August update from the Lederman Trainees

admin
, 05 September 2022
August update from the Lederman Trainees
Rosie and Mark with Jamie Parsons (centre)

August has been another busy month for us as Lederman Trainees with Sussex Wildlife Trust and we’ve been learning lots of new skills as well as practising existing ones.

With the guidance and expertise of our Line Manager Steve Webster, Rosie and I successfully hung a double-gate to link one of our meadows with the woods at the Leysdown estate. This will improve access for tree management work in future, as well as link the footpaths on the land there. We also hung a new gate at the entrance to our largest meadow, and (despite a few hitches with some old tools) managed to put it up without Steve’s help on-site! It was a very empowering moment to finish it by ourselves and proof of the value of scholarships like the one we’re on.

I’ve also been putting my brush-cutter certificate to good use, practising at lots of reserves around Sussex: Clearing fencelines at Filsham Reedbed and improving the grassland at Brickfield Meadow with Reserves Manager (East) Jamie Parsons, and improving access on the footpaths at Seaford Head with Reserves Site Ranger Sarah Quantrill.

I had the exciting opportunity to ring birds in the evenings this month too, working not just with my regular trainer David King (of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve) but also three other licensed ringers. At Gatwick’s North-west Zone I joined ecologist Rachel Bicker and Aviation Ornithologist Jon Middleton to survey birds beside the Mole River. Later in the month, I worked with David and his colleagues Sue Welsh and Val Bentley to ring scores of Pied and Yellow Wagtails as they gathered to roost. It was a magical experience and definitely a challenge in the darkness!

An exciting project I’ve helped run this month is a pilot monitoring scheme for rare Barbastelle Bats, in partnership with the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT). I helped Reserves Manager Mark Monk-Terry and Reserves Officer Nick Walford deploy bat detectors at 19 locations across the densely forested 166-hectare Mens reserve. In the coming weeks we’ll be sending off the data to the BCT and will know more about how the Barbastelles are doing there. More to come on this in a future blog.

Rosie

Life as a Lederman Trainee is busy as ever, Mark and I have been getting around lots of Sussex this past month! I will start with a very local day though, so local in fact that I didn’t even leave the back garden at Leysdown. David King, Nature Reserve Officer at Rye Harbour, came over to carry out some bird ringing. These ringing sessions typically start at dawn, so at the moment that means a 5am start. It was a great session, I ringed 43 birds. I also began learning the process of extracting the birds from the nets. This is an extremely fiddly job, precision is key in order to remove the birds safely. I’ve been observing David do this process since I started ringing and it felt amazing to do it for myself! I’m starting to get a really good variety of experience with a big range of species and am learning how to age and sex the birds depending on their plumage. There’ll be lots more to learn and I’m very excited about this.

Recently we spent the day with Reserves Manager Jamie Parsons, at Flatropers, way over in the East. The day involved clearing some of the overhanging canopy branches from along a track to open it up. I spent the day chain-sawing low branches and felling some over-stood hazel and willow coppice, whilst Mark joined with a couple of extremely helpful volunteers, using hand tools to cut up the branches and move them off the track. I love getting practice with the chainsaw, as I want to get really confident using them so I can keep the skill up after my traineeship.

As Mark mentioned we have been involved in some Barbastelle Bat monitoring this month. I love bats and it was great fun joining in with this. Mark and I went out to The Mens, over in the West, to collect in the detectors which was a bit of a treasure hunt. We got lost a number of times and some of the detectors were so well camouflaged they were almost impossible to find. After a very long day we eventually got them all in, I’m really excited to hear back about the results and see how the bat life is doing.

We’ve got lots of training coming up, including off-road and tractor driving, which is going to be a lot of fun, there will be updates on how that goes next month.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782974384.89910 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782974384.92970.0306Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782974384.930.0002Server address: 216.73.217.103
1782974384.930Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782974384.930Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/august-update-from-the-lederman-trainees
    [s] => august-update-from-the-lederman-trainees
    [1] => august-update-from-the-lederman-trainees
)
1782974384.93030.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782974384.93130.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782974384.93330.002 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782974384.93380.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782974384.93590.0021 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22509858
1782974384.93640.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22509858
1782974384.93690.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-02 06:39:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-02 06:39:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782974384.93810.0012 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='august-update-from-the-lederman-trainees')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-02 06:39:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782974384.94090.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782974384.94130.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2867 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-02 06:39:00'
1782974384.94220.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782974384.94280.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782974384.94340.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=235 LIMIT 1
1782974384.9440.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782974384.94430.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782974384.9450.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-02 06:39:00' AND postSlug='august-update-from-the-lederman-trainees'
1782974384.96840.0234Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782974384.96880.0004 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782974384.97520.0064Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782974384.97540.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782974384.97610.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782974384.97710.0009 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782974384.97970.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782974384.98020.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782974384.98190.0017Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782974384.9820 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782974384.98250.0005 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782974384.98280.0003 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782974384.98420.0014 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782974384.98470.0005 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782974384.98510.0004 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782974384.98680.0017 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782974384.98730.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782974384.98920.0019 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782974384.98960.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782974384.98990.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782974384.99040.0005Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782974384.99080.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='august-update-from-the-lederman-trainees')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-02 06:39:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782974384.99260.0018 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782974384.99290.0003 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782974384.99530.0024Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782974384.99610.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2867 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782974385.08230.0861 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782974385.08250.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782974385.08270.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782974385.09070.008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782974385.09140.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782974385.0920.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782974385.0940.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782974385.09460.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782974385.09640.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782974385.0970.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782974385.09740.0004 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782974385.09780.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782974385.10.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782974385.10050.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782974385.10230.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782974385.10580.0035 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782974385.10630.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782974385.10670.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782974385.10880.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782974385.10920.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782974385.11110.0019 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782974385.11340.0022 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782974385.11390.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782974385.11450.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782974385.11640.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782974385.11860.0022 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782974385.12050.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782974385.12160.0011Request time: 0.2253
1782974385.12160Process time: 0.2252
1782974385.12160Memory: 1.6499