National Apprenticeship Week: New ‘National Landscape’ apprentice

9 February 2024

A new staff member working in the North Pennines National Landscape team has become the organisation’s first National Landscape apprentice.

Late in 2023, as the nation’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) became National Landscapes, 21-year-old Louise Bainbridge took on this new role, and for National Apprenticeship Week (5 to 11 February) she looks back at her first few months in post.

Louise is from Crook in County Durham, just a few miles from the edge of the North Pennines National Landscape. She said: “I did floristry at college because I like plants and flowers, but I didn’t know that you could get a job like this working with nature and the outdoors. Then in 2021 I did a land and wildlife management course at Houghall College where I learned a lot about practical habitat management.

“I was lucky enough to then do a conservation volunteering traineeship, but after I finished that I had to take a job in a supermarket. When I saw this apprenticeship advertised, I was really excited by the opportunity to move into this work sector and get the right experience to start a career.”

So far Louise’s role has involved lots of practical conservation tasks, such as supporting the team with planting globeflower plug plants in field boundaries across Teesdale, and helping with footpath and access improvements. Higher up on the fells, Louise has also been working on some of the North Pennines peatland restoration sites, helping to check dip wells to monitor the hydrology of the blanket bog. Louise said: “It’s definitely a good idea to wrap up warm when you’re out there, and it’s also surprisingly hard to walk across the heather and the uneven ground – I’ve fallen in a lot of holes so far.

“I’m looking forward to spring and summer when I will be able to get experience with wildflower surveys, particularly in the hay meadows.”

As well as the hands-on experiences with the team, Louise will study a two-year Countryside Ranger apprenticeship course at Bishop Burton College. So far this has covered topics from hedge planting and species ID, to looking at how farm machinery is financed.

Louise said: “It’s a really exciting time to be part of the North Pennines National Landscape team. I think now that Areas of Outstanding National Beauty have become National Landscapes it puts more emphasis on the importance of these places, and it is easier for the public to understand what they are and why they are protected.”

Simon Wilson, Programme Manager for Business and Engagement with the North Pennines National Landscape team, said: “Louise has been a brilliant addition to our team and has been involved in such a lot of our work already. As an organisation we are committed to apprenticeships and traineeships across all our areas of work. They are a great way to get experience and a foothold in the sector.”

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