ROGER BOWMER describes his path to
becoming a fully-fledged Northumberland
National Park voluntary ranger.
I'M no longer on probation! No, it's not as bad as it sounds - a year ago I began my probationary year as a Northumberland National Park voluntary warden.
I must have carried out my duties satisfactorily as I have now been accepted as a fully-fledged warden, with the proviso that I attend a one-day first-aid course which the park authorities had, after months of trying, been able to arrange. The fact that I was a recently retired medical doctor didn't seem to count - I had never attended an official first-aid course despite teaching first-aid when I was a regimental medical officer in the Territorial Army.
Having to attend the course was probably a wise decision as everyone knows that doctors know very little about roadside or hillside first-aid, and it constantly needs updating.
During my probationary year our job title had changed from voluntary warden to voluntary ranger to bring us into line with the full-time, paid rangers: an altogether better title as it removes us from the connotations of “prison warden”, with which some members of the public used to associate us.
How did I get into this? Well, having retired to Thropton, on the edge of the national park, I thought that I'd like to take advantage of my new location and undertake some voluntary work in the beautiful Northumberland countryside. As well as wanting to contribute to the well-being of the land I also wanted to learn more about it.
I contacted John Steele, the well-known artist and naturalist who is also the species and habitat officer for the park. I wondered whether he would be prepared to let me accompany him on his wildlife projects in order for me to learn and to lend a hand. John felt that it would be a good idea if I became an official voluntary ranger (I'll use 'ranger' from now on, even though it was 'warden' at the time), as I would then be covered by the national park's insurance in the event of a mishap.
This sounded like sensible advice and I duly contacted Dave Brown, the co-ordinator of the volunteer service, who sent me the relevant application form together with a leaflet outlining the duties of the voluntary rangers (VRs). His letter contained the following underlined paragraph: “I would strongly recommend that you gain as much information or experience as you can acquire concerning the national park which would assist your work as a volunteer: maybe pursuing a specialist interest like natural history; participating in our Great Days Out programme; background reading; area familiarisation - which would greatly enhance your application.”
All very good advice, but rather daunting to someone who is petrified of formal interviews and who hasn't undertaken any formal study for over 25 years! It sounded to me as if I would need a degree in the subject in order to qualify. I duly wrote back to Dave, explaining my inadequacy and withdrawing my application. Dave replied with a reassuring letter explaining that the interview would be very informal and the main requirements were time, a love of the countryside and a basic knowledge of the aims and objectives of the national park.
Suitably reassured, I completed the application form and enclosed an article that I had written about a year of bird-watching in Coquetdale (subsequently published in The Northumbrian, Issue 72) which outlined my feelings about the Northumberland countryside. Dave eventually replied with details of the interview and informed me that my article would be included in the next edition of the VR newsletter. Things were looking up - a few Brownie points in the bank.
I also obtained a copy of the National Park Consultation Brochure, which outlined the philosophy of the national park regarding landscape, wildlife, visitors and the local community. This was a very useful, informative and easily readable brochure which was only 12 pages long, with lots of space taken up by colour photos.
A visit to the national park visitor centre in Rothbury resulted in a supply of tourist-type pamphlets giving a few details of the attractions in the park, and at my request Dave sent me a pamphlet giving background details of the history of the national parks, together with a list of all the others in England and Wales (there was none in Scotland at that time). Another useful document was a map showing the boundaries of the national park.
I duly set about consuming and digesting the contents of the literature I had obtained, which was no real hardship as it was well written and interesting. I spend a lot of my time walking in the national park so I thought that I would try to obtain some more Brownie points by documenting my routes, together with details of items of interest that I had encountered on the way. I printed out a few copies and, duly armed with these and my new-found knowledge, attended the interview with slightly less trepidation than anticipated.
Just as I had been promised, the interview committee of Dave, Angela (chair of the VR service) and Derek Proudlock (national park managing ranger) was very gentle with me, and my pulse had time to settle down while they read their individual copies of my walk routes. The questions covered details of the Northumberland National Park boundaries, naming the other national parks and the philosophy of the national park organisation. All this information was in the pamphlets and brochures that I had obtained.
