Our two year apprenticeship begins

Thursday 18 October 2018

Apprentice Conservation Officers

Our current apprentices, Melanie and Jade joined the Trust in September 2018 to begin a two year apprenticeship.

Jade Allen (left) and Melanie Shears (right) began their roles as Apprentice Conservation Officers at Cumbria Wildlife Trust in September 2018.

We have just joined Cumbria Wildlife Trust as Apprentices Conservation Officers and thought we’d introduce ourselves!

jade allen - apprentice conservation officer october 2018 — Jade Allen, Apprentice Conservation Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Hi! I’m Jade. I’m 20 years old and I’ve lived in the Lake District my entire life, growing up around all this beautiful nature.

I jumped at the chance to work with Cumbria Wildlife Trust because of my passion for all things nature, especially the animals!

So far everyone I’ve met has been lovely and I’ve had some great experiences already, I can’t wait for the next two years. During my apprenticeship I hope to get stuck in to as many different areas of conservation as possible and learn as much as I can; a truly amazing one of a kind experience.

I also hope that at the end of these two years I might have a little more of an idea on what career path I’d like to take and go from there. I’m planning to blog as much as possible about all the things I get up to, with hopes I might be able to spread a little enthusiasm and knowledge (I can try anyway) with you.

If you have any questions or suggestions for me my email address is jadea@cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk please feel free to message me or leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you!

Melanie shears + apprentice conservation officer october 2018 — Melanie shears, Apprentice Conservation Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust

My name is Melanie. Up until now I have followed a very conventional path that was restrained to what society deems to be the ‘norm’.

I stayed in school and completed my A Levels; I went on to university and got a degree in English Literature; and then I started working full time in the first corporate job I could find.

While there is nothing wrong with this path (for many it’s the right one), it wasn’t the right path for me. I felt despondent with the way my life was and found myself wondering “is this it?” I was on the verge of accepting the way things were but I realised that life would be whatever I made it.

I could choose to stay in my rut, or I could change something. So obviously I decided to make a change! I knew I would be much happier if I was doing something where I could make a difference and I love being outdoors, so when I saw the advertisement for an Apprenticeship with Cumbria Wildlife Trust I leapt at the chance.

I feel incredibly privileged to have this opportunity and I intend to explore all the different aspect of work that goes on here and learn as much as I possibly can.

I’m so excited for the next 2 years and I know I will be so much happier forging this wilder path.

We look forward to sharing our various experiences with you over the next 2 years!