Rural and Environment

Women in the Rural Economy: Part 13

March 11, 2019 by admin No Comments | Category Agriculture, flooding, Uncategorized

When the place of birth on your birth certificate is recorded as The New Forest, it’s maybe a sign of what is to come. Not that I realised that for quite a while and with my family working mostly in the civil service, drapery businesses or medical profession, I started my school sixth form wanting to be a Doctor. Claire Glaister, FICFor, forestry consultant, member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters’ Professional blogs on what its like to work in the rural economy.

Work experience in my local hospital’s A&E department, whilst exciting for sure, made me think that I might prefer to do something else and, noticing a book on careers in the outdoors in the careers office at school, my attention was caught.

It was to The New Forest I then turned again. Initially spending every Thursday afternoon for a term as work experience with Forestry Commission foresters and then for a 12 month position with the Forestry Commission’s Survey Branch.

After that, I was hooked.

A move to the most northerly (then) University in the UK – and the furthest from home – followed and an Honours degree in Forest Management gained. Remaining in Scotland, I’ve held a variety of posts in both the public and private sectors and undertaken jobs including supervising planting operations, rowing an inflatable dingy across a loch, leading a study tour to Sweden, organising conferences and events, flying in a helicopter, managing budgets and staff, assessing apprentices, chairing committees, doing star jumps – in wellies – with school kids, giving evidence in Parliament and being interviewed in front of a camera on a windswept hillside in Highland Perthshire.

I can see that at various milestones in my journey, it’s been people, or just one person, who have provided a way marker – the Deputy Surveyor who asked if I’d be interested in applying for the job with the Survey Branch, the Forestry Director who challenged me to take up a promotion I hadn’t imagined would ever be offered, the then acquaintance, now friend, who asked – over a pint of Guinness – what would you really like to be doing in 5 years’ time or the colleagues who said “Set up a company together? We can do this!”

I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and my hope is for anyone starting their career in it now is that they;

 Don’t assume they have to follow one path when another may be calling them;
 Can know that being a woman isn’t a disadvantage;
 Seek out advice from others;
 Are not afraid to be challenged;
 Have a passion/a pride in what they do;
 Are professional in all things;
 Encourage others to see forestry as not only about “lumberjacks” – it is so, SO, much more;
 Eventually look back, smile and say, I’ve really enjoyed this!

Tags: forestry, International Women's Day, rural economy, Scotland, Women

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