During November and December, three of our volunteers have undertaken training leading to City and Guilds Qualifications. These will permit the recipients to carry out tasks in a more efficient and effective manner.
Firstly, Steve Wright has attained the following:
City & Guilds NPTC Level 2 Award in Ground Based Chainsaw Operator.
This encompasses the following qualifications:
201 Carryout maintenance of chainsaw and cutting system
202 Cross-cut timber using a chainsaw
203 Fell and process trees up to 380m
We really could have used this 12 months ago, when we had a large number of trees and limbs brought down by snowfall! We do routinely need to thin and remove trees to preserve the overall mosaic of a reserve, so we will make good use of this skill in 2019 and beyond.
Secondly, Richard Beswick and Ray Hodges have both attained:
City &Guilds Level 2 Principles of Safe Handling and Application of Pesticides (PA1)
and
City &Guilds Level 2 Award in the Safe Application of Pesticides using Pedestrian Hand Held Equipment (PA6)
The qualification 151 earned is for operating pedestrian hand held applicators fitted with hydraulic nozzles or rotary atomisers to apply pesticides to land.
This does not mean that we embark on mass spraying of invasive plant species. It simply makes us legal to conduct control of such species safely and effectively. The spirit of the legislation is to use the lowest volume of the least harmful pesticide