An introduction to me, by me
Updated: Aug 13, 2019
Welcome to my first blog post! I just wanted to introduce myself and set the scene for hopefully many blogs to come (*hint).

What do I want from this blog?
I hope to use this blog as a platform away from fast-paced social media* to share my wildlife experiences, both personal and professional.
Who am I?
The short version: I’m an early-career wildlife biology graduate from the UK.
The long version: I studied BSc Biology at the University of Southampton and MSc Wildlife Management and Conservation at the University of Reading. During my BSc, I completed a placement year with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). I also worked part-time throughout university (with horses mainly, this will be a recurring theme) to fund numerous voluntary animal husbandry positions, fieldwork with the Scottish Beaver Trial, and field-based data collection for both my BSc and MSc thesis in Portugal and the Isle of Rum respectively.

After graduation I did something that I believe benefited my career (and mental health) more than any experience thus far; I took a break from academia*. I went to New Zealand for three months to road trip, ride horses and play with sheep. I then spent two months in Sri Lanka with the Sri Lankan Wildlife Conservation Society and S.P.E.C.I.E.S., this was my first exposure to international conservation work*.
During 2018 I then opened a big wildlife-conservation-career-door: I was awarded the Winston Cobb Memorial Fellowship by Panthera and spent four months in India working with the Snow Leopard Conservancy - India Trust.
What am I doing now?
I’m back in the UK now going through an early-career rite of passage, by working random jobs to tie me over to the next thing. Right now, I’m a peer review manager for BMJ Open; a freelance science communicator for GWCT, helping produce plain English summaries of scientific papers; and a stable hand on the yard of top event rider, Harry Meade.
What do I do for fun?
When I’m not working, you’ll find me horse riding, rock climbing, reading or yoga-ing. I also love writing; hence this blog is born.

What is my dream job?
Studying wildlife from horseback!! One day…
What is my spirit animal?
I consider myself to be like a roe deer. I’m small and mostly solitary, I live with a near constant expression of fear on my face and I’d rock a moustache.

That’s me in a nutshell.
Thanks for reading!