The interview successfully negotiated, I began my year of probation. The first two events were familiarisation days in the Harthope, Breamish Valley, Simonside and Coquetdale areas. Russell Tait, Shaun Hackett and Jane Riddell, the full-time rangers, showed us the routes of the patrols that we would undertake and regaled us with anecdotes of their own experiences, from encountering people stealing molehills to appreciating the wonderful abundance of park wildlife. An enjoyable training day was spent on map reading, compass and radio work, culminating in a mini-orienteering exercise.
The minimum commitment for a VR is six patrols per year. A patrol begins with a briefing by a full-time ranger at about 10.15am, when the VR is given a map of the route and any instructions on what to be on the look-out for. The VR is the visible presence of the national park and is there to give help and advice to visitors, as well as to make sure that they do not impede the conservation and improvement of the species, habitat and heritage of the national park. The patrol finishes at about 4pm, when the VR reports back and signs out. A “mentor” will accompany a VR on the first patrol in any area.
So the minimum commitment is not arduous, but in order to get the most out of the work there are many other projects and events that can be enjoyed. I especially enjoyed a day in the Breamish Valley where we introduced parties of schoolchildren to the park's delights. Shaun was in his element as his alter ego, Steven Spielberg, as he directed us in our various roles - Peter as a lost walker and me as the troublemaker doing everything that he shouldn't in the park. One parent thought that it was a real-life performance and wanted physically to show me the error of my ways. Hallowe'en was another event where I could indulge in a bit of role-play. This time Shaun, the frustrated film director, was in Hitchcock mode as he deviously devised ways in which we could frighten the children in the darkness of Ingram Valley. Unfortunately, there was a downpour that night, and green wellies protruding from under our ghoulish garb rather gave the game away.
Litter sweeps are a necessary evil. Shaun Hackett and John Smith organised one at the beginning of my probation year, covering the roads into Elsdon. I could not believe the amount of litter that we collected: in one particular ditch, just beyond Elsdon Bridge on the road to Winter's Gibbet, I collected 80 empty cans. This must be the spot where the driver finishes his or her can and simply jettisons it out of the window. A much higher class of litter-lout frequented the road to Raylees from Elsdon - there were numerous empty bottles of fine wine and malt whisky strewn across the grass verges throughout the length of the road. Why do people pollute this wonderful countryside by dropping so much litter? I fail to understand it.
Other features of the work of the VRs are to help with projects and wildlife surveys. The projects are very variable and include the improvement of footpaths and wildlife habitats. This seems to be having a favourable effect on the top of Cheviot, where stone slabs from the now-redundant Lancashire and Yorkshire cotton and woollen mills are providing a consistent pathway across peat bogs, obviating the need for walkers to try and find their own route. This keeps the walkers on one dry pathway and so prevents erosion of a wider grassy area on the summit.
With the help of strategic transplanting of the vegetation, Cheviot's top is gradually being reclaimed, and the VRs carried out a significant proportion of this work. While I'm on about these stone-slab paths, can anyone tell me why I disappear up to mid-thigh in these peat bogs when the much heavier stone slabs appear to float on the surface?
During my probation year, together with many other VRs, I helped with ring ouzel and black grouse surveys organised by John Steele. I managed to see seven ring ouzel, but was not so lucky with the black grouse; I arrived at the lek at 4.30 on a lovely spring morning but failed to spot any of them. However, having arisen so early, I was able to see many other species of birds and animals as they emerged from their nocturnal retreats to prepare for the day ahead.
I really enjoyed my probationary year and am now in the middle of my first fully-fledged year. The national park is always looking for more VRs - at the last count there were vacancies for over 100. The minimum commitment is only six days a year, mainly at weekends, so it doesn't intrude too much on other obligations. The work is rewarding and enjoyable - what more can you ask? &null;
* If you are interested, contact Dave Brown (01434) 611533 or visit the Northumberland National Park website