Hello everyone,

I am currently an ecology student, doing my honours in population genetics in South Africa, although I initially started my journey into conservation by becoming a veterinary nurse. Growing up, I had always loved wildlife, nature and supporting animal welfare causes. I knew I wanted to work hands-on with animals, day dreaming constantly of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, and so vet nursing seemed like a good first step. I was extremely fortunate to land my first job at the on-site veterinary clinic of the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. Here I became acquainted with a number of amazing conservationists and was totally in awe to see the intricacies and "behind-the-scenes" of what goes into solving some of our biggest conservation problems. 

After a year of soaking up as much conservation inspiration as possible, I decided to go back to studying with the aim of coming back to the conservation world in a research capacity. I initially had to make some capital to afford study fees, and so spent a further year working as an assistant to a wildlife and equine vet in the rural town of Riversdale, South Africa. Three years later, after working part-time as an emergency and critical care nurse whilst studying full-time, I have qualified with my BSc, am starting my post-grad years and am finally back on my journey to contribute to the conservation of our beautiful, natural world!

I am passionate about conservation, animal welfare and making research-based science relevant and accessible to everyone. I am so excited to be able to learn from and engage with the conservation community, and look forward to getting to know you all!