Jan Dunlop – Countryside Ranger Manager
Right from the earliest age we spent our time , out with my father or with the men on the estate whether is be cattlemen, shepherds or gamekeepers. If we were not out with them we were entertaining ourselves exploring our surroundings with little, but meals and bedtime to limit us.
With my father retiring and the estate being sold, life on the Estate changed and I also decided it was time to move on. Having a Geography Degree, Post Graduate Cartography Diploma and a Teacher Training Diploma, the outdoors still pulled on me no matter where I was working and I was always keen to head out of doors. In the summer of 1993 I headed to Mull to work on a fish farm at Ulva Ferry as a summer job, filling in between primary school teaching jobs.
As Mull goes, it hooked me. I found various jobs to do around the island and in 1997 I went back to study a HND in Countryside Management at SAC Auchincruive. Upon finishing my training a Ranger Post came up on Mull and Iona. I was lucky enough to be accepted for the post and am still here 12 years later.
The joys of the job are that Mull and Iona have such a diverse natural beauty and resource that I could not help but be hooked by it. Being surrounded by water and my job encompassing everything within that water divide is very special. Working for and with the Community, to help fulfil their needs and desires gives me great satisfaction and it is very rewarding to know I have their support. The wide variety of the job means there is never time to get bored and always a new project to get up and running or new challenges and issues to solve. The team I work with are also very supportive.
Emily Wilkins – Ranger for the Ross of Mull, Staffa, Burg and Iona
Hello, I’m the Ranger for the Ross of Mull and Iona, based in Bunessan at the Ross of Mull Historical Centre. The area surrounding the centre has become the Ross of Mull Community Garden which makes a great place for outdoor events! I work for the Community Trust (MICT) in a partnership role with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) so much of my time is spent working across the NTS places in the area: Iona, Staffa and the Treshnish Isles and Burg on Mull’s Ardmeanach peninsula.
Living and working at the Iona Community’s Camas outdoor centre was what first brought me to Mull, taking visiting young people on camping trips and walks in the local area and helping them to think about life in a sustainable and holistic way. Prior to this I worked two seasons with the NTS Ben Lomond Ranger Service; led children’s environmental activities at Kilmartin Museum in Mid Argyll; and I also spent a couple of years working full time with schools on the education team of a rural nature reserve and demonstration farm.
I’ve been in this role since 2011 and every year is different! The variety of work is a big part of what I love about my job – school visits and children’s nature clubs, guided walks and events, wildlife monitoring, habitat management, access and environmental projects. Rangers help to connect people and places, and we are able to be flexible in responding to requests and suggestions from community groups or partner organisations so although some tasks are planned for every year, we never know quite what will come our way next! Thank you to everyone who already helps out with events, ideas, children’s clubs, reporting and trapping mink, and other practical tasks. If you have any issues, projects or ideas you’d like a hand with or if you would like to get involved in volunteering I’d love to hear from you.
