Emma Ormond- Landscape conservationist- delivering practical conservation

Today we have the awesome Emma Ormond! Emma is a practical conservationist managing beautiful nature reserves across North East Essex...

Short bio about yourself and your career:

How to introduce myself? I always find this difficult! In summary, I was born and raised in Pembrokeshire, spending much of my time on the beaches and coastal footpaths of Wales with my family. This also means that I am a lover of rugby and have watched ‘our boys’ win (and lose!) at the Cardiff stadium many times. I now live in Essex with my fiancé, Bones and our chickens, Foxy, Loxy and Roxy!

I have worked for Essex Wildlife Trust for ten years in three different roles and I am currently the Landscape Conservation Area Manager for north-east Essex. I absolutely love my job, the worst of rainy, mud-ridden days are still some of the best and my colleagues are passionate, intelligent (often a little unusual!) people, many of whom I am lucky to call friends and one of whom I’m due to marry (Covid-19 restrictions dependent!) later this year!

How did your career begin?

I have always had a passion for the natural environment, something innate and also instilled in me by my parents and as a result, I planted my first sapling aged just three years! As a teenager I spent several summers as a residential volunteer on Skokholm Island, learning much about bird recording and habitat management as well as cycling the country lanes with friends.

I metaphorically wandered for several years after I finished school, working in an insurance office and finally heading to Australia for a year of independent travelling. The experience gave me a much needed focus and upon my return, I started college (driving taxis and working in pubs to fund this) and progressed to university, studying Ecology at the University of East Anglia.

Following this, I worked for a precision engineering company as a Sales Development Coordinator whilst volunteering with an Essex Wildlife Trust Local Group. At the time I questioned the wisdom of acquiring so much university-related debt if I wasn’t able to ‘use’ my degree (with no relevant conservation jobs forthcoming). Nevertheless, I did enjoy my job on a superficial level, I continued to gain transferrable skills and even attended a product launch in Ho Chi Ming, Vietnam!

In May 2010, I applied for the role of Trust Secretary (now titled Office Manager) for Essex Wildlife Trust and although it was only maternity cover I took a chance and accepted the subsequent offer…… and I'm so glad that I did!

What does your job entail?

Following my position as Living Landscapes Coordinator, a role which focussed on partnerships and landowner engagement, my current role as Landscape Conservation Area Manager is focussed primarily on the management of our own nature reserves. Whilst I miss certain aspects of the Living Landscapes role including meeting many interesting landowners who are passionate about our environment, I am really enjoying concentrating my efforts on ensuring that our own sites remain wildlife havens as well as being quiet spaces for people to enjoy.

In addition, I am privileged to manage a small team of staff and a larger team of volunteers, all of whom continue to inspire me with their knowledge, dedication and (not to be underestimated!) good humour in all aspects of their role.

Emma gets involved in the conservation grazing herd lambing season.

Please highlight a conservation issue you are particularly involved in:

A major part of my role entails ensuring that our nature reserves are managed primarily for the benefit of wildlife but also for the enjoyment of people. Striking a balance can be difficult but whilst conserving biodiversity is vital, it is also important to recognise that many people, including me, developed their love of the natural world through their exploration of their local nature reserves.

Every nature reserve is different with its own benefits and vulnerabilities and each requires careful management to conserve its wildlife whilst meeting the needs of the local community who enjoy exploring them. It can be a real challenge at times but it’s a challenge upon which I thrive!

What can people do you help with this issue?

The majority of people who enjoy our sites do so responsibly but for those who may not have considered the consequence of their actions, I would ask them to join us in playing their part in protecting our reserves. Simple actions such as taking litter home, disposing of dog mess in the appropriate bins or taking it home where these don’t exist, keeping to paths so that plants don’t get trampled and keeping dogs on leads to minimise disturbance to wildlife all make a big difference to a site.

We are fortunate to have the support of many dedicated volunteers, all of whom enable us as a charity to protect wildlife but the more time they spend picking litter or fencing paths, the less time they have to manage habitats for the benefit of biodiversity.

The other area for which we would ask for people’s support it that of wildlife recording. A good understanding of the species which occupy our reserves enables us to manage the land accordingly. We, as staff and volunteers, record that which we find but our supporters from the wider community really are our ‘eyes and ears on the ground’. Any species, no matter how common, may be recorded on our dedicated website; www.essexwtrecords.org.uk which is used by area staff to make informed decisions for the future conservation of our land.

What is your greatest achievement?

