Update from Heritage Trainee Shannon Rae

It’s 2023! Let’s hope it’s a year of positivity and sustainability. It may be cold and dark but I have been trying to fill the daylight hours with a variety of different tasks. The two main things I have accomplished in January included working with Sussex Flow Initiative and completing the second module of my Forest School training. 

The Sussex Flow Initiative is a National Flood Management project that aims to develop and improve freshwater wetland. Staff, students and volunteers achieve these aims by mimicking the behaviour of beavers to create ‘leaky dams’, building connections with surrounding land owners and planting hedges to decrease fragmentation - to name just a few. I got involved with the hedge laying at Middleton Estate and spent the day planting species such as Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Hazel, Field Maple and Dogwood. It’ll take a few years for the trees to establish but, once they do, they will provide habitat for birds, small mammals and insects as well as acting as fence barriers for a multitude of purposes. 

The second module of my level 3 Forest School training was also a very enjoyable experience. Spanning three days, the training encompassed tool use, fire building, den construction and extensively covered outdoor cooking. This involved coming together to agree on several meals we could prepare, cook and share all outside in the woods, using nothing but fire as a heat source. We decided on a vegetable curry, homemade flat bread, chocolate stuffed banana and apple crumble. The whole experience of working as a team and knowing each other’s strengths led to the creation of a wonderfully delicious feast that everybody thoroughly enjoyed! There is something extra satisfying about outdoor cooking, it really reconnects you back to ancestors who would have to cook the entirely of their meals over a campfire. As we move into February, I will be starting my compulsory sessions with a group of children and I will talk about this in the February blog!