Grounds Supervisor

Sam works for Arnos Vale Cemetery trust managing the grounds, which is an active cemetery, with huge grounds that are a haven for wildlife in the centre of Bristol.

His job is very varied, but mostly practical, involving a mix of general landscape management, such as path clearance, building fences etc. Sam also does more specialist work focused on wildlife conservation, such as wildflower meadow cutting, and working with ecologists and volunteers to survey the wildlife around the site.

Best bit? “Being outside, doing a physically stimulating and rewarding job, as well as working with volunteers who are always up for a good chat and have some interesting stories to tell.”

Job insight

Official job title: Cemetery Estate Supervisor

Earning: £22,500 – £32,000

Workplace: Sam spends most of his time working outside getting muddy, using hand tools and more exciting tools, like chainsaws. He also get to spend time looking at wildlife, insects, plants, badgers and foxes.

Sam works closely with his intern to do the landscape management jobs and with the volunteer office. But he also helps out other teams at Arnos Vale Cemetery, including events teams hosting weddings.

Sam’s Career Path

Sam’s top tips for your career: “Always ensure you have a good work-life balance, in a lot of jobs, especially those in sectors where you really care about the work you do, it’s easy for people to be all consumed by their job and burn out. It’s important to set boundaries for yourself, and from your workplace, to ensure that work doesn’t take over or leak in to your time outside of work.”

To get a job being a Countryside Officer like Sam’s, after school you could look at doing:

Find out more about working in a Countryside job:

OR perhaps you like the sound of working in…

Ecology

Find out more about becoming an Ecologist.

Forestry

Find out more about becoming a Forestry worker or a Tree surgeon.

Landscaping

Find out more about becoming a Landscaper.

Build your skills

Green skills are your skills put into action in a Green job that helps reduce carbon emissions & protects the planet.

Want to build your problem solving and teamwork skills to get a Green job like Sam’s? Head to Skills Builder to start your journey!

Parent’s/Carers – you can help your young person build their skills at home.

Discover your top strengths

Go to WISE “My Skills My Life” and take the personality quiz.

It’s just 15 quick questions and you can see how you match up to Sam’s strength’s below.

Sam’s personality strengths:

Manager

Investigator

Coordinator

Build your career

If you’re 11 years old and up, you can start to build your Career Profile on Career Pilot – explore your skills, interests and potential job options here!

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