During my work placement with Heritage Lincolnshire I have been involved in a number of projects. In the first few days of volunteering with Heritage Lincolnshire I was involved in the Old Kings Head fundraising campaign. I created a heritage interpretation board with a murder mystery to solve involving people who once owned or visited the coaching inn, this board was displayed at the campaign’s quiz night and helped to promote the importance of preserving historical buildings as it showed that the Old Kings Head was once a living building.
Another project I was involved with concerned the graveyard at Thoroton Church in Nottinghamshire. Previously some gravestone data had been collected and I was given the task of entering this data so that trends could be established. This was an interesting project to be involved with because some gravestones dated back to the 18th century and it was interesting to see trends such as the extent at which life expectancy had increased and to see how long some families had stayed in the area.
Along with being involved in projects I was also given the opportunity to take part in a heritage interpretation training session, this provided me with information that will prove beneficial for my degree as it was a hands on experience something which isn’t often offered at university. Another skill I acquired throughout my time at Heritage Lincolnshire was the interpretation of spreadsheet data as I had to take a large spreadsheet of data and present it in a way that would be appealing to the public.
Doing a work placement with Heritage Lincolnshire was a valuable experience because it gave me an insight into the charity side of heritage and has made me realise, to a greater extent, how important it is to have the support of the local community and educate them on the importance of their local heritage. Through a work placement with Heritage Lincolnshire you are able to acquire a variety on skills that can be used in a number of different areas, skills which you can only acquire by having a hands on and practical experience.
By Izzy
From Nottingham Trent University