A Volunteers Reflection

One of our student volunteers reflects on his time at Bunloit, surveying and monitoring the wildlife that call the estate home. Finn Upton spent four weeks on Bunloit alongside three other volunteers. Here’s what he has to say…

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After four sometimes sparkling, sometimes wet, sometimes windy weeks, we have come to the end of our student led ecological surveys. As one of the team of four student ecologists, I have been spending my summer volunteering on Bunloit Estate, to find out as much as we can about the biodiversity there. The whole experience was a trial run, with some of us getting our first taste of monitoring animal populations in the field, and some of us even getting our first long taste of the Scottish Highlands! Meanwhile, the rest of the team were trialling new methods of ecological surveying which was been enlightening to see, for how to best observe the wildlife on the land. 

Everything down to the logistics was an experiment, from finding the most productive survey methods to sleeping arrangements. It will be exciting to see future students get the best out of their experiences on the estate in years to come. Most exciting of all is that for the first time, we have been able to start measuring where and how we can put our best efforts into making Bunloit the home for rewilding that we want it to be. By getting insights into which habitat provides the best conditions for each species on the land, we can start to learn how the actions in the future will impact the natural life there, and how we can act with nature to protect and enjoy it.

The first Bunloit volunteers with Craig Turner, local ecologist.

So how did we go about an ecological survey? 

We were trained and mentored by one of the local contracted ecologists - Craig Turner from Wychwood Environmental (to find out more about Bunloit’s collaborators, see here). First things first, we had to decide what it is we would like to know more about. For the purpose of the student surveys, we decided to focus on the small mammals, reptiles and amphibians at Bunloit. Even the smallest of animals in a given area can be indicative of how healthy and adaptive a habitat can be. 

We dived right in and got our hands dirty on the first day, preparing equipment and exploring the habitats. We had to know exactly where one ended and another emerged, so we spent time exploring the environments where we would be trekking each day. We immediately began to notice how one area varied from the next and the individual beauties of each habitat started to shine through. 

I was marvelled by the appreciation for nature that came from looking out for simple alterations in the number of insects or trees. Things like this can be so easy to overlook and means that, to many of us, the idea of 'the Highlands' clumps together many uniquely wonderful, individual habitats.  Such a crime feels dangerous for our underlying values towards nature and rewilding, but can easily be resolved by a purposeful walk and observing our ever changing surroundings. We identified 12 different kinds of unique habitat, each with its own diversity of plants, trees and fungi, as well as water ways and topographies. This meant that in each area it was likely that a new array of species would be waiting to tell us a new story. 

Next, we had to prepare, distribute and check on all of our equipment and camera traps. For reptiles we used squares of tarred felt to act as artificial covers. Their cold-blooded bodies need to spend time each day warming up somewhere cosy before setting off for a day of hunting. By using tarred felt laid on grass, we could remove the cover just for a second to see them lying there while they warm up underneath. For mammals and birds, we used small camera traps with seeds and mealworms as bait – drawing the little beasts in to be captured on video having a snack. Both these techniques gave us insights into the relative populations in each habitat. 

Across the estate we got glimpses of wonderful little animals living their lives and giving back to the ecosystems on the land. Now we know what lives where, and how successful the populations of each species are in a given area, we can know if the actions in the future will be beneficial or not to the species that live there, to inform how we can serve biodiversity best. 

Students are invaluable to the process of exchanging learning, like we did at Bunloit. We were able to give insights into how to train up the next generation of rewilders, how to deliver engaging work experiences, and of course we have discovered what we share this land with. The surveys at Bunloit will be continuing long into the future so please keep your eyes out for any new experiences Bunloit Rewilding will offer. You can do this by following their socials @bunloitrewild or by signing up to the newsletter. 

For now, thank you fellow students, and I wish you all the best for your wild and adventurous lives! 

Finn Upton