In 2021 Kate Tyler joined the Heritage Lincolnshire team as an HES Digital Heritage Trainee. Here Kate tells us about her interest in heritage, and all the exciting things she’s been up to in the first month of her traineeship.
Historic Environment Skills is a four-year long project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. A total of 21 bursaries are being offered across the heritage sector, delivered through project partners including Lincolnshire County Council, Lincoln Cathedral, Archaeological Project Services and ourselves.
Heritage Lincolnshire have welcomed Kate for the next 6 months in her position as Digital Heritage Engagement Trainee. She told us a bit about how she got interested in heritage and is finding her placement so far:
How did you become interested in a career in heritage?
Having grown up in Shetland, where we have a really distinct culture from much of the UK, I’ve always had an interest in sharing aspects of my own heritage. In primary school we learned to knit, cook traditional Shetland dishes – nothing makes me more homesick than the taste of reestit mutton soup – and dance Shetland reels. After studying history at university, focusing on Tudor fashion and material culture, I realised that I wanted to go into a career where I could combine my love for culturally important artefacts and rituals of place-making with community engagement. Subsequently, I undertook my MSc Environment, Heritage and Policy, and *sort of* accidentally fell in love with digital heritage. It’s a fascinating field, with new innovations developing every day, hopefully with the outcome of making heritage a more diverse and multi-disciplinary field where someone in Shetland can learn about an important aspect of a culture from the other side of the world with the click of a link.
Why did you apply for the role?
I was really excited to see an opportunity within the heritage field that would be so hands-on, especially as the majority of my past experience has been academic (bar a few field trips, and volunteering at Dumbarton Castle and Kelvingrove Museum and Gallery). After having researched a bit more about Heritage Lincolnshire, I saw a large variety of positions and work that the organisation does so I knew if I were to be offered a traineeship, I would be able to get a really well-rounded experience. Specifically, being a Digital Heritage Engagement Trainee means that I will be able to use my passion for digital heritage to engage new, previously unrepresented communities to express how their heritage affects who they are and how they present themselves in Lincolnshire.
What do you love about your role as a trainee?
I’ve been here just over a month now (where has the time gone?!) and I’ve absolutely loved being able to go out to various sites to meet colleagues and discuss future project plans. Due to the Covid-19 situation, I wasn’t expecting to be able to go out to sites very much, but so far I’ve talked to small-business owners in Skegness about our Lincs Pass scheme, I’ve been to Bolingbroke Castle on a conservation visit (and I’m so excited to be helping out at the Dragon Egg Hunt in June), and I even had my first opportunity to go on an archaeological dig with APS. Considering what a brilliant first month I’ve already had, I am so looking forward to all the training and experiences I’ll be able to take on in the coming months. Watch this space! Or in the meantime you can follow @Heritagelincs on Twitter, or me @KateRoseTyler to see what I get up to.
