Job Profile

What does your job involve and what might a typical day involve?

My job involves developing and delivering Trees for Cities’ London consultation activities and community events. Trees for Cities does a variety of greening projects in parks, greenspaces & urban woodlands and on estates & streets.

It’s a very varied role and involves event management, marketing, designing consultation materials and consulting with residents and businesses. Most importantly, it involves talking to lots of people.

I could be doing art & craft with a community group, planning entertainments for a ‘Woodland Fun Day’, designing promotional materials or even wearing a green wig to hand out flyers.

What qualifications and experience did you have before starting the job?

I have an MSc in Environmental Sustainability from Edinburgh University and 2 years’ experience in community involvement in the conservation/environmental sector. Specifically, I had experience of organising community events, knowledge of both consultation and the environment, plus strong communication skills.

What are the best and worst bits of your job?

The best bit of my job is firstly, delivering our community fun days. It’s incredibly motivating to get so many people out to plant a tree and enjoy woodland crafts in really deprived areas of London. Secondly, it’s all the positive feedback we get from residents who have just got a new tree on their street or flowers in their local greenspace

The worst part of the job is seeing vandalised trees or plants, despite all our efforts to involve people and generate ownership. But is does motivate me to try and involve even more people and try new approaches.

What satisfaction do you get from your work and how does it make a difference?

I get incredible satisfaction from enabling people to have fun whilst doing their bit to improve their local environment. A family day out planting a tree, making a bird box, and learning how to weave willow, accompanied by face painting and music is such a rewarding way of helping the environment. This is really important as ‘doing your bit’ is often seen as a bit of a chore; washing out all those cans and bottles, giving up your car etc.

Further to this I enable local people to choose how they would like their local area to be made greener. This means the improvements we make are much more appreciated and cared for. Finally, I help make London greener, which makes both people and wildlife happier and healthier.

Do you have any tips for someone looking for a career in this area?

Everyone says it’s all about getting experience and it is – there are plenty of environmental organisations that have volunteering opportunities. Once you’ve got a foot in the door it’s easier to get a job with the organisation you’re volunteering for, or network with others. Treat it as if it’s a paid job though, you’ll get more satisfaction from it, be given more responsibility and be more likely to get a paid position that comes up. If money is a problem, do it part-time and combine it with a paid job. It’ll be worth it, because one day you’ll have a job that you love – no need to dread Monday mornings.

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