Askham Bryan Rural Week 1

August 24, 2024

August is always a difficult time to fill courses due to military leave periods, but an intrepid group – 4 Royal Navy and 1 Army – of service leavers headed to Askham Bryan College near York on a sunny Sunday evening for week full of interesting visits, once again put together by Course Leader, Kate Rowland.

Monday began with an extensive visit to Castle Howard where Guy Thallon gave a through insight into the running of a large country estate. We also met with Head Forester, Duncan who introduced the group the intricacies of woodland management in the private sector. The afternoon started with an in depth insight into the varied work of Rangers in the North Yorkshire National Park – visitor management, habitat management and restoration, the role of volunteers and adult apprenticeships all made for a fascinating visit. The group headed back to the college via Fulford Golf Club meeting with Head Greenkeeper, Carl Losby who’s passion and knowledge had moist of the group convinced that greenkeeping was a serious potential career choice! Heather rounded off the day with a discussion on the Wheel of Life and the importance of understanding what is important to each individual.

The threatened rain didn’t appear and another summer day took the group north to Fountains Abbey to hear about tree management and the sometimes contentious topic of deer and squirrel management from former Royal Marine, Kev Heppell who now works as a Woodland Officer for the Forestry Commission who also answered useful questions on his transition from the military. The morning continued with an insight into racecourse grounds management by Head Groundsman, Neal Kidd at Wetherby Racecourse who’s tour was full of useful insight and a privileged peak into the weighing room. Following this the group learned about agricultural engineering from Tom Harrington and his team at the College and rounded off another full day learning about arboriculture from Matthew Metcalfe and Jonathan Chambers from Trees 4 Yew

Smallholding is always a popular area and Wednesday morning’s visit to meet Rowan Simms of Masham Pigs. The group tried their hand at sausage making and gained valuable insight into the realities of smallholding. The afternoon started with gaining a fascinating understanding of wildlife conservation with Connor McMillan at the college wildlife centre. Followed by a fantastic visit to Askham Bryan farm where Velcourt Farm Manager, Henry Abbis, talked through dairy and beef farming and the role of Agri-Tech in modern farming. The breadth and depth of the outdoor education sector and the range of opportunities available was the topic of the evening presentation by HighGround’s Operations Manager, Heather.

After a hearty breakfast, the group headed to the Askham Bryan Equine Centre, meeting Flo Clarkson and Shaun Malpas, for an in depth insight into the wide range of job roles in the equine industry, as well as meeting the lovely ‘Lester’ and testing skills on the mechanical horse, ‘Cobweb’. This was followed by a valuable guidance session on recruitment and CV skills by Michael Tait from Askham Bryan’s HR department. The increasingly important subject of vertical farming was explored at UK AgriTech Centre with an incredibly interesting and inspiring tour around the facilities. The afternoon ended with a useful discussion of the various ‘tickets’ useful in land-based work by Kate.

And suddenly, it was Friday!  A delighted visit by Jonathan Ball of Greenwich Hospital who so generously fund all Royal Navy and Royal Marine rural week participants and Anna. It’s always a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate first hand the impact funding has and for our supporters to meet the HighGrounders.

Heather rounded off the week with a session about next steps and future HighGround support, and then it was time to thank our HighGrounders for their energy, insight and enthusiasm and wish them safe journeys with lots to think about.

Thank you so much to Katie Rowland for putting together a fantastic week, and the rest of the Askham Bryan College team for again looking after us so well and making us welcome. Most especially, to all the wonderful presenters who gave so generously of their time and expertise.

Photos of the week can be seen here

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