Within my career with Essex Wildlife Trust, developing the Essex Barn Owl Conservation Projects has to be one of my greatest achievements of which I am proud. Wild Barn owl populations declined by seventy percent in fifty years during the twentieth century and the project was established in 2013 to address this concern in Essex. The project reached its fifth anniversary in 2018, shortly before I changed roles to become Area Manager and by this point nearly three hundred nest boxes were in-situ across the county and the project was actively supported by ninety-five dedicated volunteers.

Beyond work, I achieved a lifelong dream of learning to SCUBA dive, obtaining a PADI Openwater certification in 2002. Since then I have dived in Australia, Kenya and Belize…… I'm now working up the courage to dive the cold waters of the UK!

What is your favourite species and why?

This is a difficult question! As Living Landscapes Coordinator I spent five years coordinating the Essex Barn Owl Conservation Project so its fair to say that I have a good knowledge and passion for this species (leading to colleagues referring to me as the ‘Barn Owl Lady’!).

Growing up in west Wales also gave me a love of sea birds, particularly Fulmars and Puffins but as we all know, its not all about the birds! The sight of a hare running across open grassland always causes my ‘heart to leap’ whilst an inquisitive bee-fly never fails to amuse!

Emma coordinated the Essex Barn Owl Conservation Project for 5 years.

What advice do you have for people wanting to pursue a career in wildlife and conservation?

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! Many conservationists started their careers as a volunteer, gaining a working knowledge of practical wildlife conservation and also an insight into the challenges associated with a charity and its often limited resources.

A good theoretical understanding of the principles and management techniques associated with wildlife conservation and land management is important but volunteering as a way of applying these principles is equally significant.

In addition, I’d recommend a flexible approach. Sometimes the wrong job with the right organisation can create unexpected opportunities; ten years ago when I applied for a maternity cover admin job I couldn’t have predicted that now I’d be an Area Manager in the Landscape Conservation team.

Dr Dannielle Green- Marine Ecologist, Academic & Plastic Pollution Warrior!

Today we have the awesome DR Dannielle Green talking about her career path to becoming a Marine Ecologist!

Short bio about yourself and your career:

I am from the blue mountains in Australia. I grew up in a small town that had no street lights, dirt roads and was right in the middle of the bush. I cannot remember ever being inside as a kid, I was always out exploring and was always called a “tom boy”. There were so many wonderful animals and plants, some of them dangerous, but as a kid you have no fear. We lived a 4 hour drive from the coast but whenever we went it was the most amazing thing to me. I got my love of the sea from my Dad and watching Valerie Taylor documentaries about sharks. She showed how shark finning was so cruel and how after they had chopped off the sharks fins they threw them back in and it could take them weeks to die, just lying there unable to move… this horrible image is what inspired me to choose to study marine science. Now I am a marine ecologist and a senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University.

How did your career begin?

My first choice for university was marine science at the University of Sydney and my second choice was Psychology… Fortunately I got into my first option so the world never had to suffer me as a psychologist.

Although I enjoyed university, moving out of a rural home and into the “big smoke” at 18 was difficult and I struggled with severe anxiety for the first few years (and I partied too much!). As a result, my grades were average, my confidence was low and I did not think I had what it took to pursue a career in marine science. In my final semester of third year, however, I did a module on marine ecology and it was the most challenging thing I had ever done… and I loved it and got my first high distinction!! Honours in Australia is an extra year (4th year) and, at the time, you needed to achieve an average weighted grade of at least 70% in order to be permitted to do it. I managed to increase my average weighted mark by >20%, achieving the required grade and there was formal inquest from the Dean. They thought I had cheated because they had never seen such a sudden grade increase… In reality, I was so determined to pursue my newly discovered love of marine ecology that I pulled my socks up and tried really hard for the first time since starting university.

My honours project (which is a year of pure research in Australia) was on intertidal boulder-fields and was supervised by Professor Gee Chapman who is a world leading marine ecologist. To date, this year was the steepest learning curve I have ever endured. It was incredibly challenging and I learnt so much that has shaped me as a scientist to this day. I then won a funded PhD in Ireland to work on invasive species, so this is what led me to move to the other side of the world.

You have been on the frontline of the battle against plastic pollution- how did you start this journey?

After I completed my PhD I was unemployed. This was challenging but I kept myself busy by doing volunteer work and writing academic papers and grants. I lived by the sea and noticed one day after a storm an unsightly amount of plastic packaging on the beach. I was inspired to research what effect this and the resulting microplastics from it could have on marine ecosystems so I submitted a grant for an Irish Research Council fellowship… I heard nothing for ages and just as I was ready to throw in the towel on science (after a year of unemployment and countless rejections) I found out on the same day that not only had I won the fellowship, I had also won a British Ecological Society grant!! Yes, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that we went to Temple Bar to celebrate that night 😊.

