Taking on an intern can give the host organisation a much-needed boost during a busy time and, hopefully, is an enriching experience for the intern, which they will take with them into their future career and personal life. This year, the Scottish Wildlife Trust has taken on three interns to add to the Ranger Team numbers at Falls of Clyde.

Our intern Jess has just left us and our remaining intern, Lori, is due to leave us at the beginning of July. Susanne headed back to the Netherlands earlier in the year. They have done an incredible amount of work in the few months they have been here.

We are always especially busy over the summer months here at Falls of Clyde as visitor numbers are high and there are plenty of summer activities to be getting on with. If you have wandered down the riverside boardwalk on the Reserve, you may have noticed a few signs dotted along the way. This is our Wildflower Trail, which our interns have been looking after. This has involved many hours poring over flower identification guides and working out what exactly a ‘corolla’ is (it’s a collective term for petals), in order to keep the Trail up to date as old flowers fade and new flowers bloom. Many Saturdays have been spent Pond Dipping, hunting for Minibeasts, setting up a fantastic Live ‘n’ Deadly trail and badge making. They have also ventured out of the Reserve for fun community days such as Blossom Day. In addition to all that, they have carried out nesting bird surveys, woodland surveys and helped with a huge range of practical tasks. Phew!

We are very grateful for our interns and wish them all the best! Susanne and Lori are continuing their studies and Jess is heading off for her next adventure.