Although only two weeks into my placement, I already feel settled within the Nature Recovery Team. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, especially the office dogs! 

But first here is some more information about me before I explain what I will be getting up to. I’m currently studying Zoology at The University of Sheffield, where I am undertaking a placement year between my second and third year, which means I will be with Northumberland Wildlife Trust for 9 ½ months. 

My favourite animals are reptiles so it’s always a delight when stumbling across an adder in Northumberland. Recently, I have become interested in botany. Seeing my first bee orchid at Silverlink and many interesting wildflowers at Holy Island have been a particular highlight of my summer. In my spare time I enjoy hiking and climbing.

So far, apart from remembering many names to faces, my main task has been digitising archived data - which is no small feat, requiring many hours in the ‘cupboard of doom’. However, it is a rewarding task as this data will help contribute to creating a State of Nature report for Northumberland. 

My main goal at the moment is to be open to anything and everything that comes along so I can gain experience in a whole range of tasks. I’m particularly excited to carry out surveys and to get my hands dirty outside, carrying out practical conservation tasks such as creating ponds, removing invasives and planting meadows.

I’m also looking forward to meeting and potentially helping out with other areas of the Trust such as the Peat, Red Squirrel, Community Engagement and Estates teams... There’s a lot that goes on!

Improving my data handling skills is also a mission of mine. I hope to develop existing skills such as R programming and report writing as well as to learn new skills such as GIS. A good opportunity for this is a research project that I get to create based off the archived data that I’m helping to digitise. 

That’s all for now. I look forward to sharing more of my experiences!

- Eddie