A FRIEND of mine who works as a school teacher asked me this week how I managed to cope with the uncertainties of an unstructured working day.

This took me quite by surprise as I thought that I was actually quite organised. On Friday I decided to make notes of all my daily activities and see if my work schedule was just the product of a coincidence of random events, or a well planned and executed management plan.

8am: Arrive at work. The two other cars in the car park belong to the cleaner and Alan my fellow supervisor. I open up my cabin (rest room, toilets, tools shed and my office), the back gate, the joiner's shed and the potting shed. Some of my trainees are early and eagerly waiting to grab the first cup of tea. I have a quick natter with them about how they are getting on.

8.15am: Myself, Alan and the dogs go for a stroll around the site. We note down tasks for the day, pick up the odd bit of litter and discuss the progress of the gardens. We meet Dougie, our oldest volunteer. He has already fed the geese and goats. We evade Icarus the grumpy swan and switch the river pump on. We stop to clear away some shards of glass left over from a spate of overnight vandalism earlier in the week. As we make our way back, the heron takes off from the reeds in the river bend and a flock of partridges explode out from under the winter garden shrubbery.

8.45am: Back at the cabin, most of the trainees have rolled in for work now. I stop for a cup of tea whilst going through the jobs for the day with them on the classroom blackboard. I take orders for the lunchtime sandwiches, and make sure those who need to sign time sheets have done so. I issue tools and take various groups out to their designated areas on site.

9.15am: The office is open now so I have a quick peek in my pigeonhole to see if I have any mail or messages. There is only next week's timesheets and a plant catalogue. Nothing that needs replying to. I run round site making sure that everyone is happy with their tasks, and performing them correctly. At the same time I take my secateurs and a bucket to cut flowers for the vases in the tearooms.

10am: I take my sandwich list into the tearooms. Whilst I am there, I empty, clean and replenish the flower vases.

10.30am: I have a City and Guilds skills test assessment to undertake in the potting shed. The young trainee is to be tested on pricking out seedlings. He passes his test, so I debrief him and fill in the appropriate paperwork.

11.30am: My mobile phone rings. It is Rachel in the office asking me to come over and take a garden query from a member of the public. It is someone who is moving house and has bought a goldfish to be rehoused in our pond. I take them all (visitor and bucket with fish) to the Wilkinson's garden. They will enjoy their new life in there.

11.55am: I go to the tearooms to collect the volunteers' sandwiches. I am rewarded for making such a good job of the flowers earlier on by being given a misshapen fruit scone.

Midday: I hand the sandwiches over to the trainees and chat to them about the work they have done this morning. I make myself a cup of coffee and take this, my scone and myself off into my office for a quiet lunch.

12.05pm: A knock on the door announces the arrival of a placement worker who has come to do an assessment on one of the trainees. I fill in my half then give my office over to them so that the interview can progress in private. I wander over to the alpine gardens and do a bit of quiet weeding.

12.30pm: I go back to the cabin to get the troops out working again. Half of them are already out. It's Friday and they want to get their jobs finished for the weekend. I take a barrow full of vegetable seedlings over to the tyre garden, and with the help of three volunteer trainees start to plant it up.

1.30pm: Helen from the Wild Flower Ark has promised to do an interview for me for Sunday's radio show. I pop over to the office with my mini disk recorder and get a good seven minutes of material.

1.45pm: In the greenhouse instructing two trainees on the Shape programme how to sow a range of seedlings. I have set their seed sowing assessment for two weeks time. I watch them, then leave them to carry on.

2.30pm: I take the dogs for another run around site. On the way, we check everyone working out in the gardens. I stop in the tyre garden on the way back and plant out some more veg seedlings.

3pm: I take another inquiry over the phone. Then I fax and send off all my timesheets. I run off a quick reference for an ex-trainee who has secured a job with the Tees Valley Housing Association.

l 3.30pm: The trainees are making their way back in. I collect all the tools and ask them how they feel they have done. I ask two of them to give the backyard a quick sweep before the end of the day.

4pm: I take the dogs for a final walk around the site. I can check on the work done, and talk to visitors. I lock up all the sheds and cabins. I pop my head into the office to announce my departure.

Well, I don't know about you, but I think that made for quite a structured day.

This was a quiet day; there were no first aid incidents, equipment thefts, meetings or trips out to obtain tools or supplies. The days may not be time-tabled, but at least you can never say that working at Nature's World is repetitive and boring.

Published: 03/05/2003