Stepping Stones Stories

Alfriston School

Chiltern Rangers has been working in partnership with Alfriston School since 2021/22, to help students develop life-skills and work experience, gain knowledge and practical skills in nature conservation, and contribute to the conservation management of Alfriston’s
extensive school grounds and woodland.

Students work with us from Y9 upwards on our ‘Stepping Stones to Employability’ pathway. They begin with in-school Forest Ranger sessions in Y9, gaining the basic conservation skills and knowledge to promote nature and biodiversity in the school grounds. From Y10 upwards students have the opportunity to choose blocks of 6 sessions, working outside of school on sites that Chiltern Rangers help to manage. Blocks are available for ‘Education Rangers’, working to support younger pupils from local primary schools in conservation tasks, or as ‘Habitat Rangers’, focused on advancing their conservation skills on more challenging sites. During these sessions we work to identify students with particular enthusiasm and engagement with the work, who might then join us for supported volunteering, work experience, or even progress to a paid internship.

The following students have all excelled as they have progressed through this pathway, during their time at Alfriston and beyond.

Sarah

Sarah began her journey with us in Y9, where she quickly demonstrated a keen interest in conservation, and showed aptitude in the practical skills needed. From Y10 onwards, Sarah regularly opted to participate in both Education Ranger and Habitat Ranger blocks. Here she learned new skills, excelling particularly in Habitat Ranger tasks where she became proficient in coppicing and felling small trees. We always knew that whatever the site or weather, Sarah would be happy if she had a saw in her hand!

As Sarah’s confidence grew, she began volunteering regularly with Chiltern Rangers during school holidays. She has so far attended over 70 volunteering sessions, lending a hand in our woodlands and precious chalk grassland sites, as well as with community sessions at local Housing Association, Primary School and NHS sites. Here Sarah gained many more skills including learning how to build planters, and repair and paint garden furniture, as well as the ability to interact well with other volunteers and our Chiltern Rangers staff. In 2023/4 Sarah joined our New Shoots initiative, a year-long wildlife and conservation programme for 14-20 year olds in the Chilterns. Here she was able to learn and develop alongside a diverse group of people of her own age.

Sarah has always been something of a champion for Chiltern Rangers, being filmed for several promotional videos, talking about our work and its positive impact on her. Sarah and another student also boldly conducted an interview, on-stage in front of several hundred people, at Chiltern Rangers 10th Anniversary celebrations.

Sarah has now left Alfriston for college and the challenge of GCSE’s, but continues to volunteer with us when able. In the summer of 2025 she will be joining us for a short-term paid internship. Sarah will be experiencing some working days with us, and we will hopefully also be able to arrange some days elsewhere to help Sarah towards her dream career as a politician. Sarah has ably progressed through the whole Stepping Stones pathway, gaining many life-skills along the way. We look forward to seeing where the skills and ambitions she has developed take her in the future.

Ell

Ell enjoyed working with Chiltern Rangers from her earliest experiences with us at school in Y9. From Y10 onwards, Ell chose to join the Education Ranger session blocks. This gave her the opportunity to work at mentoring younger children from local primary schools as they participated in conservation tasks with us. Ell quickly demonstrated a real aptitude for working with children, and in encouraging them as they took their first steps in conservation work.

As Ell became more experienced in conservation work, she began volunteering with us in her own time during school holidays. She has attended almost 30 volunteer sessions in a variety of locations, doing valuable work for both nature and her local community. Ell has also become a real champion for Chiltern Rangers, appearing in several videos about our work. Ell also took a wonderful role at Chiltern Rangers 10th Anniversary celebration, interviewing another young person about our work in front of a crowd of several hundred people. It has been great to see her confidence grow as she has taken on these challenging tasks.

Ell has now left Alfriston for a college course elsewhere, but her experience with Chiltern Rangers continues. In the summer of 2025, Ell will be participating in a short-term paid internship with us, where we will look to involve her once again in our work with children and young people. We were delighted to hear that Ell has also been able to secure experience working with children at a local primary school, and are really encouraged that her learning journey continues.

Georgina

Georgina came to know Chiltern Rangers through our in-school programmes in Y9 and with the post-16 group. She clearly enjoyed being out in nature, and working to care for it. Georgina began to participate in a number of our general volunteer sessions during school holidays, supported by one of her parents, or her carer. These included a session learning a new skill processing wildflower seeds for planting.

