By Hannah Buckley, Predation Control Studies Placement Student
When I first decided to take part in a placement year back in my first year of university, I spent hours scrolling through the list of available roles. I read countless descriptions, but nothing felt quite right – until I came across the GWCT. I knew instantly that this was the organisation I wanted to be part of, contributing to meaningful wildlife research.
Over a year later, after finally applying and interviewing with the Predation Department, that initial aspiration became reality when I was offered the placement.
Coming into the placement, I thought it best to have zero expectations – I only had the job description and what I’d learned during my interview to go by. After two months in the role, I can safely say that was the right decision, because any expectations I could’ve had would have been far exceeded!
From day one, I was learning, applying my skills, and being given real responsibilities within the team. That sense of trust and inclusion made me feel valued straight away. My housemates (fellow placement students living on-site in the cottages) can definitely back me up from what I’ve told them when I say that no two days are the same in predation! This variety is something I absolutely love; every day brings something new, keeping things exciting even as winter is looming over and we begin to spend more time hibernating indoors before the field season begins in spring.
Training our in-house AI software to identify oystercatcher using previous nest camera images.
So far, my tasks have ranged from training our AI species identification software (which involves a surprising amount of digital dot-to-dot work!) to determining the sex of ringed plovers using nest camera footage – a task that’s proven trickier than first expected. I’ve also been analysing colour-ring sequences for previous season’s nests, summarising datasets to support upcoming scientific publications from the department and sorting and logging archived red fox bones and teeth – some nearly twice my age – to hopefully be used in modern-day conservation research!
Alongside these projects, I’ve been learning to use QGIS, a tool I’ll soon be applying to map our fieldwork site at the North Solent National Nature Reserve – something I’m really looking forward to as the placement progresses.
Waders spotted foraging in the intertidal area of Lepe, adjacent to the North Solent National Nature Reserve.
To give an insight into living on-site at the Trust (in which accommodation is included), there are two student cottages less than two minutes’ walk away from each other, meaning you can quite literally roll out of bed and go straight to work (not that I do this). Living with the New Forest right on our doorstep is such a blessing, and in our spare time we tend to submerge ourselves in nature.
Activities include going on local woodland runs and walks, searching for cool and quirky fungi such as green elf cups, bird-ringing under BTO licensing with our local ringing trainer and for some of us, morning swims in the local River Avon for a great wake-up!
The River Avon at sunset, less than 100 metres from the student cottages.
These first two months have already provided me with indispensable knowledge, not only on the realities of working in conservation research, but also about working as part of a passionate and supportive team, for which I am super thankful! Looking ahead, I am excited for what spring and summer will bring, exploring more of the local area and getting stuck in (quite literally in the saltmarshes) to the fieldwork – monitoring of wading bird nests, radio-tracking the chicks and assisting with the deployment of non-lethal nest protection measures at the site. I better get my waders ready, as wellie boots won’t cut it there!