It’s literally impossible for me to choose what I enjoyed the most. I loved discovering nature, working outdoors, the country and its people. This year has made me see the world in a different way. I’m more aware of everything that surrounds me.  

To be honest there’s only one thing I’m not going to miss, and I’m sure everyone already knows what it is: the beautiful weather. I still don’t get how it works! In a single day you have the four seasons of the year, and rain... lots of rain! 

But even under the rain we worked and we had a good time. 

The lockdown was also challenging for us, it has been difficult to meet people. Now that we are leaving it's when we are meeting more people and taking part on face-to-face events. It has not been easy but we already know the therapeutic power of nature. We were really lucky to have a daily dose of nature! 

I’ve learnt about scrub control, removal of invasive species, pond clearance, hedgerow management, tree planting, access maintenance, cutting grass along paths, litter picking, fencing, use of tools and machinery, botanical and monitoring and much more. 

I have learnt a lot about the different habitats and their management - grasslands, woodlands and wetlands.  

But there are two things that I am specially proud of:  my improvement with the language -at first I was not able to understand people and now I feel very confident talking- and the discovery of my passion for birds and my bird ID skills.  

Believe me when I say that it’s been very difficult to choose only three moments from the Nature Reserves because every single day was a crazy and awesome adventure. But here we go: 

1. Work at the Isle of Muck 

The Isle of Muck is a restricted access nature reserve where only the Nature Reserves Team has access to it by boat. Very few people have the opportunity to work in a place as spectacular as this one. I also remember that the day we worked there I saw a seal in the wild for the first time! 

I would like to thank the entire Ulster Wildlife team for making this year an amazing adventure. 

Thanks Ronald, Deborah, Ryan and John for every moment that we have lived in the reserves and for teaching me everything I know about nature and conservation. Thanks to Sheila, for her great job at organizing our work days. Thanks to Katy for teaching us about bumblebees, dragonflies and hedgehogs. Thanks to the Living Seas Team - Gala and her team are amazing and I loved learning about the marine wildlife in Northern Ireland. Thanks Erin for showing us a bit more about sharks and egg cases. Thanks to the Peatlands project team- Simon and Trish: it has been brilliant to work on your project. Thanks to Alexey for showing me a bit more about the woodwork. Many thanks to the Communications team - Vickie, Kelly and Laura-  for making this blog possible. 

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) scheme offers young volunteers from European countries the opportunity to work with Ulster Wildlife for 12 months, with placements within our Nature Reserves, Living Landscapes and Fundraising and Communications teams.