Please highlight your thoughts on the plastic pollution problem:

As a pioneer in this field (been at it for the past 8 years) I have seen a massive surge in public support and interest. As my students from Communication Skills for Conservation will know this engagement with the public is paramount to solving the problem but we need to ensure that people are presented with robust evidence and that the science does not get lost in translation. In some cases, plastic is the best material to use and in other cases it never should have been used at all. There is not a one size fits all solution and it varies country to country which is why this a global issue requiring collaborative solutions.

What can people do to help?

Lead by example - The little things do add up, so reduce your use of plastic and re-use items where you can and follow recycling instructions where applicable.

Raise awareness - Remind people that littering is not cool! With the covid-19 situation plastic has made a resurgence as the hero rather than the villain with people believing that single-use plastics are more hygienic (but remember the virus lasts longer on plastic than on cardboard). The worst thing about this is the increase in littering of plastic facemasks, gloves and wipes. Wherever you can please gently remind people that these items should be placed in the bin… along with cigarette butts the other bane of my life.

What is your greatest achievement?

Being invited as a lead author on the upcoming United Nations Assessment of Marine Litter and Microplastics and presenting evidence at the meeting in Nairobi, Kenya this February. Working with these scientists and experts from all over the world was incredibly humbling and inspiring and has opened my eyes to the challenges faced by developing countries that we could never even imagine.

What is your favourite species?

As an ecologist I love communities of organisms all working together and making the world tick over… but for fun I do love marine worms especially the green spoon worm (Bonellia viridis) who have a biocidal pigment in their skin and the strangest sex life on the planet! (https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/animal-behaviour/sex-changes-sperm-slaves-ballooning-bodies-spoon-worms-are-really-weird/).

Advice for people wanting to pursue science and conservation as a career?

Do it for the love and not for the money. It doesn’t pay well and you usually have to do unpaid volunteer work before landing a paid job so having genuine passion for the work is what gets you through and makes it so rewarding.

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you haven’t won any awards, gotten an A for an assignment or changed the world yet. Some people bloom a little later than others, we are all different and have something unique to offer. Conservation is interdisciplinary and requires a team effort, needing us to pull together like pieces of a puzzle to make a real difference!

Leah Fitzpatrick- Skulls & Science! Museums in Conservation.

May I introduce one of the most amazing human beings- Leah Fitzpatrick! Here to talk today about her experience with museums and museums role in conservation!

**Hello! Leah here! Before we go any further, just a heads up that I’m a volunteer, everything I say is my own opinion and isn’t a reflection of what the NHM believes. Back to the interview! **

Short bio about yourself and your career so far:

Hi, I’m Leah! A Learning Volunteer at the Natural History Museum in London, have a collection of 50+ specimens for outreach and I finished my MSc in October! I met Katie on our first day of university at Anglia Ruskin University and we’ve been friends since then (besties!), even sharing a house together for 2 years! I started volunteering at the museum in 2014 and all of sudden I had a real outlet for my love of nature.

Through training, loads of experience on gallery and a very generous grant from ARU, in 2016 I bought a collection of animal skull replicas to start my own independent volunteering. I use the name “Undercover Discover”, although I’ll be honest, I haven’t updated the Facebook page in a long time! Since then I’ve taken the collection to schools, museums and libraries – I sat down the other day to try to calculate how many people have spoken to me with the collection and it’s around 2,500…!

I love bringing my specimens to people, how often do YOU get to hold a Lion skull? Or know you can ask a question about bones without being laughed at? If you don’t know about something, you will find it hard to care and that’s what motivates me to volunteer. If you fancy me and the skulls coming to visit you/your organisation in the future, feel free to contact me (my twitter is best, I’ll leave it at the end).

Outside of volunteering, I give talks! Mostly with the Cambridge Natural History Society on topics from Man-Eating Animals to Venom, I also gave a TEDx talk but uh, it’s a bit old now and I feel I’ve done much better since then. Last year I won £500 for explaining my research on False Widow Spiders in 3 minutes at Imperial College London and did a stand up on being a volunteer with Museum Showoff. Katie kindly organised me to come up to do a talk/mini workshop on spiders at Abberton Nature Reserve which was fantastic as it was my first time speaking just on my favourite animals.

