Dacre Banks Nature Park and QGIS training: 22-11-2016

Choices,choices. So many choices!! Another week and another quandary. This time we could either:

• re-visit the Dacre Banks nature park to focus on preparing an area for sowing wildflower seed and helping with some drystone wall repairs

OR - for the more technologically minded NCVs ....

• attend the QGIS training on offer in the council chambers, Pateley Bridge. 

14 NCVs opted for the nature park and 1 for the training which was given by Jim Brightman. 

I signed up for the training having absolutely no idea what QGIS software did, but soon discovered that it is an 'Open Source Geographic Information System' - the 'Q' stands for 'Quantum'. Hmmm. OK. And....??? Well - you can use it to visualise, manage, edit, analyse data, and compose printable maps such as the two below.

There were 8 other people on the course - all of them volunteers who have been helping with the various archaeological projects in Nidderdale - so I wasn't the only student in the room.

It is probably best for interested readers to go to the QGIS website to learn more. Suffice it to say that the day was very informative (thanks Jim!!) and allowed us to use the software on our own laptops throughout. 

Whilst I was getting to grips with this IT wizardry everyone else braved the elements down in Dacre. Photos below show what they got up to.

Hay rakes were used to pull off grass thatch 
to prepare the ground for wild flower seed sowing.

Will kept a stern eye on the workers, tut tutting when things were not done correctly.

A group of NCVs with walling experience did some patching up.
It was like having to do a 3D jig saw puzzle - 
without the picture on the lid of the box to help.

Do you think that this bit goes here?
(Word on the street says that it took 5 NCVs to place one particular stone - 
either it was a very heavy stone or one that required an awful lot of figuring out!)

Ros E.