Now back in England we have had the opportunity to reflect upon the many skills, experiences and memories that we will take from our week in the region of Sfakia in Crete.
Whilst we have all completed our first year at Reading University together, taking different modules, living in different halls and being part of different societies meant that many of us did not really know one another before arriving in Crete. A week spent working and socialising as a group has led to friendships which will last not only for the rest of our time at Reading but hopefully long into the future.
Completing the fieldwork over the week required team work at its very best. Being a group of just four we all seemed to take on specific roles in order to complete the work – Claire on camera and clinometer, Emily chief scribe keeping field diary notes up to date, Kirsty on measuring and Will, being the only male member of the team, bravely climbed on boulders to measure lichen, and was always on hand at photograph time with his cheesy smile and thumbs up!
On a serious note working together enabled us to share ideas; we all have different strengths and capabilities and we tried to exploit peoples strong points in order to gain the most from the week.
As well an the skills gained in patience, listening to one another and sharing ideas we were at times also physically challenged. Firstly working in such high temperatures can be tiring and lead to short tempers. Staying calm and positive was really important.
The walk up Ilingas Gorge on our first day was exhausting, but having taken the necessary measurements when we finally reached the bottom of the gorge we all felt a real sense of achievement. Similarly the walk from Loutro to Chora Sfakion was nerve racking at times. The narrow path along which we walked dropped away to the sea below and it was important here to set your pace by the slowest member in the group, and to make sure that everyone was comfortable with the walk.
We have all learnt practical skills which will be of huge benefit throughout the rest of our degree and into our future careers. Learning how to use Word Press in order to make a blog each day, marking waypoints and taking readings using a G.P.S. receiver and measuring slope angle using a clinometer were all skills acquired during the field class.
Inevitably technology has its moments and working around these problems was a key part of the week. Limited battery life on the portable notebook computers, sharing a slow internet connection which caused programmes to crash were problems encountered. Learning to work through these issues though brought us closer together as a group; and when after four and a half hours our video finally uploaded on You Tube it was a moment to celebrate…cue the double thumbs up from Will!
All in all we have learnt that when working in a team the most important skills are:
Communication – listen to one another and share your ideas
Reliability – get involved and contribute
Enthusiasm – be energetic and positive about the work
Try – everyone should try their best and put in 100% to the work
Equality – give everyone equal opportunity to be involved
