From having begun my placement year in early September to heading home for the holidays, here is my Surrey Wildlife Trust round up so far whilst on my placement year.
My Placement Year so far at Surrey Wildlife Trust….
Vanessa Beal is currently completing a placement year at Surrey Wildlife Trust and before the festive break in December, reflected on her experiences so far.
Me enjoying a Surrey Wildlife Trust event.
Setting my goal for my placement year
My goal for this “year-in-industry” has been constant from the start; to get as much experience in as many different fields as possible. This is in hope that I can get a better gauge of what it is I want to do after graduating from the University of Surrey (with a Biological Sciences degree).
Reflecting on my work so far
Many departments have invited me with open arms into their office space and work projects. I have assisted the education team with their school visits along with other education volunteers. I have assisted the community engagement team with collecting data from practical volunteers as well as with their outreach work in schools. I have also completed a bat and reptile survey with the ecologists, followed by my attendance at the Autumn CIEEM Conference in Edinburgh. And finally, I have begun preparing to carry out self-led research on “Optimal conservation prescriptions for agricultural land”.
My work so far has provided insight and challenges. Working at Nower Wood has provided me with experience in education that I may use if I chose to go on and teach, for example. I am also grateful for these school-visit days as spending the day in the reserve is a pleasure not to take for granted, especially when your colleagues are a such great company.
The community engagement team have been my “base camp”. I come here when I need advice, direction, and reassurance. Here I have been able to keep in check with my goals that I originally set out and update them as my time and experience here progresses. I have been a part of creating the 2022 volunteer survey report by analysing data from the practical conservation volunteers. Joining in with outreach trips to schools to talk to young adults about careers and sharing my experience as a placement student has also been rewarding.
With the ecologists, I completed my first bat and reptile survey discussing what ecologists do day-to-day and season-upon-season (there is a lot of time to chat during a bat survey!). I also attended the CIEEM (The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management) Autumn Conference to further my understanding of the work of professionals. I was able to meet other students, speak to sponsors, and took in as much information as I could. Coming back, I’m hoping to further my experience with the ecologists in Surrey.
Looking forward
Going into 2023, I hope to focus more on what I believe to be a start to some sort of direction in my future career. The CIEEM conference really inspired me to use more of my degree knowledge in the work I’d like to do. Challenging myself within a new self-led research project and using some skills and knowledge from my first two years at university will hopefully direct my time towards more of a singular task. To complement this, working more with the ecologists will support this in bettering my map-reading, analysing and creating skills. I will also keep up with education volunteering too as they are some of my favourite days here with the Trust.
A picture of me at the Woodland Skills event last year.
Another picture of me at the Woodland Skills event.
A group picture from an event.