayed there. As there were a large number of kids, this didn't take long at all! When the were all packed, their bags were taken down on the trailor, ready to meet the boat bring on the visitors for the three hour visit.
It was a late tide, so the three hour didn't depart till 18:53! And by that time, after all the activities that had gone on in the morning, the last activity of the day was the cash up. We were all very ready for our dinners and beds!

Sunday 7th June 2009

As we had been very busy on the Saturday, the weekly nest sweep was done on Sunday. We didn't have to do the whole of the managed area, as the mower can be used over the larger areas. We just need to go around the edges and thoes areas that were to bumpy for the mower to get to. As it's coming to the middle of the breeding season for the Gulls, there aren't too many nest to be removed. Nearly all the eggs have hatched, only a few late breeders are still sittingon eggs. These are usually the younger, less expereinced pairs, who will probably not have time to rear young this season. Shame, but that's life! Better luck next year.
The next task was to continue with collecting up more of the nettles that had been strimmed the day before. We are slowing getting on top of the nettle population, so next year should be easier to maintain the clear areas.
While some of the group continued with that task, I was trainned by Matt, in how to use the strimmers. I was given and area near the Farm House to clear, which I completed and throughly enjoy myself. I like strimming! The others had all be trainned while I was on shore leave, so they could start on reducing the area covered by nettle, that can't be mown. And now we are all trainned up, the island should be clear of nettle pretty soon! Huzzah!

Monday 8th June 2009

Monday started with the usual weeklly clean of the Farm House and Driftwood buildings. Jo and I needed to do the weekly Shelduck survey, so we both walked a side of the island and met up at Driftwood, where the two fo us carried out the weekly clean. Sam and Iain had been left to finish the Farm House clean while we did the survey.
After the building clean, the weekly checks and the quarterly UV filter clean was needed. Jo, Iain and I went up to Driftwood to the pump room to undertakle the fiddly job of removing the UV bulbs and cleannig them, without touching the glass! The first bit went fine. We got the bulbs out and cleanned safely, but to our horror when we turnned the pump on, water started to spray out of the top of the filter!!!! This was due to the tube, protecting the bulb from getting submerged, breaking! This ment that water and electricity could mix and everybody knows that this is secerously dangerous!
We had to leave pumping water till a replacement tube could be ordered and brought over fromthe mainland. This was going to be expensive to the project, as the tubes cost £80 each and there are no scheduald trips this week, so a boat would have to be set out, using up fuel! The tide at that time of day was unsuitable for a boat to come over, so one was to come out the next day; though the weather wasn't looking allthat good!
To take our minds of this fact, split into to teams. Jo and I undertook some more nettle strimming, while Sam and Iain started on the long task of shearing the sheep!
By the end of the day we were all ready to eat, but the dinner had to consist of food that required little or no water in preparing it. This wasn't too difficult, I cooked chips, beans and sausages! It was a good hearty meal and we were all stuffed!

Tuesday 9th June 2009

The weather was not good. The boat was unable to get out with the new part for the filter. We were having to be sparing with the amount of water we were using, but luckly the weather wasn't blazing hot, so we didn't need to keep drinking water to keep cool. The last residentilas had left a number of bottles of water, so we had enough water to drink, leaving enough for cooking and washing up that evening.
The task for the day was to herd the sheep into the paddock so they could have their hoves cleanned and trimmed and some worming treatment admisitered. This is a hot and tiring job. We worked in pairs, one to trip the sheep and hlod it so that the other person can get to their feet and trim away the excess growth. We do this to reduce the onset of hoof rot which causes the sheep alot of pain and if left can prevent the animal form walking! The were a couple with early stages, but this is easy to deal with. The infected area is trimmed off and then iodine solution is added as an anticeptic. While the sheep were being held, the worming medication could be admistered.The technique is similar to that for administering medication to cats and dogs. However, sheep don't have sharp teeth, so the risk of getting bitten is greatly reduced! They appear to actually like the taste. Can't say I'd be tempted to try it, but they seem happy enough!
We finished the day off workingon our sections/work areas. Jo and Iain carried on with the garden, Sam worked on the office on the tasks left for him by Matt and I carried on with organising the Workshop. Again we were all ready for dinner and bed, but were all keeping our fingers crossed that the boat could bring out the tube that we needed for pumping water!

Wednesday 10th June 2009

WE HAVE WATER!!! The boat was able to make it over this morning and we were straight to work replacing the broken tube. It's been my day off today, but I've spent most of the day up dating the blog. I'm DEFINATLY not going to leave it so long next time! It's take a good number of days to write a catch-up!
Other than typing this post I've just been relaxing as you can read I've been rather busy of late. I'm not complaining at all, I like having lots of things to do, but it does make you very greatfull of days off! Just had dinner - chilli and mash - Iain makes a mean chilli, so we make the most of it, while the others who are not so keen on hot fod are off the island.
Anyho, I think I'm going to go get an early night, even though I've had a day off today! Back to work tomorrow! Night all. Standing by.

Wind, rain and more rain

2009-05-17T21:00:00.003+01:00

Rain! Darn it!

As you've probable guessed, today has been rather wet. It was raining this morning when I came down for breakfast, it was raining at lunch as I ate my cheese on toast and it was raining while we ate our dinner. RAIN!

Well, today started off with the weekly clean. This is usually done on a Monday, but if the boat comes over tomorrow (cancelled again today - bad weather) we are going to be busy with a group of school children all wanting to experience the island. We have some activities set up for them which will keep them busy, hopefully!

