We are now entering the final stages of construction of the Speckled Wood building, so the time has come for us to start to hunt for the people who are going to get the opportunity to be the first to come and live in it.
We are looking to recruit 3 long term volunteers to come and work with us on the National Trust’s Black Down Estate in The South Downs National Park near Haslemere on the borders of West Sussex and Surrey.
The successful candidates would get an opportunity to develop their experience of working in countryside conservation on an estate with lots of woodland, grassland and heathland as well as a small herd of in hand cattle. There would be opportunity to work with volunteer groups staying in our basecamp. as well as to get involved in small scale sustainable food production and our events programme.
The role would mostly involve working out and about across the Black Down Estate, but would also involve helping to look after the basecamp and its volunteers, maintaining the biomass boiler and looking after the basecamp vegetable garden and chicken run.
The volunteers would be offered free accommodation in the Speckled Wood Building, our brand new cruck framed eco building which was sustainably constructed using the products of our woodlands by the Black Down Countryside team in association with local craftsman Ben Law and his Roundwood Timber Framing Company. Ben became well known following on from his appearance on Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme and the publishing of his books on woodlands and sustainable construction.
The volunteers will help us to run the estate in a more sustainable way, whilst living in a house constructed from materials that were produced in the woodlands within which they will be living and working.
We anticipate quite a few people being interested in this rare opportunity, therefore a shortlist of applicants will be invited to a practically based selection process on the property. This will consist of working on a task with the countryside team over the course of two days as well as a short sit down discussion with the team. Free overnight accommodation will be provided on site. The selection days will be 23rd / 24th May and the closing date for applications is 9th May. For further information and an application form please contact : gwyneth.byerley@nationaltrust.org.uk
