Engaging young people with heritage can be difficult, so we were delighted to welcome Rosie for 4 days of work experience in February 2026.
This is Rosie’s Blog:
Day 1
The day started with a quick tour of the parkland, beginning outside the Carmarthenshire museum in Jenkinson’s Garden, which I learned would once have been used to grow herbs and medicinal plants for the bishop’s house. The surrounding park and woodland garden contain a variety of large and beautiful trees, ranging from sequoias to huge beeches, which dominate a lot of the woodland. I was also shown the wetland meadow and Bishop’s pond, which I found very exciting – it’s really an oxbow lake (something I had never seen but learnt about in school), an SSSI, and an otter habitat!
I also spent some time in the polytunnel potting plants grown from cuttings around the park – it’s nice to think that in a few months’ time they’ll be thriving outside, in a small way because of me.
Day 2
Went on a quick walk first thing, just noticing things and taking photographs of fungi around the park
Met the rest of the volunteering team, everyone was so inviting and lovely, we split into groups, and we went to plant wildflowers to make the lawn more diverse. I found that working in a team meant that you learnt from others – I learnt a mushroom I’d found earlier was called Turkey Tail.
We had lunch (including cake!), and after I had finished the wildflower planting, I weeded some flower beds and dug out some molehills, finding that even though it was cold outside, I kept warm by working.
I finished the day seed packaging so they could be sold in the shop – amazed at how varied seeds are, calendula seeds look like octopus tentacles!
Day 3
I started by sowing seeds. Something I really enjoyed learning to do properly especially that I might come back in the summer and see plants growing.
For most of the day I took a camera and took photographs of anything that I found interesting in the park, there’s so much more to see in the winter than you’d expect! Highlights were crimson elf cup mushrooms, fiery coloured dogwoods, slime mould on a log and a beautiful flowering fruit tree.
Had lunch with a different group of volunteers, enjoyed chatting and learning about and from the new people, and then packaged some different seeds.
Sat in on a meeting about the projects in progress at the park, like the walled garden project which sounds like it’ll be really cool and came to understand the amount of management and coordination that it takes to run the park.
Day 4 – Final day
Took tools and cut down a load of invasive non-native laurel from along the banks of the oxbow lake, and further up into the woodland, which meant I got a nice look at the lake, and had fun scrambling about on the steep sides to get to the laurels.
Helped to unload a delivery of trees that will be planted in the woodland and on the lake banks – the categorising of which allowed me to learn to identify some species of tree saplings, including my favourite – hawthorn trees.
Finished laurel cutting and then had lunch in the café (Very nice food!)
After, I visited the museum, that despite not having all floors open had lots to look at and learn about. I was very excited for the Egyptian exhibit – and it did not disappoint! Took lots of photos of artifacts, art and information in books that I’ll pore over later.
To end my time volunteering, I replenished the stock of plants to sell in the shop.
I’ve had a fantastic time volunteering in Bishop’s park, and I feel like I’ve got to know lots of the people that work and volunteer here and learnt a lot from them. I feel like I have contributed at least a bit to a special and unique landscape and now have more understanding in what it takes to care for a parkland and woodland environment. The most important thing I have learnt is that no matter what you’re interested in, there will be something for you to obsess over in Bishop’s Park, or something more for you to learn.
Thank you for letting me volunteer!
Rosie’s Week in Pictures – February 2026
Posted: 01/04/2026 by Admin2
Engaging young people with heritage can be difficult, so we were delighted to welcome Rosie for 4 days of work experience in February 2026.
This is Rosie’s Blog:
Day 1
The day started with a quick tour of the parkland, beginning outside the Carmarthenshire museum in Jenkinson’s Garden, which I learned would once have been used to grow herbs and medicinal plants for the bishop’s house. The surrounding park and woodland garden contain a variety of large and beautiful trees, ranging from sequoias to huge beeches, which dominate a lot of the woodland. I was also shown the wetland meadow and Bishop’s pond, which I found very exciting – it’s really an oxbow lake (something I had never seen but learnt about in school), an SSSI, and an otter habitat!
I also spent some time in the polytunnel potting plants grown from cuttings around the park – it’s nice to think that in a few months’ time they’ll be thriving outside, in a small way because of me.
Day 2
Went on a quick walk first thing, just noticing things and taking photographs of fungi around the park
Met the rest of the volunteering team, everyone was so inviting and lovely, we split into groups, and we went to plant wildflowers to make the lawn more diverse. I found that working in a team meant that you learnt from others – I learnt a mushroom I’d found earlier was called Turkey Tail.
We had lunch (including cake!), and after I had finished the wildflower planting, I weeded some flower beds and dug out some molehills, finding that even though it was cold outside, I kept warm by working.
I finished the day seed packaging so they could be sold in the shop – amazed at how varied seeds are, calendula seeds look like octopus tentacles!
I started by sowing seeds. Something I really enjoyed learning to do properly especially that I might come back in the summer and see plants growing.
For most of the day I took a camera and took photographs of anything that I found interesting in the park, there’s so much more to see in the winter than you’d expect! Highlights were crimson elf cup mushrooms, fiery coloured dogwoods, slime mould on a log and a beautiful flowering fruit tree.
Had lunch with a different group of volunteers, enjoyed chatting and learning about and from the new people, and then packaged some different seeds.
Sat in on a meeting about the projects in progress at the park, like the walled garden project which sounds like it’ll be really cool and came to understand the amount of management and coordination that it takes to run the park.
Day 4 – Final day
Took tools and cut down a load of invasive non-native laurel from along the banks of the oxbow lake, and further up into the woodland, which meant I got a nice look at the lake, and had fun scrambling about on the steep sides to get to the laurels.
Helped to unload a delivery of trees that will be planted in the woodland and on the lake banks – the categorising of which allowed me to learn to identify some species of tree saplings, including my favourite – hawthorn trees.
Finished laurel cutting and then had lunch in the café (Very nice food!)
After, I visited the museum, that despite not having all floors open had lots to look at and learn about. I was very excited for the Egyptian exhibit – and it did not disappoint! Took lots of photos of artifacts, art and information in books that I’ll pore over later.
To end my time volunteering, I replenished the stock of plants to sell in the shop.
I’ve had a fantastic time volunteering in Bishop’s park, and I feel like I’ve got to know lots of the people that work and volunteer here and learnt a lot from them. I feel like I have contributed at least a bit to a special and unique landscape and now have more understanding in what it takes to care for a parkland and woodland environment. The most important thing I have learnt is that no matter what you’re interested in, there will be something for you to obsess over in Bishop’s Park, or something more for you to learn.
Thank you for letting me volunteer!
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