By Charlene Abraham, Foundation degree (FdSc) in Rural & Countryside Management (RCM) student, Greenmount Campus

I’m currently in my second year of the Foundation Degree in Rural & Countryside management.  I’m studying the course on a part-time basis, coming to Greenmount Campus two days a week.  Hopefully in the future the course will assist me in getting a job relating to countryside management. This semester I’m completing three modules - Environmental policy, Environmental education & interpretation and Habitat management.  Environmental policy looks at the institutions, organizations and policies that deal with the environment in Northern Ireland. The Environmental education & interpretation module shows how in the future if I’m managing a nature reserve how to complete guided tours and produce publicity material. Habitat management covers the main habitat types in Northern Ireland and how to manage these for conservation reasons.

I am really enjoying the course, there is a good mix of lectures and field trips; for example within the Habitat management module we have lectures in the morning about the various habitats, the species associated with them, how they should be managed and then in the afternoon we go on field visits to various locations across Northern Ireland to look at management of the sites. Recently we visited Portstewart strand to look at how the National Trust manage the dunes, which is an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI). The Trust uses a local farmer to graze the dune system with Belgian Blue cattle.  This was followed by a visit the next week to learn how the Ulster Wildlife Trust manages Ballynahone Raised Bog which is a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the second largest intact active raised bog in Northern Ireland.  The course has been a wonderful learning opportunity and the venues visited are all new experiences for me, it also gives me an opportunity to meet with different organizations who may be potential employers in the future.

(L-R) Iris Coulter, Charlene Abraham and Terry Kerr investigating the vegetation types at Ballynahone Bog, near Magherafelt.