A bit about me
I completed my A Levels last summer, I took Biology, Geography and Product Design. Throughout all my academic studies I’ve always tried to incorporate the natural world in my learning. I plan to further my interest in the natural world by going to University this September.
Most of my interests are also oriented around nature as I regularly take part in moth trapping using both a moth trap that I bought and with a trap I made in my product design GCSE. I also regularly visit lots of nature reserves, both Suffolk Wildlife Trust and RSPB as I love birdwatching. I've enjoyed bird watching from a young age and am very confident in my ID abilities and want to increase this to even more species.
What I’ve been up to so far!
Some of the highlights of my first couple months, of which there have been many, is the Forest school level 1 course that I completed. This not only taught me lots of new skills that I can take forward and use, it also allowed me to socialise with the other interns who are just as passionate as me and have very similar interests which is really nice. I also cannot not talk about roasting marshmallows on the fire that we made! I also can’t forget the many school visits that we have had across both sites where I have done lots of different activities as both reserves are very different in the habitats they have. For example, Lackford Lakes is where pond dipping features heavily, and it’s always great to see the kids' faces light up as they transfer an alien-looking creature that they have found from the depths of the pond into their trays and try to work out what the creature is. Whereas Bradfield Woods is more ‘bushcraft’ based and I always enjoy making charcoal pencils which involves teaching people how to whittle safely and cut the elder and how to take out the pip and finally how to actually make the charcoal.
Another highlight was the Twilight Safari that we recently hosted at Lackford Lakes where I led the moth trapping and moth ID part of the event. This involved engaging in lots of conversations with the public about moth ID and moth trapping in general and answering questions, but actually the most rewarding part was when a small group of teens walked past and were a little bit nervous so I introduced them to a few of the moth species and they overcame their fear and were actually shocked at the variety and the colours of some of the moth species such as the vivid pink and yellow Elephant Hawkmoth. And also see the shock on their face when the perfectly snapped silver birch twig suddenly started walking around and they realised it was actually a buff tip moth. It was really rewarding to help them get over their fear and engage with these misunderstood moths.
