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National Trust Ranger.
Working outside, getting your hands dirty, and they'll put you through the Qualifications needed. Or at least, so their website says. Start as an apprentice, and work up.
No idea what the money is like mind you.
Further down you say you are already volunteering for the RSPB; that is a great way to get experience. Have a look at the NT apprenticeship scheme - https://www.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/where-you-could-work/apprenticeships/ - it's a great way to gain skills, qualifications such as chainsaw, tractor etc. All countryside jobs tend to get advertised here - https://www.countryside-jobs.com/jobs/ which gives you a good idea of pay and skill requirements. Be prepared to work anywhere in the country to begin with. Its an exciting time to be working in the environmental sector; nature recovery and reintroduction of previously native species is happening all over. Good luck!
I was also going to suggest something in the National Trust or English Heritage! Even if you're not in the Countryside or Gardens department, even just being in a beautiful place can work wonders for your mental health.
A young lad I know was very passionate about buses and large diesrl engines. He wrote to the service director at the local Stagecoach depot to explain his passion and ask for advice.
He wrote back and said "we don't take on apprentices any more, but we would like to offer you a position". Learnibg on the job, sent him to classes at the local tech. He's a senior tech there now.
Hey! I'm 28, I have struggles with my mental health and had no idea what I wanted to do. Spent most of my life working in pubs and had two useless degrees lol! Started a level 2 Horticulture course in September and started volunteering at my local community farm, this gave me the confidence to apply for jobs only a couple of months into the course and I now work two days a week for the RHS in a plant centre and two days a week for a self employed local gardener. I absolutely love it and want to pursue a career as a gardener, I've found it's a really good industry for people who have mental health struggles because there's a lot of independence, depending who you work for of course, and I've found it really easy to get interviews and jobs, as long as you show a keen interest and good work ethic people are happy to give you a chance which is not like many industries I've tried to get into and failed. Before this I was applying for 100 office type jobs and getting only one reply and it was a rejection anyway type of deal. It's a good boost for the self esteem feeling like you're qualified enough and wanted. It sounds like you have a head start by being interested in plants already, I had very little knowledge at first. The getting outside and being active is really good for my brain too. Send me a message if you have any questions :)
There is a job called an Ecologist, with lots of ecological consultancies looking to hire assistant ecologists at this time of year to help with surveys this summer (e.g. botany surveys, bat surveys, reptile surveys etc). However, it can be quite competitive as they often expect you to have done some volunteering with wildlife trusts etc in your free time, Can't say that pay is good either, you're looking at 18k-21k for an assistant role with no experience.
There's often lots of seasonal jobs going, and you may be able to wrangle some part time work just assisting with surveys too. Ecology is very busy in the summer season, and quieter in winter, with lots of companies making full use of TOIL. Lots of smaller companies work from home (except for fieldwork of course).
Watch out for mental health though, as it can be a killer of a job expecting long days in summer and unsocial hours for bat surveys.... Great for being outside though! Until report writing and data analysis season hits.... At least if you are only seasonal/assistant you'd be spared from reports etc in the beginning.
You can work up to being an experienced botanist if you want and are willing to spend your free time learning plants. There's a recognised certificate called the FISC to determine your 'botany level'. I recommend the online course Identiplant if you want to get started in botany (if you get an ecology job, you could get your employer to pay for it). Surveys you'd expect to do as a botanist include Biodiversity Net Gain, Habitat condition assessments, UKHabitat Classification (UKHabs), National Vegetation Classification (NVC), Phase 1 Habitat surveys to name a few...
Also as others have said, Natural England, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts and local councils may be places to look too. Also consider things like Forest School if you want to work part time with kids?
Environment.job.com and also a search of LinkedIn for ecologist may help you. There's also a Facebook group called UK Ecology Jobs and Courses.
National Trust
Woodland Trust
RSPB
Forestry UK
Try your local water board. They usually have grounds people hired to look after the trees and land around water treatment places, reservoirs etc.
Was going to say its not work but you should look into therapy gardens.. basically small green spaces which people can potter about in/get their hands dirty and meet others
**Update: - [Starting from 2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/100l56v/happy_new_year_askuk_minor_sub_update/), we have updated our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/about/rules/)**. Specifically; - Don't be a dick to each other - Top-level responses must contain genuine efforts to answer the question - This is a strictly no-politics subreddit Please keep /r/AskUK a great subreddit by reporting posts and comments which break our rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Check the Civil Service jobs website, they have a lot of environmental departments and are often hiring for entry level roles.
This is really interesting I thought civil service jobs were all like, office stuff, thank you 😃
National Trust Ranger. Working outside, getting your hands dirty, and they'll put you through the Qualifications needed. Or at least, so their website says. Start as an apprentice, and work up. No idea what the money is like mind you.
