My wild job

An interview with Matt Callaway, Green Lane Wood Reserve Warden

How long have you worked for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust?

I have been involved with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in different capacities for almost nine years. I started straight out of university as a trainee in practical conservation. We did a lot of training such as practising chainsaw tasks, fencing, mending gates and wildlife surveying work. I feel extremely privileged and proud to have then landed a job with the Trust after my year placement.

For four years, I was an estates worker based at Langford Lakes, helping look after the 40+ nature reserves that the Trust manages, alongside a small team and some amazing volunteers. I now work more locally, which I adore, as I can finally cycle to work. Green Lane Wood and Biss Wood are my second home and are extraordinary places to visit.

What does an average day as a Reserve Warden look like?

Every day is different for me, so it’s hard to say what the average day looks like, but usually meeting up with volunteers to carry out a practical task like erecting a deer fence or, as we are now, planning our survey work for the summer. I carry out all the day-to-day management of the site, the woodland work, including coppicing and maintaining the paths. My job is to manage the work programme, plan out what we are doing and when, and to manage the implications for the wildlife.

What do you like best about your job?

Working with the volunteers at Green Lane Wood. I like to think I look after my volunteers, but it is certainly the other way around. They are a wonderful group of people and it is a pleasure to work alongside them.

I also really enjoy the changing seasons in the woods; even week to week, the changes to the ground flora, the trees and the fungi are always wonderful to watch. Spring is certainly my favourite time in the woods though, as it is a chance to wind down from the hard graft from the winter work, enjoy what we have achieved and soak in that warm sunshine through the new buds of the trees… utter bliss.

How do you live sustainably?

My family and I try our best to be ‘green’ and sustainable every day. We cycle or walk as much as we can to school or into town. We are vegetarian at home and lucky to have an allotment nearby and a greenhouse at home to grow lots of amazing fruit and veg. Our garden is full of perennial flowers, with a ‘no dig’ regime and no pesticides at all. We embrace the ‘weeds’ as much as we can, leaving the dandelions to flourish in the very small front lawn.