15 Mar Path Skills Training Officer – Cairngorms

A new upland conservation project has started looking for someone to join the team to train volunteers in maintaining upland paths across both of Scotland’s national parks.

The Mountains and the People project is being manged by the Cairngorms Outdoor access Trust (COAT) and involves both the Loch Lomond and Trossachs and the Cairngorms Park  Authorities, Forest Enterprise Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The team is looking for an experienced upland path builder who will have the drive, experience and enthusiasm to train the next generation of environmental conservationists.

COAT’s Tom Wallace, said;

“This is a long-term project to conserve some of the most amazing upland spaces that Scotland has to offer.

“These are particularly fragile environments and path maintenance is vital to cutting down on the damage done by people wandering off route.

“We certainly don’t want to stop people visiting these spectacular places – in fact we see the popularity of these unique landscapes growing in the years to come – and to manage this properly and reduce damage to the environment we need to make sure that our upland paths are in a good condition to carry all that extra footfall.”

The successful candidate will be based in Aboyne and will deliver training in specialised upland path skills and habitat management to groups of up to 6 paid trainees per year for two years.  Training will be to SVQ level 2 focusing on environmental conservation as well as helping to develop skills in communication, site assessment, health and safety, and site restoration.

Anyone interested – and who have the right sort of experience and skills in delivering training courses – can find out more at www.cairngormsoutdooraccess.org.uk/jobs

The project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The deadline for applications is 12 noon, Monday 4th April 2016.