Growing the Next Generation of Conservation Professionals: A Year in the TNRP Traineeship
17/12/2025
The Nature Recovery Project recently hosted an in-depth session with our first Woodland Management trainee, Anthonia, marking a significant milestone for the traineeship programme and for our wider mission to build long-term capacity in nature recovery.
The session offered an opportunity to step back and reflect on what has been achieved over the past year. Hearing directly from Anthonia brought the traineeship to life in a way no report could. Her journey demonstrated how targeted, practical investment in people can translate into fundamental skills, confidence, and professional growth within the conservation and land management sector.
Over the course of the traineeship, Anthonia has developed a strong foundation in forestry and land management. This included hands-on experience in woodland operations and habitat management. Alongside technical forestry skills, the programme supported the development of a wide range of transferable skills, including problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and health and safety awareness. These are skills essential not only for forestry roles, but for long-term careers across conservation, environmental management, and the wider green economy.
A key element of the traineeship has been access to formal training, certifications, and licences. Through the programme, Anthonia gained additional qualifications that strengthen her professional profile and improve her employability across multiple land-based roles. She also developed practical skills beyond her expectations, including operating specialist equipment and driving a truck, highlighting the breadth of experience required for modern land management and the value of exposing trainees to the full reality of working on the ground.
One of the most impactful aspects of Anthonia’s experience has been her exposure to the wider forestry and land management sector. The traineeship created opportunities for her to move beyond site-level work and engage with national conversations shaping the future of land use and nature recovery. She attended sector-leading events including Groundswell, Cranfield Venture Day, and the Royal Forestry Society Conference at the National Forest. These experiences helped bridge the gap between theory, policy, and practice, allowing her to understand current challenges facing the sector and see how different actors are working toward solutions.
During the workshop session, the TNRP team invited Anthonia to share her reflections on her experience. She spoke openly about what worked well, what surprised her, and where improvements could be made. This feedback is already informing a clear learning curve for the programme, helping us refine the structure, support, and opportunities offered to future cohorts. This reflective process is central to TNRP’s approach. We are committed not only to delivering programmes, but to learning from them and continuously improving how we support people entering the nature recovery workforce.
Sitting together as a team and listening to Anthonia’s journey, there was a shared sense of pride in how much has been achieved in just one year. What began as a concept has grown into a functioning traineeship that delivers tangible outcomes for individuals and for the sector. The programme demonstrates what is possible when training, mentorship, and real-world experience are combined with strong partnerships and a shared vision.
As we look ahead, we are excited to welcome the next cohort of trainees and to build on the foundations established during this first year. This traineeship is not only about developing individual careers. It is about addressing a wider need for skilled, confident professionals who are ready to work at the front line of nature recovery, climate resilience, and long-term landscape stewardship.
We look forward to sharing more stories from our trainees as their journeys continue and as the programme evolves. These experiences sit at the heart of The Nature Recovery Project’s commitment to investing in people as a critical part of restoring ecosystems and building a resilient future for nature.
Our sincere thanks go to our partners at Forest of Marston Vale Trust for their collaboration, expertise, and ongoing commitment to shaping and delivering this programme. Together, we are helping build the skills, confidence, and leadership needed for the future of nature recovery.