Congratulations to the CJS team and partners on a very special anniversary
If, like me, you were searching for conservation or
countryside management opportunities in the late 1990s then you might well
recall waiting for the postman to deliver your printed Countryside Jobs Service
weekly update! Over the past 25 years I have worked as a National Park
ranger, focussed on public access and recreation, managed countryside projects
in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, delivered cultural tourism and visitor
diversification initiatives, and worked in a variety of skills development
roles. Reflecting on that career today, I realise just how many times I
have engaged with CJS, either directly and personally, or by highlighting the
importance of the team, its work and resources to potential students,
volunteers, new entrants, career changers and those looking to develop new
skills and progress.
Things have moved on - conservation is becoming more
integrated into sound and sustainable land management, different interest
groups value collaboration more than they once did, we’ve become more
professional, we communicate and do business (and search for job
opportunities!) online – but the core values that have made CJS such a
successful and valued countryside management partner remain. As many of
us working in countryside management know, it’s people and effective
collaboration that make the real difference. The CJS team remains as
committed, approachable and engaging as ever; the business values and
principles continue to reflect what many of us work to achieve; and many, many
people beyond the lovely village of Goathland in North Yorkshire feel part of a
wider ‘family’ of countryside managers and conservationists due, in no small
part, to the work of CJS over the last 25 years - the contacts, colleagues,
networks, knowledge, skills and friends that have developed over that time
highlight how fantastic it is to volunteer and work in conservation and
countryside management.
I would like to say a big “thank you” to the CJS team,
congratulate them on a fantastic 25 years in business, and acknowledge the
commitment and support from many partners and supporters throughout that time -
long may it continue - and “here’s to the next 25!”.
Kevin Patrick
View all the birthday wishes here: https://c-js.co.uk/CJS25years