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Countryside Management Social Event - East of England/London region

Have you heard of the Countryside Management Association (CMA)? The CMA supports countryside management professionals throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. I currently have the role of East of England Region Coordinator. The CMA are holding a social and networking event for anyone involved in countryside management or interested in joining the CMA, so why not come along? More information about the event below!

2nd April 2016 at Belhus Woods Country Park, South Ockendon, Essex
4pm-6pm: Walk and talk
6pm: Meal (optional)

Belhus Woods Country Park

Join the Countryside Management Association for a walk around Belhus Woods Country Park, with the option of a meal afterwards at a local restaurant. This free event is open to members and non-members alike, and will be a great chance to meet others working in the industry, to discuss your own site and find out about others, and to find out more about the Countryside Management Association.

Belhus Woods Country Park is over 300 acres on the borders of Essex and London, managed by Essex County Council. The site is part of a large extent of open land, with neighbouring sites managed by the Forestry Commission and the Woodland Trust. For more information about the Country Park, including a location map, see Belhus Woods Country Park's webpage. For those coming by car, there is ample parking at the Country Park although be aware that parking charges apply.

Please let us know if you are coming to the meal by 19th March, so that we can confirm the restaurant booking. 

For more details and to book a place, please email Tom Heenan (CMA East of England region co-ordinator) on: eastofengland(at)countrysidemanagement.org.uk.
You can find the event on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1706743476270827/.  

 Formed in 1966 the CMA is the largest organisation supporting the work of conservation, access and recreation professionals in the natural greenspace and countryside sector throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. To find out more about the CMA visit http://countrysidemanagement.org.uk
 


More about the Countryside Management Association:
The CMA supports the development of staff, students and volunteers involved in the management, interpretation, and public enjoyment of natural greenspace and the countryside through networking, training and continuing professional development. The CMA supports professionals working in a range of environments from Country Parks to National Parks, Local and National Nature Reserves and other protected areas both urban and rural. Members might be employed in a variety of different roles such as Rangers, Wardens, Project Officers, Contractors, Rights of Way Officers and Ecologists and for a variety of organisations including Local Authorities, National Park Authorities, the Forestry Commission, The National Trust, Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, Water Authorities, Natural England and Defence Estates. 

Forests and Humans MOOC

I recently completed the course "Forests and Humans: From the Midwest to Madagascar", a free online course from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This ran from September 30th til October 28th, on the coursera.org website.

I've taken a number of online courses before‎, using the coursera platform. This offering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison was shorter in duration than some (running over four weeks), but was packed full of information including video lectures, interviews, scientific journals and more. Whilst no stranger to forests - I already had a grounding in the subject through my undergraduate degree and my work as a Ranger - the course added a lot to my knowledge. It gave a global context for forests, covering forest ecosystems around the world in the first week. It then delved into the value of forests to humans, our effects on forests, threats to forest habitats and biodiversity, and some of the possible solutions for preserving forests into the future.

Each week of the course (a "module") included activities, and I thought this element worked really well. For example, Week 4 had us watching a video, and reading, about protecting forests for carbon offsetting, then posting our views in the discussion forums on using forests and owning carbon. Each week also included a quiz, which one needs to pass at 75% or higher to get a Statement of Accomplishment at the end of the course. Although this course was shorter than some of the others I have undertaken, the quizes were rigorous and had me wracking my brain on a number of occasions. I took this as a good thing, because testing is a useful part of learning and actually improves our recall and understanding of a topic. With two attempts allowed on each quiz, if you take the time to work through all parts of the module (and perhaps revisit some of the harder parts in between attempts), it is still very possible to get a passing score on the quizes.‎ I have a Statement of Accomplishment to prove it!

Overall, I really enjoyed this course. It was a great opportunity to expand on my knowledge of forests, putting my work in UK forests into a global context. I also got to talk to people in other parts of the world, and learn from them about their forests and the threats and conservation efforts therein. I think the course could be improved by developing on this aspect; perhaps some of the activities could involve working collaboratively with a peer. 

Green Flag for Belhus Woods

Belhus Woods Country Park (where I currently work) received the Green Flag award for 2015/16, which was great news. The Green Flag Award was launched in 1996 " to recognise and reward the best green spaces in the country", and the judges look at various criteria such as management, community involvement, conservation and heritage.

To celebrate this achievement, we held a flag-raising event on Wednesday 30th September. The under-5s "Puddleducks" group made their own flags using Autumn leaves, and there was cake and balloons. In other words, we celebrated in style.