Colum Says: It doesn't matter if you've never used hand tools before - follow my guidelines and you'll be an expert in no time!

Loppers are like the Grimms fairytale version of scissors. With long handles and sharp clipper bits at the top they're mainly used for cutting back trees and hedgerows and come in handy on most DCV tasks. They're easy to use and come in various sizes and colours - all orange!

At DCV we like to call a spade a spade - and you'll find lots of spades being used on just about every winter and summer task from shovelling mud to hedge planting.

Whenever a lopper won't do the job, its time to get out the bowsaw - so called because it's bow-shaped. DCV's bowsaws are kept nicely sharp by the Tools Officer so they can cut through everything from larger branches to small trees. There are two sizes of bowsaw - 21 and 24 inch. 21s are particularly handy for reaching the tight spots other saws can't reach..!

A particular favourite with DCV's slash and burn posse, the slasher is a long-handled tool that looks as though it belongs in the Grim Reaper's garden shed. Used mainly for cutting back overgrown hedgerows and other clearance tasks the slasher can also come in useful for getting rid of any pent-up frustration - that hedgerow is your boss and you're about to take your revenge!

The billhook (a short handled axe-like implement) is another tool to be used with some caution, in fact some conservation groups avoid using them altogether. They come into their own for hedge laying tasks but are also used for snedding - taking the side branches off bigger branches. For hedgelaying, billhooks are used to cut into the base of a young tree causing it to fall over sideways, so it can be laid into a hedge. Also useful for creating the points on stakes which keep the hedge straight. There are various different kind of billhooks, named by the county in which they originate, Staffordshire, Yorkshire - the biggest - and Southern Counties - with one blade.

Not to be confused with Matlock - a haven for bikers from all over the world - the mattock is similar to a pickaxe and just as dangerous if you don't know how to handle it.

DCV has two Mels - affectionately known as Mel C and Mel G. Timmy Mallet might have had a blow-up version, but our Mels are seriously big and heavy hammers - used for hammering in stakes and posts at fence-building, hedgelaying and otter holt building tasks.

Conservation work is all about getting your hands dirty! Pulling hair out of the plughole has nothing on scraping mud away from a blocked drainage pipe or grasping a bunch of nettles you've just slashed. But once you've got over any initial squeamishness you realise good skin and painfree weekends aren't everything...