My ‘career’ has, particularly since having children, been an eclectic and often overlapping mix of voluntary and paid contracts though I have managed to maintain a broadly ecological theme. Careers in the conservation (and academic) sectors are extremely hard to pursue alongside normal life and I admire all those who manage to achieve it! Although my path has often been wobbly, frequently frustrating and a bit of a financial non-starter, I can at least look back on the wonderful experiences I have had and the opportunities that have come from not always having to stick to a funded ‘job-description’. Below, a selection in approximate chronological order.
Ecologist, Forest Research, Edinburgh (current). Working on various projects to help inform how trees and forests can be managed better. I’m enjoying learning about old trees, and using my natural history knowledge and experience to inform more theoretical ecology research.
Research Assistant, Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, UKCEH. Carrying out annual pollinator surveys at sites across Scotland. Support and induction of new volunteers.
Engagement Coordinator, the DECIDE project, UKCEH. Promoting and supporting the DECIDE project. Providing a link between biological recording community and the project’s scientists.
Freelance ecologist. Various roles for various organisations spanning pre-PhD days to last year. Primarily surveys of moths, butterflies and spiders, but pike, earthworms and other creatures have featured too.
Volunteer Coordinator, East Lothian Council. Supporting communications and activities for East Lothian Countryside Volunteers.
Volunteer, everywhere. Where to begin! From writing a ‘things to do’ guide for parents with toddlers, to running spider identification workshops to monitoring frog orchids, volunteering has kept me sane (and very busy) since my late-teens. I have met many brilliant and inspiring people and learnt all sorts of things about wildlife I wouldn’t have otherwise, however I also feel that the conservation sector shouldn’t need to rely on volunteers to get work done; at least half of the positions I’ve held were deserving of some salary.
Analyst, Wiltshire Constabulary. Preparing and analaysing performance data for internal and external reporting.
Research Fellow, University of Birmingham. Development of a novel technique to use spittlebugs to quantify xylem sap composition from intact transpiring plants.
PhD student, University of Birmingham. Nitrogen and water stress in Barley: influence on the performance and feeding behaviour of the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi.
Moth World 