Job Profile

What does your job involve and what might a typical day involve?

The job varies, mainly depending on the time of year and there is not really a ‘typical’ day. Over the winter I am largely office based with occasional surveys, site visits, meetings and events to attend. In the spring and summer I am out and about quite a lot carrying out various surveys.

The main focus of my job is working on the UK BAP Priority Moth Species. Survey work is focused on a number of these species, and can involve searching for adults and caterpillars, both during the day and at night. Following surveys I always try to provide feedback to the landowners and provide management recommendations where necessary. I also try to encourage moth recorders to carry out surveys for these priority moths and throughout the field season I send them weekly e-mail newsletter to keep everyone up to date. I am responsible for maintaining the National Scarce Moth Recording Scheme database. I co-ordinate and compile an annual report called Lepidoptera Conservation Bulletin which summarises the conservation work that gets carried out on lepidoptera in the UK. The job is not only about conserving the rare species, but also trying to increase the public interest in moths.

What qualifications and experience did you have before starting the job?

I completed a degree in Marine Biology & Coastal Ecology at Plymouth University. While at university I joined the Glamorgan Moth Group and attended events whenever I was able to. On graduating I spent a short time volunteering for RSPB Cymru in their Cardiff office and it was here that I found out about a six-month placement as Volunteer Reserves Assistant for the RSPB on the Exe Estuary, which I subsequently took up. After the six months I went to Lundy Island as a RSPB volunteer working on the ‘Seabird Recovery Project. I then volunteered with WildCRU for a few months, investigating Bovine TB in British mammals on Dairy Farms.

In all I spent just under a year volunteering: these were fantastic opportunities, which I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt a lot from. I gained significant amounts of training in both ecological skills and practical land management. I then was successful in getting a four-month contract working for the RSPB investigating the decline of the urban House Sparrow. After the contract ended I got the Conservation Assistant job working for Butterfly Conservation in Wales. I worked there for two years before moving to my current position at Butterfly Conservation’s Head Office in Dorset working as Moth Conservation Officer.

What are the best and worst bits of your job?

The worst bits are probably aspects of the office work as it takes time away from what I would prefer to be doing, although I realise that this part of the job is important.

The most enjoyable aspect of the job is being able to get out and do fieldwork. I get to travel around much of England and visit some really beautiful places. I am continually learning new things and becoming more and more fascinated by moths the longer I do the job. The highlight for me is definitely when you are able to take positive steps for the conservation of a species.

What satisfaction do you get from your work and how does it make a difference?

I get great satisfaction from my job. It is very varied and I suspect this is one of the reasons why I enjoy it so much. I think I make a difference by helping to inform people how special these moths are, encouraging land managers to consider the species in their management of the site and hopefully helping to ensure the long-term future of these species. I also hope that I am helping to increase the public interest in moths.

I think that both I, and the rest of the staff at Butterfly Conservation are passionate about what we do and we all work hard to make a difference.

Do you have any tips for someone looking for a career in this area?

Working in conservation is extremely competitive and I would suggest if you really want to get a job you have to be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up, and be prepared for a lot of hard work! From my own personal experience I would definitely recommend volunteering for one of the various conservation organisations. To maximise your opportunities you should be prepared to move around the country for work, at least until you get your foot in the door. Make the most of any opportunities to attend training courses and also spending time in the field with ‘experts’ can really help improve your skills.

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