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Feel out of place in a traditional academic environment? So did Charlie Blance, 20, who dropped out of University to pursue a future in the wilderness. Feeling like she always “stuck out like a sore thumb” in the city, Blance sought a life far away from civilization. After a year studying politics at Perth College University located in Blance’s hometown of Perth, Scotland, Blance spent a spring season on a sheep farm in Selkirkshire where she became particularly friendly with the gamekeepers. After leaving the farm, Blance dropped out of Perth College University and decided to take the first step in the pursuance of her desired life in the wild, enrolling in a year-long course in gamekeeping and environmental conservation at Borders College in Galashiels, Selkirkshire.
Isle of Rum
Youtube/dailymail.co.uk/PA Real LifeSuccessfully completing the course, Blance then was accepted to live on the Hebridean Isle of Rum as a nature reserve worker trainee. She has lived on the island since July of 2018 when she was the age of 19. Including the house where Blance lives with another trainee reserve worker, there are 13 homes, a community center, a general store and a Post Office on the island. One of Blance’s main roles is to help control the growing population of deer by killing up to 20 herself over the course of the 2019 winter season. Commenting on the outrage most people express when they hear about conservationists killing deer, Blance says: “They don’t realize that by killing a few you are saving many, many more. It may be gory sometimes, but for me, it is all about the conservation of the wildlife.” By limiting the deer population, Blance is helping to limit potential outbreaks of diseases that will kill many more animals in the long run.
What’s For Dinner?
Youtube/dailymail.co.uk/PA Real LifeWhile still a trainee and always accompanied by a supervisor, Blance is responsible for gutting the animals and carrying the carcasses back to the town on a native Rum Highland pony. In town, Blance dismembers the carcass and removes its feet, hanging it in a refrigerator to be taken to the mainland and sold as venison. Blance makes mention of the fact that she often keeps the heart of the deer for herself, enjoying the taste, but also purchases other parts of the meat she kills, as fresh food on the island is scarce. Blance supplements her diet by foraging for things such as seaweed, sorrel, and crabs.
Sexism In The Industry?
Youtube/dailymail.co.uk/PA Real LifeBlance is also responsible for helping repair roads and maintaining the island’s other limited features of infrastructure, duties that have resulted in scars along her arms and hands, as well as the loss of fingernails. Blance connects these aesthetic injuries to the present lack of female-identified individuals on the island, Blance being the only, current female gamekeeper. While she doesn’t believe that this is due to inherent sexism within the gamekeeping industry, Blance does acknowledge that her colleagues were surprised by her arrival on the island.
Her Dream Croft
Youtube/dailymail.co.uk/PA Real LifeHer best friend now a 50-year-old man, Blance doesn’t feel divided from the other residents of the island due to her gender identification or her youthful age. Rather, Blance feels more connected to the island’s community due to its small scale than she ever remarks feeling for a city-based community. While she greatly enjoys this connection and ability to deeply get to know everybody, Blance revels in isolation and independence. Blance’s dream is to own and live off of a small piece of land (known in Scotland as a ‘croft’) along the west coast of Scotland where she will find, kill and butcher her own meat.
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