Manx Wildlife Trust | Manx Wildlife Trust on the hunt for a dream ‘Tree Team Trio’ | May 2024
01 May 2024
Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) is recruiting for a team of rangers to help deliver woodland conservation in the Isle of Man thanks to funding from the Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust and Aviva (via The Wildlife Trusts Temperate Rainforest Restoration Project).
Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) is the largest conservation charity in the Isle of Man, and they are looking for two or three people to join their team of passionate, environmentally minded, dynamic, and supportive people. The new roles are focused on the delivery of MWT’s three landscape-scale woodland projects covering 339 acres: MWT Creg y Cowin Nature Reserve (107 acres), MWT Glion Darragh Nature Reserve (173 acres) and MWT Hairpin Woodland Park (59 acres). They are key roles in terms of delivering MWT’s overall mission to ‘protect and enhance our environment, create more spaces for wildlife, and inspire people to act for nature.’ MWT say the ideal candidates will be able to use their own initiative, work independently, organise tasks, and be a key part of the MWT team.
All three posts are externally funded for an initial three-year period, with an ambition to make them permanent (subject to MWT generating additional funding). One of the posts is full-time, the other two are part-time, however, there is the potential to combine the two part-time roles into a single full-time post.
The available roles are:
Post A: Woodland Ranger - Estate (full-time post, 37.5 hours/week): Kindly funded by The Wildlife Trusts/Aviva Temperate Rainforest Restoration Project. This role is focused on practical tasks in our woodland projects, including tree planting, woodland management and coordinating MWT’s Tree Risk Management Strategy across all MWT sites. Candidates must have a good working knowledge of trees, experience in tree/woodland management, hold a chainsaw licence (or be willing to be trained at MWT’s expense), and be comfortable working with other stakeholders and volunteers across a range of woodland sites and situations.
Post B: Woodland Ranger - Nursery (part-time post, 2.5 to 4 days per week): Kindly funded by The Wildlife Trusts/Aviva Temperate Rainforest Restoration Project. This role is based at Milntown Gardens (adjacent to the MWT Hairpin Woodland Park), where, subject to planning permission, MWT will soon be partnering with the Milntown Estate in the development of a partnership nursery to grow trees and other native Manx plants for conservation projects. This role will develop and expand the existing plant nursery, carry out plant propagation and production, keep accurate plant records, maintain high standards of hygiene/tidiness, order supplies and train and supervise volunteers working in the nursery. This post-holder will also be able to support the wider woodland team across our woodland sites.
Post C: Woodland Ranger - Engagement (2.5 days per week): Kindly funded by the Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust. This role is focused on engaging people in MWT’s woodland sites, particularly the MWT Hairpin Woodland Park adjacent to Ramsey. Key tasks will be to proactively involve local stakeholders and people of all ages and backgrounds in MWT’s woodland sites, including the leading of volunteer work parties (corporates and MWT’s volunteer Woodland Rangers), coordinating citizen science, and for people to be immersed in MWT’s woodlands for their own enjoyment, understanding, play and wellbeing.
MWT CEO, Leigh Morris said: ‘It’s exciting to be launching the recruitment for new posts to support the delivery of our MWT woodland projects. Thanks to funding from the Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust, and Aviva, we are seeking 2 or 3 new people to join our growing team. These posts will be key in developing and maintaining our woodlands to be as good for wildlife as they can be, growing the plants to create new areas and, crucially, enabling people in the Isle of Man to experience and enjoy our woodland environments. Woodlands are an important element of the Manx landscape, and these posts will help MWT ensure that we maintain, restore, and create new woodlands of the right tree species in the right places, benefitting nature, carbon sequestration and people. This is such an exciting opportunity and we’re looking forward to these new people joining our team.’
Further information about the three roles and details on how to apply can be found at mwt.im/jobs. The deadline for applications is midnight Wednesday 22nd May.