Most of the day was spent undertaking the weekly nest sweep. This is not easy in strong wind and horizontal rain! Were all soaked, but luckily I have very good water proof trousers that actually keep you dry and a new coat that dries really quickly when there was a break in the rain. And as a result of the wonder trousers and coat, I didn't get too cold! There were over 200 nests to be removed, which may sound like a lot, but there are even more on the south side of the island where the gulls live!

Lastly, we needed to reposition the electric fence, so the sheep can be set onto the next patch of grass that needs to be shortened. Even when we had taken all the wire down, they still wouldn't go outside of the plastic posts. I guess they thought there was still a barrier stopping them. Silly sheep. The relocation of the fence was much quicker this time as we knew how the fence was to be laid out and the wire had all been untangled last time. That was a mission and a half, it took us over two hours so get the first area set up and it only took under an hour this time! Crazy beans!

Well, I'm tired from having to battle against the wind today and getting soaked. So, I'm off to bed! Night. Standing by.

Ladders, weeding and Eurovision

2009-05-16T18:30:00.009+01:00

Hello

Not posted for a number of days, SORRY! Hopefully, when I get off the island for my break, a good friend will have a laptop waiting for me and I'll be able to update the blog more regularly and the connection should be quicker! Huzzah! Anyway, it's my day off today so I should post a catch up on the activities over the past couple of days.

Tuesday 12th May 2009

Okay, the day started with the weekly Shelduck survey. Unfortunately we didn't see many, only seven. It was rather windy, but at least it was sunny! Most of the morning was taken up with tidying the Driftwood furniture stores, which were a mess and totally unorganised. They look lovely now, all neat and tidy! We then needed to collect some benches from a store building in the middle of the gull colony. This is a risky business, as the gulls are becoming even more territorial with the increase in the number of eggs being laid. Fortunately I escaped being splattered and even reversed the tractor backwards avoiding the huge trench! Go Me! We finished the day with chopping wood with bow saws and the two-man saw, which is good fun, all ready for the winter.

Wednesday 13th May 2009

The first thing needed, was to find all the ladders in the various stores around the island. They then needed to be checked for their condition and a general description of type recorded (material made of, number of rungs) so the information could be input onto a spreadsheet for future reference/checks. The sheep in the electric fenced area need to be checked on their progress of grass-munching (technical term, ahem) and have their water topped up. Which it did, as I'm sure all the munching they do requires lubrication of the mouth! We finished day off with weeding of paths around the Lighthouse gun pits, for visitor access and started some painting of the visitor toilets before the next lots of trips arrive. However, because the air is so damp, they were still wet the next day!

Thursday 14th May 2009

I think the location posts for the monthly Slow Worm survey need to be repainted. It's easy to forget were they are, as you're trying to avoid stepping on the nest and eggs, as well as avoiding poo! Consequently the survey took rather longer than normal, as we couldn't find one of the sheets! We located it in the end and found twelve in all, three females, six males and three juveniles! The males are exhibiting the bright blue markings now, that are found more frequently in the Flat Holm population than on the mainland. We finished painting the toilet block. All the walls are uniform and the doors looking very neat indeed! I think I may have been getting a little high from the fumes, but all is good now!

Friday 15th May 2009

Early start, I was on duties. Weather was still windy! Alex and I went to the Driftwood "Room Of Death" to check the battery acid levels. Alex looked fetching in her big rubber wellies, gloves, apron and goggles, all necessary for health and safety reasons. Nothing bad happened and the batteries were all in good order. I then took the ladder list made a couple of days back and re-marked all the ladders with a number in matching paint, so it will be easier to find the ladder you're after in future! Was all a bit confusing. Some had the same number and they were all in different colours! Shane and Simon attached some new hand-towel and soap dispensers in the visitor toilets. The paint was still wet!

We put to good use, our multi-tasking skills, undertaking the weekly Butterfly survey and practicing our plant ID skills. I can now tell the difference between the Sea Storksbill, Dove's Foot Cranesbill and Buckshorn Plantain, all indicator species of Maritime Grassland. We managed to catch two butterflies, despite the wind! And they were Painted Ladies. We did spot a couple of others, but were unable to catch them and identify them properly. We finished with more weeding around the Lighthouse gun pits and scraping the old paint off of the Fog Horn Cottage. A mean feat in the wind, paint flakes going everywhere!

Saturday 16th May 2009

Well, as previously stated, today was my day off. I had my first lie in for two weeks, only till 09:00, but not the usual 07:00 start. I missed out last time as I had to get up for duties. I had a nice relaxing day tidying my things and organising clothing for the Abrasive Wheels course we're book on for the 20th May. The weather has meant the boat tomorrow is cancelled, due to the strong winds that will continue. So hopefully the wind calms down so we can go. And now I think we are all going to watch the Eurovision! Who's going to win?! Standing by.

Wind, dust and more dust

2009-05-11T20:26:00.003+01:00

Evening

Well, it's typical really. Yesterday was beautiful and today we have gale force winds whipping over the island! Not too much of a problem, as the work we needed to do today kept us indoors, and it was lovely for my day off!

First thing was the weekly clean of the Farm House and Driftwood buildings, which again went quickly as there were plenty of people to get the work done. The rest of the day was spent finishing of the tidying of the Workshop, which I am very pleased to say I finished by 17:30. Just the inventory of the tools and other objects in there and it'll be done! Huzzah!

Well, not much else to say really. We have the annual Gull count scheduled for Wednesday, Jo and Sam are meant to be coming back on the island as well as some more keen volunteers, but the wind could put a stop to that. It's all dependant on the weather, but the forecast looks okay to me. Wind should be dropping to a "4" so fingers crossed. Anyway I'm going to read my book now, Standing by.

Sunshine, dozing and CHEESE!

