Case Studies
Catherine graduated from Hull University in 1999 with a degree in Aquatic Biology. After temping for a year in Leeds she went to Belize on a project with Raleigh International. Upon returning she was interested in becoming a ranger and had an interest in working with children but continued temping until a friend suggested that she visit Skelton Grange.
After a year volunteering Catherine managed to get two jobs! One was working for the Royal Forestry Society as an education officer for woodlands 2 days a week. The other was working for Meanwood Valley Urban Farm as an environmental education officer 3 days a week. Catherine's experience at Skelton was crucial in helping her secure both of these jobs.
Catherine has since moved on to work for Groundwork Leeds as an education officer and is currently working on a Local Heritage project in Morley and a Forest Schools project.
Steve was a musician for 25 years fronting hard driving rock band The Palace Gypsies. As middle age encroached he decided on a change in lifestyle. Working in the environment sector seemed like it would be fun so he began by volunteering at Meanwood Valley Urban Farm with the Education Department. Steve joined in with all usual farm management tasks and wanted to further his knowledge and develop a new skills base. He did two years of part time studying for a HNC in Countryside Management at Park Lane College and volunteered at Skelton for the rest of the week. At Skelton Steve further developed his teaching skills and had to opportunity to put into practice lots of the practical skills that he had been learning about at college.Once Steve had finished his course he was taken on by the college as a part time Environmental Technician and continued to volunteer at Skelton.
Steve then left Skelton and the college and joined Carlshead Farm Educational Project as their first Educational Ranger and set up all their lesson plans and activities, with a 100% record of students gaining qualifications through OCN (Open College Network). All students had learning and behavioural difficulties.
He then moved on to work for Leeds City Council(L.C.C.) Parks and Countryside department, managing local parks and recreational green spaces. He is still at L.C.C. but now as a Community Ranger. He helps local community and volunteer groups protect and manage their local environments, liaises with councillors and local businesses about plans and funding for projects, leads nature walks, bat walks, presentations etc. He is still working with kids through various projects and representing the council at local fetes etc. and planning and running workshops across the city throughout the summer.
In Steve's words:
"Being a musician was a great way to earn a living but... the party had to end sometime!
For a middle aged guy with a limited skills base Skelton was instrumental in developing a whole new range of skills, and the knowledge and experience I gained whilst being a volunteer has enabled me to move into an area of employment that offers variety and challenge, allows me to make a real difference to my local community, and communities city wide, and provides job security.
Friendships formed at Skelton remain strong and I would recommend to anybody considering entering the volunteer sector to give Skelton a try.
You don't need experience of teaching but it's generally expected that you will have an interest in the environment although nobody expects you to be an expert and you don't need to be a young person to benefit from what they have to offer. Older people have a range of skills and backgrounds to bring to the project.
Go on, give Skelton a go and... let the party begin!".
Ruth began volunteering for BTCV when she was 17. After she finished school Ruth spent three months volunteering for BTCV in Hastings before taking a gap year working for PGL adventure holidays. Ruth then did a Science degree at Nottingham Trent Univeristy. During her time at university Ruth continued volunteering for BTCV through taking part in and then leading their "natural break" working holidays. Ruth became the Site Development Volunteer Officer and had plenty of opportunities to use and develop her practical skills and learned lots about how to work with and teach children. Working at Skelton gave her useful ideas for practical projects and she made lots of good friends.
After 9 months Ruth got a job for Dundee City Council as a countryside ranger. She was told that she got the job because she had experince of working with children in an urban environment, experience she had gained at Skelton.
Ruth then had a series of seasonal jobs in outdoor pursuits centres where she made use of the good management procedures she had seen at Skelton Grange. Ruth then returned to Skelton for a year on the National Grid Placement scheme when she further developed her educational skills. After her year was up she worked as an activities co-ordinator for Leeds City Council and now has achieved her ambition of working for BTCV as a project officer in York.
