A day in the life of a Coexistence Support Officer

I recently joined Kent Wildlife Trust as the Coexistence Support Officer working primarily on the South East Pine Marten Restoration Project. This is a secondment granted by the John Lewis Partnership Golden Jubilee Trust, of time and skills to Partners (employees) to enable charitable organisations to further their aims and ambitions. I am lucky enough to be joining the project full time for 6 months working on the volunteering aspect of this project, as this aligns to my skill set in my day job within the Social Impact team. 

To refresh my ecological skills (as it's been a few years since my Animal Science degree!) and help to gain valuable experience of what our Practical Volunteers do, each week I have been joining the field team at Rother Woods in Sussex. 

Feasibility studies look at the current set of circumstances surrounding the project. Whether that's local people's opinions or assessing the numbers of small mammals found within the potential release areas. This helps to build a picture of the acceptance level, working with local people and also helps to plan any necessary mitigations. 

For ecological feasibility we collect information using a variety of methodologies.  

• Trackplates - Trackplates are 3 small planks of wood which fold up to form a triangle, on the floor of the trackplate is sticky back plastic with a layer of ethical charcoal (coconut husk powder) at each end, footprints of small mammals are recorded as the animal passes through the trackplate. This is called non-invasive monitoring. 
• Mostela Boxes - scent is used to encourage mustelids to visit a camera trap in a small wooden box.
• Squirrel Drey Surveys -  a walked transect across the site, recording grey squirrel dreys (nests) in the area.
• Audiomoths - capture sound of birds or bats in the surrounding areas.
• Camera Traps -  capture images of passing creatures.
• Dormouse Tunnels - plastic tubes with sticky paper to record dormouse footprints.