2009-05-10T20:37:00.003+01:00

Hi there

Beautiful day today and even better as it was my first day off for this stay! Huzzah! No chance of a lie in though...had to be up for the Inshore Weather report at 07:50. Never mind though, I like getting up early and seeing the island waking up.
Only one egg today from the chickens, but they did seem very grateful when I went to see them this afternoon with a hand full of feed and some more water! Lovely little guys. Well, as is customary now on my days off, I fell asleep in the sun. This time I was in the Farmhouse garden, on the grass, so I was very comfortable in the suntrap that it is. Matt and Shane were weeding the flower beds and around the BBQ area. I felt rather lazy not doing anything, but it was my day off after all!

I've brought my camcorder with me, so I am hoping to get some film onto here. It will take a little while as I have to get the PC at home to work, but I hope to have some footage on here before I finish my placement. I thought of maybe taking the viewer round on a quick tour, giving you a flavor of what you could see if you came over for a visit. There might even be a commentary too!

Well, after the ever so long and tiring day sitting around in the sun, I made tea. Cauliflower cheese and pasta! The sauce was a little lumpy, added the flour and butter a bit too quick, but other than that it was all finished off. Shane baked a cake earlier, so we had a lovely sponge cake with green icing for desert. So, all that's left to do of the duties today is to fill in the log book and afternoon weather, then I'll make my way up to Driftwood and turn the generator and fan heaters on, to warm the place up before we all go to bed. Night. Standing by.

Fire, brambles and eggs

2009-05-09T20:53:00.006+01:00

Good evening

I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything in the last couple of days, so I'll add a quick catch up tonight! Okay, when was the last entry, ah yes, Wednesday 6th. I can't believe it's May already! Where has the time gone? Anyway,

Thursday 7th May

07:00 start, I like to get up early, makes getting up for duties easier as I'm already used to getting up early! Started off with burning some garbage and cardboard. I know it's not the best way to get rid of garbage, but the bin men don't come out to the island and it would just pile up and smell otherwise. We do recycle glass, tin and plastic and we compost any waste food items. So I feel a little better about burning garbage. When we plan to burn anything, we have to call the coastguard first to let them know, so they don't think it's a distress signal. Though if we ran out of food, that could be one way of signaling that we need more!

The next task was to start clearing brambles and vegetation from the around the lighthouse, so that it can be used for camping by residential. That was a mission in itself! The brambles were about 6 foot and covered in evil thorns! I had good fun, despite the scratches! This took Shane and I the rest of the afternoon, but it all got finished. There was one area we had to work round, as there was a Blackbird's nest with three chicks in it! But it was a good days work non-the-less!

Friday 8th May

We started off back in the camping area, but this time moving rocks from a large rubble pile in the centre. The wind had gotten up a bit, so Shane and I were covered in dust when we started clearing the vegetation from around the rocks! We finished that and had lunch and afterwards continued with tidying the workshop and cutting some drift wood ready for the winter. I won't be here then, but I here it gets rather cold!

Saturday 9th May

Today week undertook the weekly nest sweep, which is much easier and quicker since a large percentage of the nettle and thistle vegetation has been moan. And now that the sheep have been put into a pen to munch the grass, the sward should be shorter in no time! The Maritime Grassland should have a much better chance of becoming more widespread.

After lunch we under took the ladybug and butterfly surveys. Lots of ladybugs were found, but only six butterflies were cough. The wind was a bit strong for more butterflies to be out. And the day was finished off with the continuing workshop tidying. I spent nearly two hours untangling twine...I don't like twine now...Anyway, I'm off to join the others in a game of pool and table tennis! Night. Standing by.

Wire, electricity and notes

2009-05-06T21:55:00.004+01:00

Today we were setting up the electric fence on a new plot of land, ready for the sheep to be penned in and graze the grass sward. We need it to be shorter at a suitable length to encourage the Maritime Grassland to become dominant. The last plot the sheep were in is looking much better!

Firstly we needed to relocate the wire and support poles. Even though the wire had been removed, the sheep still just stood around as though the barrier was still there! Silly sheep. When they finally worked out that the were free they happily trotted off.

Relocating the support poles was easy, but the wire was a different matter! It got SO tangled and we spent most of the time untangling it and winding it back onto the reel. We eventually had the plot ready for the sheep to be herded back in, so we had a break and took lunch.

The last time we tried to get the sheep into one place didn't go so well. We didn't manage to get all of them, but had enough. This time though, we managed to get all the sheep into the penned area! Don't know why it wasn't as easy last time?!

Well, we had enough time afterwards to complete a Shelduck survey and then we called it a day! Managed to get a good hour or so making tour notes before dinner, so I'm feeling pleased with myself. Lots more stuff to do tomorrow though and we'll have a bit more time as there are no more trips till Friday. No one has booked on to come over! Come on guys, where are you?! Come and experience this unique habitat and have a really fun time!!! On that note I'm off to bed, Standing by.

Reading, reunions and cooking

2009-05-05T20:45:00.007+01:00

Evening all

Again, no three hour trip as the weather was bad again! No rain, but plenty of wind, 25+ Knots! The inshore weather report wasn't promising for Sam and Jo to be getting off the island and Matt and Shane to be coming onto the island, but Ed skillfully sailed the boat across, even though the sea was rather rough with quite a few white horses visible!

While Sam and Jo were keeping an eye on the weather, getting more worried when the average wind speed started to creep up, Alex Simon and I went through some of the education activities we'll be using with the Guide group coming on over the weekend.