In 2023/4 Georgina joined in our New Shoots programme for those aged 14-20, a year-long series of sessions learning about wildlife and conservation. This gave her the opportunity for greater independence and social interaction with a wide-variety of young people. Georgina has also joined others from the local community for some of our Wildlife Walks, exploring nature in our urban woodlands.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed all our interactions with Georgina and hope that she will continue to volunteer with us in the future.

Alice

Alice was an early pioneer of Alfriston’s partnership with Chiltern Rangers, beginning in-school sessions with us during her post-16 year. Alice clearly enjoyed outdoor conservation work, and began volunteering with us independently when she finished school.

Alice completed around 25 conservation volunteer sessions during 2021 and 2022, gaining experience working in our woods, chalk grassland and on some of our NHS community sites. Alice always worked really hard, and it was a delight to have her join our sessions. It was lovely to see her grow in confidence as she worked with us, and we hope this experience will have helped her as she progresses through college and beyond.

Pebble Brook School

Chiltern Rangers has been working with Pebble Brook School since 2022 as part of our Stepping Stones programme, with groups of 8-10 students joining us for a working day in 6 week blocks on a variety of sites.

John

John had been struggling at school and by his own admission “was quite a menace and was about to be kicked out”. He heard about the programme Chiltern Rangers was running with Pebble Brook from a friend and asked if he could get involved, initially because he “liked the idea of cutting down trees, and liked the idea of getting out of school”.

After discussion with Pebble Brook staff, John joined us for a trial period of work experience one day each week in the summer term of 2024. John reports that he initially felt a bit shy, but he engaged well with the tasks he was given, and worked with us on areas that needed improvement as he adjusted to the workplace environment.

John particularly enjoys the physical nature of the work and has gained many new skills. He has been pleased to learn safe use of tools, and skills such as tree planting and dead hedge construction. John mentions that he really enjoys sessions where we use a fire to burn cut materials, and also our river based work.

John seems to have found a new sense of purpose and focus through his work with us. Whilst he was finding it difficult to retain information he was learning in formal education, he says of his ranger work, “Here, I’m invested, so I’m actually going to learn”. He also admits that, “I’m now focusing more in school, because I have breaks out of school”. John enjoys the fact that he’s now more comfortable with our staff, which makes the working day fun as well as productive. His resilience has really grown. John says of the work, “There are some bits I don’t like, but I just have to get on with it – and then I often find I like it in the end”.

John has continued his regular days with us in the 2024/25 school year. He has done so well with us that staff now bid to have him join them for their work sessions! John was given the “Chiltern Rangers Work Experience Student of the Year Award” for 2024 in appreciation of his efforts. John tells us, “You guys have been really brilliant, I couldn’t have asked for a better job”. We are now exploring the possibility of John joining us for a short-term paid internship in the coming months.

John’s ultimate aim is to work spray-painting cars and have his own business. We continue to work with him to develop the workplace skills he will need to achieve his ambitions.

John Taylor

Community Ranger

Growing up in the countryside (briefly in the Cambridgeshire Fens then the slightly more hilly area of the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border) I’ve always had a love for nature and the outdoors, especially the links between people and place and the arts and the environment. Having the Malvern Hills on one side of the village and the small rchards, fields and lanes of east Herefordshire on the other clearly made an impression – another favourite part of the world that I’m very lucky to spend time in is rural Jutland.
After finishing my MPhil I lived and worked in Staffordshire and Cheshire – a good few years on my narrowboat (now no longer with me). I then moved to Wycombe – it was only supposed to be for a couple of years but have now been here for over twenty.
After a long spell working in bookselling I took the life-changing decision to abruptly leave my job and stepped off the cliff – luckily there were good people at the bottom to catch me!
I started with Chiltern Rangers as a volunteer, firstly with the Green Thursday group and then on a more full-time basis before joining the team as a Trainee Ranger. I qualified as a Forest School Leader and now spend a lot of my time working with community groups and schools and I also work as a Community Ranger in partnership with Marsh & Micklefield Big Local. Working with a diverse range of people is a hugely rewarding experience and Forest School is a highlight of the week (although the children find it hard to imagine a primary school where there were only 30 people, including teachers…)
Outside of work I enjoy walking, art and photography and firmly believe that in life there cannot be too much music, too much cider or too many books…