The National Trust's Large Blue blog

Hayley Dorrington

I’m the Ranger for the Mendip and Polden Hills. I am responsible for the ‘ground work’ at Collard Hill. I have recently joined the team in Somerset, after being based on the Golden Cap Estate in Dorset for three years doing a Ranger apprenticeship. I really am passinate about my job and love the variety. I think the best part of the job is getting people out into the countryside. Seeing peoples faces when they see something for the first time or learn something new is second to none. Day to day, I work with volunteers looking after the hills- jobs range from drystone walling, scrub cutting with big bonfires and jacket spuds to taking children out on walks, building dens and generally just having loads of fun!  I am really looking foward to next years Large Blue season. Its not very often you get to help such a rare butterfly.

Rob Holden

I’m the Area Warden for the Polden Hills and have day-to-day responsibility for managing Collard Hill. The joy of the job comes from the people we work with and the variety of tasks we undertake: one day I can be working with volunteers on the apple harvest or scrub cutting, the next I can be joining in the excitement of helping wheelchair users get to the top of Glastonbury Tor. June is definitely one of the highlights of my year: the story of the Large Blue is one of nature’s minor miracles, and helping hundreds of visitors to share in this wonder is a real pleasure.

Christine Tansey – Volunteer Ranger 2011

 I am the Large Blue ranger for the 2011 season, and have arrived to find the earliest emergence ever seen at Collard! I’m delighted to be spending the flight season here, and am looking forward to meeting many of you and hearing about your experiences with Large Blues. I have recently volunteered with Calderdale Countryside Services in West Yorkshire, and got involved in bumblebee and moth surveys. After finishing an MSc in Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of East Anglia I had a wordy diversion with some freelance work for the Oxford English Dictionary. In the past I have volunteered with Norfolk Wildlife Trust, worked on small bush restoration projects in New Zealand and spent six months in Glencoe with the National Trust for Scotland. The summer of butterflies has now begun, so I’ll see you on the hill…

Sarah Meredith – Volunteer Warden 2010

I was the Large Blue warden for Collard Hill in 2010, and was on site for the record-breaking flight season! I graduated in December 2009 from Reading University, with an MSc in Wildlife Management and Conservation.  Before coming to Glastonbury to work with the Large Blue, I was carrying out research into the Glanville Fritillary on the Isle of Wight. While my thesis for my Msc was looking at ‘The habitat requirements of the Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus in the uplands’.  Butterflies and photography are my passion and I enjoyed meeting many of you this blog’s readers last year.