There was a "Rubbish Line" where items found washed up on the beach are to be put into the order of the fastest to degrade and items taking the longest to degrade. That was good fun and I was surprised to find that a plastic milk bottle would take an indefinite amount of time to totally degrade! So recycle and save the planet!!! Another activity involved a bucket of water and finding out what activities you do at home will add to the problems caused by Global Warming and others that you could do to help reduce the severity of it. So all fun and educational at the same time! Huzzah!

I hope they will be able to get here and that they'll enjoy themselves, but what is there not to enjoy about this wonderful island?! Well, I've done the cooking tonight and all I have left to do is fill in the log book and copy down the species of bird seen today, and then I think I'll go and listen to some music while I read my book. Standing by.

Mops, wind and sheep

2009-05-04T19:23:00.008+01:00

Hi there

Not such good weather today! The wind is blowing at 25 knots at the mo, and the digital screen is telling us to "hold onto your hat". Isn't that a helpful bit of guidance...? I've been told that it says, "don't forget you umbrella" when it's raining...

Anyway, the three hour trip wasn't able to come over today as the sea was too rough and the wind too strong; so we got on with other jobs. Firstly, the weekly/monthly clean was done, which went quickly with five of us! This was before we were given conformation that the boat wasn't coming over, so we had been cleaning like demons to get it all done in time. Didn't have to worry in the end! We also cleaned Driftwood, where we're stationed from now till the end of the season. It's all clean, but SO cold! We really need a dehumidifier to help make it warmer, seeing that there's no heating in the building!

Lastly today, Simon and I continued with the re-organisation of the workshop. It's already looking better, but there is still a long way to go yet! Alex was working on the computer and Jo and Sam where out looking for a poorly Soay sheep. They didn't find it though. Hopefully it'll be alright tonight, the weather isn't that good.

Well, I'm on duties tomorrow so I'll be getting an early night again. So I'll sign off now. Night

Back on the island

2009-05-03T21:48:00.006+01:00

Evening all

I've arrived back on the island today, with an early start at 07:30 in time to get to Cardiff for the boat at 10:15. Crossing was pretty smooth today, a much better omen than if it had been blowing a gale! Lovely weather, brilliant sunshine with a nippy breeze, but all-in-all very nice. However, it was straight to work! We only had time to put our bags in the Farm House and our Flat Holm Project T-shirts on, then it was up to the Barracks to help with the 3 hour visit! I'm not complaining and it was a good way to get back into the routine on the island. Well, I'm getting an early night as I'm tired form the rush today and it's the weekly/monthly clean tomorrow and then another 3 hour trip! Go, go, go! Night Standing by.

Nest sweeps, tools and home!

2009-05-01T16:39:00.005+01:00

Hi there
I'm not doing too good at keeping up to date with the blog. I do apologise for this, but I believe that I would be allowed to say that I've been rushed off my feet! I'm at home a the moment, but I've not been able to just put my feet up, oh no, I've had to shop and wash clothes! But it is lovely to be home and I'm looking forward to going back to the island!

25th - 27th April 2009

So, before I came off the island we undertook the usual tasks. The weekly nest sweep on Saturday to start and then Simon and I started on organising the workshop. I've never seen SO much dust and wellies! We needed to sort them into pairs and differentiate between those that were steelies (steel toe-caps) and the non-safety ones. There were other tools too, but the place will still need a darn good sweep before we can write up an inventory! We have 6 months to get it tidy, that is time we can find when we're not undertaking surveys, day trips and the ongoing conservation work! In the evening, Sam and a couple of us went to find the wild Soay sheep. At least 5 ewes have giving birth to baby lambs! And it looks like there are more on the way! Soon we'll be over run with lambs and sheep! Sunday was mainly carrying on with the workshop tidy and I'm going to make a map when it's finished, to show people where everything is located making it all easier. Well that's the idea... And I have a nice bit of colour to my skin now and some muscle, as I spent the afternoon raking grass onto the grass pile. I slept very well indeed! Monday started with the weekly clean and then it was a case of getting everything together as myself and the other two volunteers were to move out of the Farm House and up to Driftwood. It looks much better after the huge clean we gave it a few weeks ago, but it's still very cold! The first night was COLD and the morning even colder! It was only the thought of coming home to my warm house and bed, that encouraged me to leave the warmth of my sleeping bag and get my bags down to the jetty. But once I was up, all was fine and the weather was good so there was no trouble getting on the boat and back to the mainland!
I'm due to go back on the island on Sunday, so fingers crossed that the weather is good and I'll enjoy my last couple of evenings at home! Going for a curry tomorrow night, can't wait!! Standing by.

Research, dagging and ewe feed

2009-04-24T21:06:00.005+01:00

Hello there

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last day or so. I had a day off yesterday and fell asleep on the beach! Luckily I woke up before the tide got too close. The heights are all increasing now (Spring tides) after being considerably lower (Neap tides). Hope I've got that the right way round, I'll have to check!

Wednesday 22nd April 2009

Another early rise. I must learn to lie in, but it's really difficult when it's such a beautiful place to wake up in! Getting up early was to my benefit as I had a chance to get a quick look around the lighthouse, before the Trinity guys had to start work! It was very high...I have vertigo...enough said. Unfortunately, the views were not so good as there was quite a lot of mist. I did take a picture of Steep Holm through the mist, hope you can see it!? The last day trip of the week was today, they are about an hour later each day, following the natural time shift of the lunar cycle which controls the tide heights and times. Then it was just some more furniture moving and general tidying.

Thursday 23rd April 2009

Apart from falling asleep in the beautiful sunshine we been having over the last couple of days, I've also been undertaking some research on my idea about looking at the differences between the range of snail shells I've found distributed around the island.