I’m hoping to nab a PhD in the future focusing on my favourite topic (Venom) or carrying on the work I’ve started looking at False Widow Spiders because, well, why not! I was in the process of gathering more data with a look to publishing my findings this year on venom systems in different spiders or the relationship between Black Widows and False Widows but unfortunately that’s on hold until post-lockdown.

How did you begin volunteering at the NHM?

I pulled a sickie so I wouldn’t have to go to school, I hadn’t finished an A level biology assignment and didn’t want to get shouted at! I remember procrastinating on facebook, seeing the advertisement from the NHM for volunteer roles and spent the whole day filling in the application instead of my work. Not the smartest decision but I don’t regret it!

What does your voluntary role there entail?

Being a Learning Volunteer is all about engaging the public. We’ve got loads of specimens that we take out on gallery, letting people ask questions and hold them too. A number of our specimens are focused in activities, such as sorting out minerals by descriptions or organising various arthropods into groups but there is no pressure on doing them! We don’t just go out on gallery during the day, we volunteer during the monthly Late events, at festivals (such as the Exhibition Road Festival) and special one-off events like Science Uncovered. The whole ethos is about getting people to think, have fun and enjoy their day at the museum.

How does the museum contribute to wildlife conservation?

The NHM does a lot of active research – there are currently 300 scientists working on collections, the labs or in the field. That’s not including the students and volunteer projects, so there’s a huge amount of research, especially based on conservation! For example, our former classmate Emily went on to do her MRes with the NHM and Imperial College, she used the mammal collections to “tag” where different species of pangolins have been collected from. This data can then be used to assess the best areas to focus resources to protect them.

Another really cool project is being led by Dr Ken Johnson at the museum – analysing fossil corals to predict how our current reefs will respond to the changing climate by comparing which species survived or how different cataclysmic events effected these corals millions of years ago. Even ancient specimens within the museum are being used to support conservation of important ecosystems!

There are countless projects, far too many to list and if you’re curious as to what other areas the museum is looking at, I’d recommend checking out the “Our Science” page on the NHM website.

Emily’s article: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/april/collections-showing-how-pangolin-populations-have-shrunk.html

Ancient Reef project: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/origins-evolution-and-futures/reef-corals-coral-reef-research.html

Our Science: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science.html

Why are museums of natural history important?

I’m cracking out a list for this because there are certainly a few reasons!

1. The collections that natural history museums have are historically significant and available for people to see. Extinct species such as the Quagga or Dinosaurs, rare specimens like fossils cephalopods or meteorites and significant specimens like Darwin’s finches or Cheddar Man are examples of ones just in the NHM. There are over 80 million specimens, available for anyone to come and use them for research, art or filming (by request!).

2. These specimens, even the most mundane ones, are so vital for future work – specimens deposited in museums have a lot of associated data allowing it to be used in important research. Just look at Emily’s amazing study above on Pangolins! That work is only a slither of what is produced by just the NHM, imagine how much is being conducted worldwide!?

3. Outside of the collections, museums can be the only place were people will be able to see some of the specimens. There will be many people who have never seen a polar bear, a giant sequoia or a blue whale – natural history museums allow you to see these species. Sadly, with the way our planet is heading, it may be the last place we’ll see some of them. Being able to see these animals does help people to connect with them and feel more empathetic about them, hopefully get them to care more about what they can do to help them!

4. Finally, following on from the last point and this might be in my (slightly biased!) opinion but natural history museums are important for LEARNING! You can actually talk to real scientists, discover new species you’d never heard of and just ask any question you’ve ever wanted. It breaks my heart talking to teenagers or adults who say they don’t like science because it’s more likely they hate how it’s taught or they’ve been shamed for not knowing something. That’s where museums (in general, let alone natural history) can be the wonderful introduction to how fascinating things are and how learning it in a different style can help make things make sense.

What is your favourite exhibit at the museum and why?

That’s probably the massive Blue Whale model in the Whale Hall – it was built in 1938 and while it is a bit inaccurate (real Blue Whales are a lot more streamlined) it’s still amazing.

The reason why is because the entrance to the hall is around a corner, meaning the first thing you see as you come in is a massive life size whale! The volunteer room is near by the entrance and we can hear people’s reaction as they come in to the hall – hearing everyone’s reaction to seeing the whale model for the first time is honestly one of my favourite things.

