I actually grew up 5 minutes down the road from Carlton Marshes, and have fond memories dyke dipping here when I was in primary school (many years ago). Whereas these days I like bringing my dogs down for their lunchtime walk and taking in the beautiful scenery, whilst keeping my eyes out for all that bird life! My interest in the natural world started at a very early age when I kept trying to ‘adopt’ animals and bring them home with me, such as: ladybirds, woodlice and my personal favourite snails. My parents had this little fish tank in our garden (the reason as to why escapes me) and my favourite thing was to collect all the snails i could find and relocating them to this tank. Unfortunately for the snails the tank didn’t actually have a lid, so one very rainy day a few of them may have gone for a swim!

With my love of nature so evident to my parents they planned my seventh birthday party at our local wildlife park. While we were there we got to go spend time with the educators and handle some of their animals. I was totally in my element and absolutely besotted with all of the wonderful creatures. With wide eyes i asked the young girl who was showing me the animals what she did to have such an amazing job and she told me that she was a zoologist. Well, that was it. No other job role would do. I was going to be a zoologist!

All these experiences have grown me as a individual, but since leaving university and joining the ‘real world’ I’ve been a little uncertain as to which career path to follow or how to get started. I was delighted when I saw this amazing opportunity to intern for the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, especially somewhere so local and close to my heart. British wildlife has always been at the forefront of my mind, and I know I want to start my career here- so here I am! I’ve actually been interning at Carlton Marshes for a month now and I am in love with the work we do here, I cant wait to get more stuck in!

Many thanks for reading our first blog post! There will be more in the upcoming weeks so keep your eyes peeled as the other Wild Learning Interns will be introducing themselves!