The numerous varieties of shell I've come across so far appear to be only from two species, the Cepaea hortensis (White-lipped snail) and the Cepaea nemoralis Grove/Brown-lipped snail). The differences I've been noting, i.e. the base colour and the number of bands exhibited on the shell, are "polymorphs", a bit like differences found in human skin colour, providing camouflage in different habitats. So, the plan is make a note of where the different polymorphs are located and see if there is a "typical" habitat type for each colour/band number.

Friday 24th April 2009

Today was spent mainly "dagging" the sheep. In other words, herding the flock into the sheep shed and then trapping them against the wall. The reason for this was to then be able to cut the poo from the fleece. Because the sheep have been eating some plants that don't agree with them, they get the runs and it all gets a bit messy! This can then lead to flies and maggots growing on the fleece, which is really bad for the sheep and not a nice experience when it comes to sheering them! So I spend nearly all day looking at phooey sheep's bottoms and boy do they smell! However, they all look much happier now. The next task was to get them into the newly mown area, which sounds much easier than it was! Even though we had a bucket of ewe feed, sheep were running everywhere, but where we wanted them to go! We managed to get 18 out of 32 into the right place, not great though. We'll have to try again tomorrow, with the remaining ones.

Last of all we began clearing the vegetation form behind the grass pile, to allow for a new access route for the collected grass cuttings. This was a bit of a mission. We discovered a cast iron stairwell, which needed 5 of us to move, and then we needed to cut all the overgrow vegetation down and move a pile of rocks! We still have a way to go before the tractor can be driven in! On that note, I'm off to bed. All the activities today have worn me out! Standing byf.

Visitors, driving and film crews

2009-04-21T20:45:00.004+01:00

Prynhawn da

Another day done and dusted! The 3 hour trip went really well today and I'm taking real enjoyment in meeting new people and helping them to discover the uniqueness that Flat Holm has to offer. It's also been a positive factor so far, that all the groups coming onto the island have been so lovely! All the visitors have taken a real interest in the facts we can tell them about the island and in showing them things like the slow worms, which are always a hit with the crowd. If your nervous talking in front of people, then this is a really good opportunity to over come that fear and to have fun showing people a new place! I'm looking forward to the school trips and seeing the excited faces when they discover something new. For example, a gull's nest with eggs in it that they may only have seen before on a TV screen, not right in front of them and up close.

Today's 3 hour trip was a bit different, as a film crew from ITV Wales came over to film a short piece about island life and what activities take place over here. We think the footage is for a news bulletin airing next week, so we'll all be watching the telly to see who gets on telly! Huzzah!

Alex and I had a bit of a treat tonight. The guys from the light house let us have a go on their motorized buggy which they use to get around the island. Oh, it was SO much fun and I'd be more than happy to be the island chauffeur! Well, another busy day tomorrow, so I'll sign off now, Night!

Reunions, sunshine and grass cutting

2009-04-20T21:39:00.005+01:00

Good evening

Beautiful day today! The sea looked like a pond, I've never seen it so smooth, and we got to enjoy blazing sun shine, with only a slight breeze. I'm glad I smothered my face and ears with sun block so I may have looked funny, but as my ears had got a little burnt yesterday, I didn't really care that much. The UV index on the island is quite high even though it may not be that hot yet, so I'm glad I'd brought my sun block with me. I'll be bring the higher factors when I come back after my rest break, I'm thinking it's going to be very hot this year!

Today started off with the weekly clean of the Farm House and then we welcomed Matt, Alex and Jo back onto the island after their four day rest break. We also had lots of different groups coming onto the island. Not all of them were visitors though, there were a number of contractors (builders and electricians), PR people and four guys from Trinity House (light house owners in England and Wales) coming to carry out some work on the numerous buildings around the island. We did have four day trip visitors and Alex and I took them up to the Barracks for the usual introduction to the island and the heath and safety talk. After this they were able to look around the island and ask any questions they may have.

For most of the afternoon, we were shown how to use the newer big green tractor, which will be used to keep the large areas of grassland short. At the moment the Maritime Grassland is having trouble gaining a hold, as the indicator species are being out competed by nettles and thistles. So, the plan is to mow the sward to make it shorter and then the sheep and rabbits can keep it at the desirable length. Sam managed to cut one area with the mower and the difference is amazing! It looks totally different. It'll be a big step forward in the management of the northern side of the island, and it should also make the weekly nest sweeps SO much easier! Well, another trip tomorrow. Don't know how many, but I'm looking forward to meeting more new people and showing them this unique island habitat. Standing by.

Treasure hunts, slow worms and nettles

2009-04-19T19:29:00.010+01:00

Phew! Crazy day!

Started early again today, as we needed to hide the treasure hunt clues around the island, ready for the 3 hour trip coming onto the island later in the morning. Weather looked a bit rough again, but the wind reduced enough for the boat to make it over, though it wouldn't have been a very smooth crossing! Luckily for the boat crew, there were no reports of anyone being sick!

I was in charge of the kids treasure hunt, which was a little bit daunting, but I had a really great bunch of kids. They all seemed to have a really good time and were even more excited when they got the last clue which lead them to the chocolate eggs! I had to resist eating the chocolate before they got here, so well done me. LOL. I think I enjoyed myself as much as the kids did, even though I knew the locations and answers to the clues! My voice was a little bit sore though, but nothing a hot drink couldn't fix.

After the trip had successfully departed form the island the last thing left to do before we finished for the day, was the slow worm survey. Dotted all over the island are sheets of corrugated iron, which are used by the resident reptiles to either heat up on, or as is most common, to hide under and keep warm that way. There are 20 in total and we managed to find 14 today, 4 females and 10 males. You can tell the sexes apart by differences in colouring. The males tend to be a pretty uniform sandy brown colour, sometimes expressing bright blue spots on their back and sides; while the females are a similar colour, but have a dark brown/black bellies and a dark line running down the length of the body, but don't have any blue spots.

