Onwards and Upwards

Having started my traineeship as an upland path worker in April, I have now well and truly reached the half way point of my journey. Throughout the past four months I have gained skills, understanding, respect and appreciation for the incredibly immense landscapes of Scotland. I have learnt about environmental conservation and the importance of upland path work and I have undertaken practical work that has helped to enhance and protect the wild and special qualities of the mountains within Scotland’s National Parks. The necessity of this work being undertaken is due to the increase in the popularity of hill walking and outdoor recreation, which in turn has led to informal paths developing, which suffer increasing wear and serious erosion. The impact of this erosion results in very large and obtrusive scars causing unacceptable visual impact, particularly in areas which otherwise appear wild and natural, as well as destruction to the surrounding habitats that are crucial to the residing wildlife. Sustainable and environmentally beneficial upland path work is desperately called upon in order to minimise the impact of this erosion, and restore sites to an acceptable and more resilient state. Building and repair work is done sensitively using techniques that will withstand the pressures of path users, and climate, but not detract away from the experience of walking through an awe inspiring, wild landscape. As I now continue into the second half of my training programme, I hope to continue to develop and utilise these skills and techniques within my own work, in order to contribute towards the ongoing efforts to conserve the wild and wonderful places of Scotland.