A military charity has given a grant of £12,000 to help eight wounded, injured and sick (WIS) veterans complete Land Based Management courses. The courses were undertaken through HighGround with aid from Help for Heroes.

HighGround helps to support Armed Forces veterans to build skills that will allow them access a new career and vocational opportunities. It uses safe and rural environments to teach things like landscaping skills and other skills in the land-based sector.

The organisation runs Rural Weeks funded by Help for Heroes, which are specially designed for WIS veterans. Each WIS veteran is taught by experts in certain areas alongside other ex-service personnel.

These weeks are delivered at Plumpton College in Sussex and allow people to see what opportunities are available in the sector. Areas looked at include things like being a beatkeeper on a river or an arborist in disaster zones or even becoming a park ranger.

One individual who has benefitted from HighGround recently was Army Private Wesley Dunn from Manchester. Private Dunn previously served in the Second Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Kosovo and Northern Ireland. 

He suffered from depression, which then became post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) leading to him being medically discharged in 2003.

Mr Dunn had previously been introduced through a number of career paths in the land-based sector by Walking with the Wounded and tried several jobs. Unfortunately, none of them lasted very long. He ultimately decided that he would like to become a tree surgeon and so attended the most recent Rural Week.

He found the week helpful and, as a result, is set to start an eight-week course in tree surgery at Plumpton College soon.

Mr Dunn said: “During the Rural Week, I felt my mood lift greatly. I'd not been out of my house much in the last 3 years, having isolated myself.

“It was a great experience. I would recommend the rural week to anyone interested in working within the land-based sector. The main thing for me was a completely non-threatening environment. The staff were great, very friendly and helpful. There is a lot of information to take in but the classes are broken up by plenty of outdoor and practical work."