Tomorrow there is another 3hr trip, but no treasure hunt this time. The main task will involve leading tour groups around the island and pointing out features of interest like the Victorian gun pits, the WW II buildings, the old cholera hospital and showing visitors nests made Lesser Black Backed gulls and hopefully some eggs, if the gulls let us!

I wonder if any of you reading this blog has ever tried eating nettles?! Well Sam was sneaky and didn't tell Simon or I that he'd added nettles to the dinner tonight. I was quite surprised, they didn't have any sting and tasted rather like spinach, but much more tasty. So I would recommend you try them, just make sure you look it up first as I wouldn't want anyone stinging their mouths!! Well, I think after today I'll sleep really soundly tonight, then I can get up tomorrow and do it all over again with a new group of visitors! Night, night! Standing by.

More cleaning, reading and surveys

2009-04-18T19:42:00.008+01:00

Sorry I haven't been on here for a couple of days, the Internet is a little blinky and it's getting a bit busy with the planned residential and 3 hour day trips. However the weather has prevented the trips getting onto the island today, so we've been continuing with cleaning and getting the island ready for when the weather improves and the trips start to arrive. There are trips arranged every day now up until Wednesday, so if the weather is suitable it'll be busy! As well as the trips, there are plenty of wildlife surveys to be undertaken as part of the continual data recording work.

As the trip wasn't able to leave the mainland, we got on with the weekly nest sweep. Took rather a long time as there were only three of us! Wasn't all bad though, a group who came onto the island last week and came back today, brought chocolate and even some Jaffa cakes! Huzzah! They are so welcome to come again! Anyway, I must get off and cook the evening meal as I'm on duties today! Pasta with a tomato sauce, onions, butter beans, sweet corn and bacon. Wish me luck! Standing by.

Tractors, reading and spag bol

2009-04-15T21:07:00.003+01:00

Hello

I learnt to drive the tractor today! Yay! It was raining, but that didn't matter as I was driving a tractor! As you can probably guess, I'm rather excited about being able to drive the tractor. I was practicing to reverse it with the trailer, but it's not as easy as you'd think. You have to turn the wheel the opposite way to the way you'd think you need to turn it! Crazy beans. But it is good fun and I think everyone should have a go at driving a tractor at some point in their lives.

A sad thing today, I had to say bye bye to Matt, Alex and Jo, but we did gain Sam. It was all a bit touch and go, whether the boat was going to be able to land safely, but all was okay, just! Alex made a terrific dive into the boat! She didn't hurt herself so all good. They're taking there breaks from the island, of which I'll be doing in a week and a half's time. Can't believe that I've been here a week and a half already! Time flies when you're having fun and keeping busy. If I didn't have my watch and diary, I'd lose track of the days. But it is SO peaceful being out here. I'm the only female human on the island now until Monday. I note "human" as there are other females, being of the gull, sheep, chickens and slow worm species.

Just been reading up on the literature about the island, so that I'll be able to answer questions from the visitors. It's all very interesting, the history, geology and ecology. There are day trips to the island, worth a look. I've put the address and contact numbers below if anybody is interested in spending sometime on the island to experience this beautiful place!

Flat Holm Booking Office
c/o Channel View Leisure Centre
Jim Driscoll Way
Grangetown
Cardiff
CF11 7HB
Tel: 029 2035 3917
Fax: 029 2038 7107
Email: flatholmproject@cardiff.gov.uk
Website: www.flatholmisland.com

Binoculars, shells and pie

2009-04-14T19:36:00.005+01:00

Hi there

That's another day passed. Lovely weather again, warm enough for a T-shirt! Even though it has been sunny the wind chill has made it a little too cold, so no sun-bathing quite yet. I went for my planned exploration to see what examples on snail shells I could find. There were creamy/yellow ones with a brown lip to the shell opening, some other creamy/yellow examples with 4 brown bans following the shell spiral, some red/brown with 3 dark brown bands following the shell spiral and some shells that look very similar to the type you'd find in a back garden. I am planning on find out all the technical terms for the structure of the shell and the name of the specie that occupies these types of shell.

After my shell collecting I decide to sit up by the light house and see how my bird identification skills were coming along. Saw lots of gulls, not surprising though as half the island is populated by them. Some oyster catchers, what I think was a flock of Artic terns, a Goldfinch and a lucky glimpse of the resident Peregrine falcon! So, all-in-all a productive bit of twitching. I've found that if I sing to the gulls they seem to become more calm and are less likely to try and poop on you. This is a defensive behaviour that they use to protect their nests from predators, or as it is on this island, the visiting public and wardens! If you do choose to come and visit the island remember to bring a water-proof coat and trousers, or clothes you don't mind getting bird poop on, as there is a greater possibility of this happening as the breading season progresses. I've not had the pleasure of this yet, but there is still time. Hopefully the singing works, I'll soon know if it doesn't!

Matt, Alex and Jo are leaving the island tomorrow, weather pending, so I'll be the only girl on the island. I'm not worried as everyone here is really nice and we all get on really well. There is one advantage and that is that the others coming onto the island a re all meat eaters, so cooking will be much less troublesome. I'm cooking tomorrow and I think spag. bol. is on the menu. It's easy, quick and scrummy. Huzzah! Matt cooked a meat pie and a veggie pie tonight, which didn't look much like pies but did taste wonderful! I have pictures and they'll be posted on here when I get the chance. Well, I'm off to go watch TV. Standing by.