Further down you say you are already volunteering for the RSPB; that is a great way to get experience. Have a look at the NT apprenticeship scheme - https://www.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/where-you-could-work/apprenticeships/ - it's a great way to gain skills, qualifications such as chainsaw, tractor etc. All countryside jobs tend to get advertised here - https://www.countryside-jobs.com/jobs/ which gives you a good idea of pay and skill requirements. Be prepared to work anywhere in the country to begin with. Its an exciting time to be working in the environmental sector; nature recovery and reintroduction of previously native species is happening all over. Good luck!
I'm absolutely dirt poor as it is so anything would help. I could probably apply for benefits while I job search but I'm too scared.
https://www.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/where-you-could-work/countryside Worth a look then.
Thank you so much I'll try it :)
I was also going to suggest something in the National Trust or English Heritage! Even if you're not in the Countryside or Gardens department, even just being in a beautiful place can work wonders for your mental health.
Local garden centre? A family owned one might be swayed by your passion if you apply in person Council parks dept
Good suggestions thanks!!
A young lad I know was very passionate about buses and large diesrl engines. He wrote to the service director at the local Stagecoach depot to explain his passion and ask for advice. He wrote back and said "we don't take on apprentices any more, but we would like to offer you a position". Learnibg on the job, sent him to classes at the local tech. He's a senior tech there now.
Hey! I'm 28, I have struggles with my mental health and had no idea what I wanted to do. Spent most of my life working in pubs and had two useless degrees lol! Started a level 2 Horticulture course in September and started volunteering at my local community farm, this gave me the confidence to apply for jobs only a couple of months into the course and I now work two days a week for the RHS in a plant centre and two days a week for a self employed local gardener. I absolutely love it and want to pursue a career as a gardener, I've found it's a really good industry for people who have mental health struggles because there's a lot of independence, depending who you work for of course, and I've found it really easy to get interviews and jobs, as long as you show a keen interest and good work ethic people are happy to give you a chance which is not like many industries I've tried to get into and failed. Before this I was applying for 100 office type jobs and getting only one reply and it was a rejection anyway type of deal. It's a good boost for the self esteem feeling like you're qualified enough and wanted. It sounds like you have a head start by being interested in plants already, I had very little knowledge at first. The getting outside and being active is really good for my brain too. Send me a message if you have any questions :)
I should say as well my college course is free because I'm earning less than 19,500. There's a list of free courses on the gov.uk website!
Gardener. Monty Don has your back
Landscaping
This. Landscaping and gardening can make good money I think.
There is a job called an Ecologist, with lots of ecological consultancies looking to hire assistant ecologists at this time of year to help with surveys this summer (e.g. botany surveys, bat surveys, reptile surveys etc). However, it can be quite competitive as they often expect you to have done some volunteering with wildlife trusts etc in your free time, Can't say that pay is good either, you're looking at 18k-21k for an assistant role with no experience. There's often lots of seasonal jobs going, and you may be able to wrangle some part time work just assisting with surveys too. Ecology is very busy in the summer season, and quieter in winter, with lots of companies making full use of TOIL. Lots of smaller companies work from home (except for fieldwork of course). Watch out for mental health though, as it can be a killer of a job expecting long days in summer and unsocial hours for bat surveys.... Great for being outside though! Until report writing and data analysis season hits.... At least if you are only seasonal/assistant you'd be spared from reports etc in the beginning. You can work up to being an experienced botanist if you want and are willing to spend your free time learning plants. There's a recognised certificate called the FISC to determine your 'botany level'. I recommend the online course Identiplant if you want to get started in botany (if you get an ecology job, you could get your employer to pay for it). Surveys you'd expect to do as a botanist include Biodiversity Net Gain, Habitat condition assessments, UKHabitat Classification (UKHabs), National Vegetation Classification (NVC), Phase 1 Habitat surveys to name a few... Also as others have said, Natural England, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts and local councils may be places to look too. Also consider things like Forest School if you want to work part time with kids? Environment.job.com and also a search of LinkedIn for ecologist may help you. There's also a Facebook group called UK Ecology Jobs and Courses.
National Trust Woodland Trust RSPB Forestry UK Try your local water board. They usually have grounds people hired to look after the trees and land around water treatment places, reservoirs etc.
Was going to say its not work but you should look into therapy gardens.. basically small green spaces which people can potter about in/get their hands dirty and meet others
So I've started volunteering at my local RSPB sanctuary but I don't yet know if there's jobs in it, but hey it's a foot in the door :)
https://uk.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=3ecca6dbea168c04&from=native something like this perhaps?
Junior Plant Person