Farmland Biodiversity Advisor, Martin Down and Allenford Farmer Clusters Facilitator
Megan joined GWCT Advisory in June 2021 as facilitator for the Martin Down and Allenford Farmer Clusters, after previous roles as an advisor with the CLA and Natural England and as an estate land manager. Her job involves surveying and monitoring priority species and habitats and undertaking environmental works within these landscape-scale conservation projects.
“I love applying my ecological knowledge to the farmed landscape and I like getting hands on,” says Megan. “I really enjoy working with other people, from the cluster farmers to collaborating with other GWCT departments on projects, like the Owl Box Initiative, which contribute to the success of the clusters.”
Megan first visited the Martin Down National Nature Reserve as an Ecology and Conservation student to study the chalk grassland. Then, early in her career, she met the GWCT’s Pete Thompson.
“Pete had a way of enthusing and encouraging farmers, and he told me about the Farmer Clusters concept, and I thought then I would love to be a part of it.
“I have always loved Martin Down NNR and the surrounding countryside, and I am passionate about landscape-scale conservation. To be able to see the benefits of the Farmer Clusters’ work extend far and wide is a real privilege. Carrying out my first butterfly transect in this job, I stood in the amazing landscape and felt honoured to be a part of this fantastic project and the GWCT.”
In her early career, Megan became aware that “as a woman you have to work harder to prove yourself in some situations”. Talking to a student at her former college, Sparsholt, recently, Megan told her: “Be confident, do what you love and makes you happy, know your worth, and be ambitious!”