Week one at FSC Millport
I'll try and update this blog every sunday 😊 see the links below for social media updates on what we're doing at the centre 😊
This week I've been getting to know everyone and getting my bearings around the centre. I spent Monday morning having a tour of the centre and being introduced to members of staff. I have a large induction pack I'm working my way through which has a few tasks that I have to complete to complete my induction training. This also includes reading all the relevent operating codes of practice which took me a few days! In the afternoon I had my first rock climbing training. The rock climbing wall has only been up and running at the centre for a year and so most of the staff have completed training and are ratified to take groups on the wall. The other HE placement students have been training for a while and so I joined their training. We are being ratified on monday so I had the week to learn the knots and practice for rigging the wall, de-rigging and belaying as well as instructing any visitors on how to put on harnesses, helmets, bellring and belay safely. Each afternoon this week I have spent doing climbing training which has been a skill I didn't realise I was going to gain!
On Tuesday and Wednesday I shadowed duty shifts. Normal days are 8:30am-5pm but when any school groups are in then someone does a duty shift where you work 2pm-11pm and are then on call over night. When under 18s are on site you do a sleep in on site.
On Tuesday I shadowed Rosie and Wednesday Shadowed Beth. Duty shifts include checking all the buildings are locked up, checking all the lights are off and being on call in case the groups on site need any help like if they get locked out of their room or need more towels etc, also working the staff bar for teachers and over 18s on site. You're also the first aider if anything goes wrong.
On Thursday I helped Luke and Rosie to draw out signs for the nature trail they have been making at the centre. I drew chalk arrows on slate for them.
On Friday as well as induction pack and climbing training Rosie and I spent an hour in the Library helping one of the Volunteers Louise to re organise the library which is going to be a very big job. Its a fascinating library. The FSC Millport Centre used to be a University Marine Station run by the University of London and first founded in 1897. Its one of the oldest marine stations in the UK and was taken over by the FSC in 2014 so there are loads of really cool marine biology books, old journals and other biological books.
The weather has been all over the place this week, some days have been nice and sunny but cold but others we have had a lot of rain and hail!
This weekend Storm Clara has hit and its been extremely windy, so much so the building we live on has been shaking in the wind! I stayed in most of Saturday, popping down to the HEP flat below to have dinner and watch films with Rosie and Luke. On Saturday Rosie and Luke invited me down for dinner and we had a couscous salad with roasted red onion, courgette, olives and chickpeas with raclette and potatoes on Rosies Mini Raclette grill.
On Sunday Luke and Rosie and I wanted to go to Largs on the Mainland to do a food shop as there are no schools in next week so no food at the centre. However because the weather is really bad we didn't want to get stuck on Largs if the ferries got cancelled so we walked into Millport and got some bits from the convenience store and then went to a cafe for Hot Chocolate before walking back. Don't be fooled by the sunshine in the picture below, the wind nearly blew us all over and was spraying the sea at us.
https://www.instagram.com/fscmillport/?hl=en - Millport Instagram
https://www.facebook.com/MillportFieldCentre - Millport Facebook
This week I've been getting to know everyone and getting my bearings around the centre. I spent Monday morning having a tour of the centre and being introduced to members of staff. I have a large induction pack I'm working my way through which has a few tasks that I have to complete to complete my induction training. This also includes reading all the relevent operating codes of practice which took me a few days! In the afternoon I had my first rock climbing training. The rock climbing wall has only been up and running at the centre for a year and so most of the staff have completed training and are ratified to take groups on the wall. The other HE placement students have been training for a while and so I joined their training. We are being ratified on monday so I had the week to learn the knots and practice for rigging the wall, de-rigging and belaying as well as instructing any visitors on how to put on harnesses, helmets, bellring and belay safely. Each afternoon this week I have spent doing climbing training which has been a skill I didn't realise I was going to gain!
On Tuesday and Wednesday I shadowed duty shifts. Normal days are 8:30am-5pm but when any school groups are in then someone does a duty shift where you work 2pm-11pm and are then on call over night. When under 18s are on site you do a sleep in on site.
On Tuesday I shadowed Rosie and Wednesday Shadowed Beth. Duty shifts include checking all the buildings are locked up, checking all the lights are off and being on call in case the groups on site need any help like if they get locked out of their room or need more towels etc, also working the staff bar for teachers and over 18s on site. You're also the first aider if anything goes wrong.
On Thursday I helped Luke and Rosie to draw out signs for the nature trail they have been making at the centre. I drew chalk arrows on slate for them.
On Friday as well as induction pack and climbing training Rosie and I spent an hour in the Library helping one of the Volunteers Louise to re organise the library which is going to be a very big job. Its a fascinating library. The FSC Millport Centre used to be a University Marine Station run by the University of London and first founded in 1897. Its one of the oldest marine stations in the UK and was taken over by the FSC in 2014 so there are loads of really cool marine biology books, old journals and other biological books.
The weather has been all over the place this week, some days have been nice and sunny but cold but others we have had a lot of rain and hail!
This weekend Storm Clara has hit and its been extremely windy, so much so the building we live on has been shaking in the wind! I stayed in most of Saturday, popping down to the HEP flat below to have dinner and watch films with Rosie and Luke. On Saturday Rosie and Luke invited me down for dinner and we had a couscous salad with roasted red onion, courgette, olives and chickpeas with raclette and potatoes on Rosies Mini Raclette grill.
On Sunday Luke and Rosie and I wanted to go to Largs on the Mainland to do a food shop as there are no schools in next week so no food at the centre. However because the weather is really bad we didn't want to get stuck on Largs if the ferries got cancelled so we walked into Millport and got some bits from the convenience store and then went to a cafe for Hot Chocolate before walking back. Don't be fooled by the sunshine in the picture below, the wind nearly blew us all over and was spraying the sea at us.
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