I'm Jess and I work as a Project Support Officer in the Tree Planting & Establishment Team. My work is very varied and seasonal due to tree planting season running from November to March. A typical day for me during the winter looks very different from a day in the middle of summer!
A typical day for me during tree planting season can look like this:
- 8.30am – arrive at the office and catch up on some emails and general admin.
- 9am – a meeting with some of our contractors to discuss the last few tree planting projects they are supporting us with this season. There are lots of considerations we need to make sure we have right for each planting site, such as tree species, tree protection and adequate maintenance plans.
- 10am – attend a planting event! Engage our wonderful volunteers, plant some trees, and enjoy working outdoors in Surrey's beautiful countryside.
- 1pm – planting event finishes, so help to pack up and take resources back to the office.
- 3pm – various desk-based activities, including saving photos from the day so we can share the successful project on social media, working on an upcoming funding bid to allow us to plant even more trees next year, and responding to emails from stakeholders. The tree planting project has lots of interest from different people across Surrey, and we are keen to work with as many people as possible to plant 1.2 million trees in Surrey by 2030!
Because my role involves tree planting, I get to be out on site a lot. In the winter, this is usually on tree planting events, but in the summer this can be scoping out new sites to plant trees on and working with stakeholders to discuss specific tree planting projects on their land. The work varies year-round so it's never boring! It's really rewarding to see a project go from inception to completion, and supporting local groups such as schools and charities to increase the nature available on their land, knowing all of the amazing benefits that the trees will provide.
For further information on tree planting including our tree planting interactive map and volunteering opportunities visit our Greener Futures web pages.
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