The Model being built! The model now

Please highlight a conservation issue you are particularly interested in:

Invasive species! It can be a rather touchy subject when talking about species that people like (Ringneck parakeets for example) but I really wish it was taken as seriously as deforestation and poaching is by people outside of biology. They can be incredibly detrimental to other native species, outcompeting them for resources and pushing them to extinction, throwing off the whole ecosystem.

If you asked the public to name an invasive species, most could probably name Japanese Knotweed or Grey Squirrels but did you know there are nearly 2000 different invasive species in the UK?! I think why I’m particularly interested in it is because the Noble False Widow (S.nobilis) is an invasive species and I’m extremely interested in trying to formally document their spread.

What can people do to help with this issue?

You can record sightings of invasive species you see on iRecord, especially of any invertebrate or plant species which are typically less reported. This helps scientist keep track of species to see if they’re spreading or other species that could be displacing. I know it seems like everyone says “record sightings for us!!” but it is so helpful for data sets, you can honestly make a difference.

The best place to go for information, advice and tips specific on invasive species is the NNSS (Non-Native Species secretariat) website! I’m including a link for their recording page but check out their ID guides and you can check if a species if invasive.

NNSS Link: http://www.nonnativespecies.org/index.cfm?sectionid=81

What has been your greatest achievement?

1. Speaking at our undergrad graduation

2. Achieving an MSc & BSc despite failing my A-Levels

3. Filling out that application form for the Learning Volunteer programme at the NHM!

What is your favourite species and why?

Oh God, this is like picking a favourite child. It’s a strong competition between the False Widow Spider (S.nobilis) and Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Both are brilliant animals with striking patterns and get an awful lot of hatred from most people due to misinformation. I really do have a soft spot for “unlovable” animals, getting someone to be even just a smidge more interested in them is such a joy.

Museums are often a forgotten route into contributing to wildlife conservation. Do you agree with this statement and what would you say to encourage people into visiting natural history museums?

Yes, although I do understand why it’s not a popular route to take for wildlife conservation. Museums are excellent as drivers of outreach and data collection but a lot of the support in the field is “behind the scenes” compared to zoo’s or wildlife charities who would more likely have dedicated reserves or provide training relating to live animals for example. Museums also provide way of producing future conservationists via degrees or courses available in conjunction with institutions – the museum ran a programme for 4 years training people in identification of fauna/flora between 2014-2018 (see link).

For those motivated by conservation and wondering why they should visit the NHM, there are some key things for you:

1. The Wildlife Garden! A paradise in Central London, with examples of different biomes in the UK and some very special displays including dinosaur footprints! During the summer months, activities such as pond dipping or some fun identification training are normally run. The way the garden is run is incredibly methodical and it sets a real standard for anyone ecologically minded, you can certainly get ideas for your own green space to help wildlife. Also, they have sheep sometimes and they’re very cute.

2. Nature Lives! Theses are talks on the weekend, twice a day, featuring a REAL™ scientist from the museum. Topics are really broad but an awful lot do end up focusing on conservation, either featuring a project at the museum or someone’s research. They’re still doing them in lockdown and a great one to watch is the “Plastic in the Thames” one by PhD student Alex McGoran.

3. The Cocoon! This is a whopping big structure found in the Orange Zone, you can’t miss it. Inside it gives you details of work that’s done at the museum with videos from current curators, explaining how things like taxonomy work and also gives you glimpses into the collections/the laboratory! It explains in great detail how museums do so much more than just house dead animals and highlights ways the museum promotes conservation.

ID trainers: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identification-trainers-for-the-future.html

Alex’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbIhuGFsNfA&

Advice for people wanting to pursue volunteering at a museum or pursue a career in that field?

For those who are after just volunteering: try local/smaller museums and don’t immediately dismiss the idea of volunteering at somewhere if it doesn’t quite fit your interests. Lots of the skills you’ll pick up volunteering in one place, you can certainly transfer to another! And the biggest chunk of advice I can give: enthusiasm and passion are more valuable than academic qualifications. Those traits are so much more sought after by volunteer managers/fellow volunteers! Anyone can learn all there is about specimen but only someone who is sincerely interested in sharing that learning can be a volunteer.

For those interested in a career: I am going to be majorly cynical here but prepare yourself for an incredibly difficult challenge. Museum jobs are highly competitive, poorly paid and often require specific skills that are awkward to obtain (ie object conservation). Don’t be fussy, if a museum has a position and you’d enjoy it, go for it even if it’s not quite your interest (ie you’d like a position in an art gallery, but land in a science centre instead). Don’t entirely scrap the idea but it’s good to be flexible with your goals and career – a lot of great people at the NHM have a very varied background!