Sunshine, drawing and awards

2009-04-13T22:05:00.013+01:00

Good evening or should that be night? Well it's dark anyway.

This morning was sunny again and that's even better when it's a day off. Had a quiet day reading and dozing in the sun, how life should be. Even sat out in the sunshine and did some drawing of the Welsh coast visible from the Farm House. I'll have to try and up load that so you can all see my drawing skills, I don't think they're too bad... Jo and I constructed some home-made Poi out of tennis balls we found on the island and the she taught Simon, Matt and I how to use them. Note to self, wear full body armor when attempting to swig these 'death balls' around your head. I'll be covered in bruises tomorrow!One of the opportunities we gain being here, apart form the fabulous hands on conservation experience needed for employment, is the chance to complete a John Murr Award. An achievement that would look good on my CV. So I was reading the handbook earlier. There are 3 levels of the award, Discovery, Explorer and Conserver and 4 challenges at each of the three levels, with an increased level of involvement:

Discover: Identify a wild place.
Explore: Explore its wildness.
Conserve: Take some personal responsibility for the conservation & protection of a wild place.
Share: Tell people about your own experiences.

This looks like it will be good fun and I plan to go out tomorrow and see what ideas come to mind for a project. Wish me luck! And lets hope the weather is as good as it was today. Though if you read this in the evening tomorrow, I'll have already been out during the day, but luck is always handy to have. I've just been handed some chocolate! Someone had a secret stash!Ummmmmmmmmmmmm. Sorry, I'm back again, got a bit distracted in the lovely chocolaty taste. It's hard to hear about all the chocolate eggs people are eating and adverts for chocolate on the radio when you're trying to paint a dormitory and you have no chocolate to hand! Anyway, enough about chocolate...I'll get carried away. A boat beach itself on the rocks to the south-west of the island, this was a bit of a novelty so we all went and had a look. They had to wait for high tide before they could get away. All-in-all they spent about 5 hours on there! Luckily they hadn't damaged the boat's keel, so they didn't sink! Well it's getting late and I've been SO busy today...I'm off to bed! Night, night. Standing by.

Mops, paint and pasta

2009-04-12T21:58:00.007+01:00

Hello from the Island!

Lovely day today, the sun was shining, the wildlife was doing its thing and I was indoors painting! Started of the day at 07:00, getting the inshore waters weather report off the VHF radio. Rather chuffed, as I remembered how to do it AND I didn't miss any details! Huzzah!! The chickens were greedy as ever and followed me round every time I was outside, thinking they were getting more food! Well they had laid a whopping 7 eggs this morning, so I can't be too hard on them.

Daily duties went without any problems and I remembered all the jobs! Cooked a pasta bake tonight and that went done well! I'm becoming more experimental with what ingredients go into food, which can sometimes lead to rather strange mixtures of taste, but as long as the rest of the guys like it and eat it up, then I see no problem with it! I've recently discovered sweet pickle, I seem to put it with everything!? I've always like onions...

It was a real shame we were stuck inside today, undertaking the weekly clean and painting of the Farm House building. This is the main building and we're all stationed here at the mo, some of us will be relocated in the Driftwood building, so as to leave room for any visiting residential. After we'd finished the painting task, my boiler suit, which I must point out was brand new and spotless, was covered with paint. I'm wondering how much actually went on the walls! It didn't take too long to remove most of it, so that's a bonus as I'll have to wait a bit to have a shower! Anyways, I'm off to bed, been a long day, what with all the painting and singing! It's a must if you're painting! Day off tomorrow! Yay! Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Standing by.

Nests, ladybugs and dust

2009-04-11T22:11:00.005+01:00

Hello!

After a lovely day free yesterday and finishing with a brilliant game of Monopoly, today was a shock to the system! See us wardens do get the weekends free, no, we have to work! Conservation is a 24:7 job and the animals and plants relying on our help and care can't stop just as it happens to be the weekend! But in saying that, we are getting Monday and Tuesday free...

Anyway, today the activities consisted of 'nest sweeps' in the morning (about 3 hrs). We cover the whole of the managed maritime grassland side of the island walking in a line and any gull nests found are destroyed, in other words 'kicked the c**p out of them'. This may sound mean and not really conservation, but in our defence,

there are no eggs at the moment (though we do destroy them if there are any later in the season, or eat them if the hens haven't produced any eggs) and,
if we let the gulls nest, the maritime grassland would become degraded and as the SSSI status is in part for this habitat, it is a necessary evil! We lovely the gulls really...

After lunch it was back to Driftwood, to finish the floor painting and to start on the Barracks cleaning ready for lessons and activities completed by the school trips. However, Alex and I didn't have to breath in too many of the paint fumes, as we had to undertake the weekly ladybug, sorry, ladybird survey. We saw nine in all, after walking around the whole island! But at least the sun was shining, though we still had to help with the cleaning. I was covered in dust, but it all looks much cleaner now, shame I don't!

I'll have to leave it there as I need to be up early for duties tomorrow! Night! Standing by.

Day off - Good Friday

2009-04-10T20:37:00.011+01:00

Prynhawn da (good afternoon for those who don't speak Welsh!)

