I've recently signed up for the Grant Writing for Wildlife Conservation Course. I am currently an MSc Research Student in Biological Sciences and a volunteer at one of the Wildlife Trust's branches located in Wales. I'm hoping to get more specific skills related to wildlife and conservation so I can pursue a career in this wonderful sector.
Michelle Payne
(She/Her)
Volunteer and MSc Research Student, N/A
I am a volunteer of one of the Wildlife Trust branches' local action youth forum, and in 2023 I worked as an Education and Community Engagement Officer for one of their local nature reserves, as part of a paid internship. I love wildlife and am deeply interested in helping people connect to nature for conservation and well-being. I seek a future role in the conservation and wildlife sector, and as grant writing is a vital skill for this sector, I decided to sign up to WildTeam for the Grant Writing for Wildlife Conservation course. I enjoyed the course so much, that I am continuing with the WildTeam's courses, starting with Project Planning for Wildlife Conservation.
I am currently finishing my viva corrections edits for my MSc Research degree in Biological Sciences at Bangor University, where I am researching variation in the vertebral column of rhesus macaques. I love primates, my favourite being lemurs, and I hope to see them someday in Madagascar.
I also love writing and hope to publish a novel one day. My preferred writing genres are fantasy and sci-fi (with a little nature thrown in too).
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Welcome Michelle, glad to have you here. I would love to hear more about your research. What was your most interesting finding while studying macaques?
Hi, thank you very much :)
My project is focused on finding numeral and morphological variation in the thoracolumbar region from a sample of rhesus macaques CT scans (so variation in the thoracic and lumbar region of the vertebral column). My project started before Covid, so there have been lots of changes, delays, and ups and downs, so I think I'm currently in a "just get it done" mindset, so I'm struggling to think of a good answer, sorry ^^'.
One of the interesting articles I did come across in my research talks about how macaques' posture when sitting means their vertebral column aligns in a similar way ours do when sitting, which could be why they develop similar spinal disorders to us despite our different locomotion styles (we are bipedal, they're more quadrupedal etc.). I did start out wanting to explore the locomotive angle a little more, so this was really fun to read about.
This is so fascinating! Will you continue doing research on macaques after you compete your MSc?
I can relate with your "just get it done" mindset. I started my PhD a few months before Covid happened so have conducted my whole research during the pandemic. What a rollercoaster of emotions! Glad it is over - phew!
It sounds like you are very close to the end of your studies, so best of luck!
Dear Michelle,
Welcome to WildHub! It’s great to have you here, and congratulations on signing up for the Grant Writing for Wildlife Conservation course. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity to build essential skills for your future in the wildlife and conservation sector.
Your passion for connecting people to nature and your experience with the Wildlife Trust is truly inspiring. Also, your research on rhesus macaques sounds fascinating! I’d love to hear more about your favorite part of the research process—what has been the most exciting discovery for you so far?
Feel free to share your thoughts or reach out if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing more of your contributions to the community!
Hi,
Thank you so much - I'm really looking forward to the course and building up more of those essential skills with WildHub.
As I mentioned to Flavia, with the up and downs of project and the "let's get this done" mindset I'm currently right now, I'm not quite sure how to best to answer at this current time, I think I may have more of an answer once the project is finally over ^^' but I think I really enjoyed exploring the different literature and discovering new information about primates. I definitely would love to learn more about different research methods in the future and keep learning about primates :)
A warm welcome to WildHub, Michelle! Wonderful to have you join us and thank you for sharing about your background.
Perhaps of interest to you could be our Conservation Catalyst programme here, which can be a great experience for networking as well as sharing other people’s learnings.
Also, I would recommend joining our member Social events (dates here) which is a great way to get to know other members.
Let us know if you have any questions.