After watching many episodes of CSI in my early 20s I wanted to become a CSI! I completed an FdSc in Forensic Science in 2009 and one of the subjects that interested me most was wildlife crime. A mixture of moving to the beautiful county of Cornwall and I hate saying this but 'finding myself' made me more environmentally aware and I wanted to do something about protecting our environment and nature. I have always loved animals and after researching many issues for a presentation on wildlife crime I realised that wildlife crime comes in many forms. In 2009 I was given the opportunity to complete a Bsc in Environmental Resource Management as a top-up to my FdSc. This was perfect timing as there were two new optional modules being added to the Bsc which were wildlife crime and environmental forensics. These immediately got my attention and I went on to gain a 2:1 in Environmental Resource Management. Other modules completed were, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Research Design and Methods and a research project (mine was titled 'The Eutrophication of Loe Pool, Cornwall').
The wildlife crime module opened my eyes up to the many forms of wildlife crime and one of the assignments for wildlife crime was to write a webLog for the subjects touched on in lectures, to be researched and published on here. Unlike a lot of people I found the legislation that protects our environment quite interesting (!) and this is why I am writing this today. I think the side that interests me the most is the work we do to ensure that we adhere to the legislation to protect species and habitats and how it all links together and creates a network of organisations all working together to protect and conserve our environment...and not just because it's the law but it's also because people have a genuine interest in conserving and caring for our wildlife.
After I finished my degree in June 2010 I was wanting to find work in the practical conservation area or work with Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPS). However I realised this was a difficult area to get into without practical experience so I did my voluntary work as a Volunteer Officer with BTCV for 8 months aimed to fill my time with doing as much for the environment as possible. Afetr looking on the Do-it-Volunteering made easy website I joined Woodwatch for the Woodland Trust in August 2010 which I am still doing.
Links to training courses through BTCV, along with my knowledge of species and habitat conservation and legislation led me to become interested in areas such as species identification and field surveys. From this I realised working as an ecologist would be the ideal job for me and now, thanks to the book, 'How to become an Ecological Consultant' by Sue Searle managing director of Acorn Ecology , I have started this journey. My first aim is to update this blog with my interests, experience and on-going knowledge of wildlife. This includes writing up my practical conservation experience, picking relevant information from my degree and posting it, lots of reading and note-taking (to eventually post on here) on conservation such as manuals for bat conservation and Great Crested Newt conservation and getting to grips with species identification using identification books, field guides and getting out there... mainly focusing on trees and flowers but also joining and going out with local bat groups, mammal groups and bird groups.
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