So, no work today! Though I still got up early!? Anyway, I decided to have a wonder around the island to explore this unique setting. I know this island isn't that big, but when your wondering around you find yourself getting disorientated! The hundreds of gulls (Lesser Black-backed and some Herring) flying around your head make the experience even more confusing! I'm very pleased with myself though, as I can now tell the difference between the different species of gull! Huzzah! I might even post some photos, showing the differences between the species! But you'll have to wait for me to get off the island in my week off, in order to upload the pictures! The Internet is a little bit too slow here to be able to download and then upload the images!! (Top left: Herring gull, Top right: Lesser Black-backed gull, Bottom right: Great Black-backed gull)

Oh! Braking news! We were invaded today! Four stow-aways came ashore. I'd like to make-up some fantastical story about how we had to battle with them and make them leave the island, but instead we took their landing fee from them and gave them a tour. Not all bad though, we did find a slow worm! Again, you'll have to wait for me to up-load the pictures, to see this lovely little guy. He was SO cute, if you can call a legless lizard cute. They look like snakes, and are called 'worms', but really they are neither they are in fact a lizard! Crazy beans! See, you learn something new everyday! (I knew that already though, being an Environmental Scientist and all! LOL)

Well, back to w. Back up at the Driftwood building, to finish off the 'Spring cleaning'. Until tomorrow, this is Verity Ann signing off from Flat Holm.

Buckets, mops and paint

2009-04-09T18:28:00.005+01:00

Good evening all

The weather's be poor today, high winds, rain and cold. Shame as yesterday was lovely, where did the spring go? Hopefully it's nice tomorrow, we have a day free as it's Good Friday and we'll also have two free days on Monday & Tuesday! A second bank holiday on Tuesday, it's a Cardiff thing I think?!

Well, today was spent inside cleanning the Driftwood biulding ready for the arrival of the first group next weekend. It's worrying to see the colour of water in the bucket after you've cleaned sa surface that didn't look that grubby in the first place! I'll become parinoid now, when I look at any surfaces!

Anyway, not much else to report as it was just cleanning and painting, so I'll be off now as dinners nearlly ready! Wonder what Matt has cooked for us tonight?! Standing by.

Sawing, cooking and sleeping

2009-04-08T21:48:00.016+01:00

Hey, hey!

Second full day on the island! Sorry for the lack of update yesterday, the Internet was down. Any how, we are all still alive after my tomato, bean, onion, green pepper and rice concoction I put together for last night's dinner. It's tricky to know how much you need to cook for five hungry people when you're only used to cooking for two!

Tuesday 07/04/2009

Well, yesterday started early. I needed to be up before 07:50 to receive the inland water's weather broadcast on the VHF radio. It's tricky if your not used to the vocab and have a rather crackly radio signal, but it was all good and I got the information to write up on the chalk board. After that I checked the fridge and freezer temperatures, the Farm House generator and battery, the UV filter for the water sterilisation unit, took the readings from the weather station on the island, fed the chickens (we had 2 eggs!) and all this BEFORE I could have my breakfast!!!

The rest of the day was busy too. In the morning we had another more detailed introduction and walk around the island, to become more familiar with the buildings and assessing what work needed to be done before the arrival of the residential trips. Then the weekly butterfly survey of the whole island was undertaken, though we only saw three individuals, one Green-veined and two small white. After that we were shown how to start the Driftwood generator so as to pump water down to the Farm House from the storage tank. By that time it was lunch!

An hour later we were back outside ready to build a new saw-horse, to cut up the larger pieces of drift wood, some of which are the size of a small tree! This took a bit longer than we thought, as it involved some tricky cutting of wood and a lot of thinking outside-the-box, in order to create something that wouldn't fall apart when half a tree was resting on it!!

So, when we had finished as much as we could by 17:30, I needed to go check the battery levels again. It had been a lovely sunny day, so the solar panels had absorbed plenty of power and the wind turbine had helped too! Once that was done I cooked my concoction, we all ate like hungry gannets and all that was left to do of my daily duties was to fill in the bird sightings and log book! Phew! I was pooped so I slept like a log!

Wednesday 08/04/2009

Today was a less hectic start. Being able to have a full shower and wash your hair is a total luxury after only being able to has a quick was in a sink. This is not because we like being smelly and unclean, this is because we need to conserve water. All our water is collected when it rains and is then filtered, so we don't get to have showers every day! But if we all smell together, it's not that bad!

After breakfast we continued with the building of the saw-horse and finished it! We were all very pleased with our work and when it came to the crunch-time and a huge log of driftwood (half a tree!) was put onto it, ready to be cut up, it didn't fall apart! Hooray! Simon had the task of cutting the pieces into smaller sizes with the axe, and other smaller pieces were cut up using bow-saws. By 17:30 we were all ready for a rest!

While dinner was cooked (sausage, chips and beans!), there was enough time and some lovely sunshine to got for a walk and take some photos. I'll have to upload then when I get a break off the island, the connection is a little slow so I'd be on here all night! Anyway, I'm ready for bed. So, night night and hopefully I can update this tomoz! Singing off.

Hello from the island!

2009-04-06T20:58:00.010+01:00

Just a quick post tonight. Got here in one piece with a good crossing, not too bumpy or wet! Had a lovely meal cooked by Alex and I'm cooking tomorrow, hope I don't poison anyone! Looking forward to my first night here and believe me I'm so ready for my bed! It must be the sea air that's making me tired. Lots of activities on the agenda tomorrow to get the island ready for the first residential trip, painting, DIY, furniture moving etc. No weekly cleaning, Simon and I were lucky and miss that today! Anyway, I'm off to watch TV...yes we even have TV!!!! Standing by.

Off to live on an island...

2009-04-02T20:31:00.006+01:00

Hello!

I'm off to live on a island in the middle of the Bristol Channel on Monday! So "why?" you might ask, am I doing this. Well I'm going to train as a Conservation Warden with the Flat Holm Project. This is an opportunity to follow in a career that I've always wanted to do and who knows where I'll end up?! I'm planning on leaving updates and messages on here to let you know what I'm getting up to.

Stay tuned!