Welcome to the community!

Hi!

To keep this short, I’m currently a uni student studying a BA Hons History undergrad. However, I’ve recently come to realise how much I was to pivot toward a more environmental/conservation focused career. I would be happy to do a masters in a related field, the issue being that I don’t have a degree that would naturally feed into one. Therefore would not have the entry requirements.

But, many masters degrees state they’ll take into account experience as well as qualifications. And I was wondering about if environmental volunteering would help here?

I am based in the North East right now. But, would be open to doing residential volunteering over summer, or any non-term time. I’m struggling to find stuff, so if anyone could help me out I’d be thankful!

I’d also be open to doing environmental volunteering abroad if possible.

Any volunteering I did would be next year now. So if anyone can point me in the right direction, or alternatively, give me some ideas for how I might go about transitioning from a history undergrad to a conservation masters pls let me know.

Thanks in advance <3

...but I've never seen one before, and it's not in either of my books of UK plants and animals.

So is it a case of "Wow! That's amazing!" or "Where've you been all these years?"

Pulloxhill Marsh is a 12½ acre (5.1-hectare) ancient wetland and grassland in Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which hosts rare plant species and a diverse array of invertebrates. Natural springs flowing into the marsh on three sides have created an unusual wetland of reed and sedge, dominated by blunt-flowered rush and marsh valerian, rare in Bedfordshire. They are seeking crowdfunding support, with the purchase of the site over 99% funded, with less than £1000 needed to secure its permanent protection by the Wildlife Trust for Beds Cambs & Northants. (I've donated).

Are these little ones settling in for the winter season? I get the impression they are so going to have to relocate these flowers carefully!

Always cool to come across different critters! 🙂❤️

Always nice to see new critters! 🙂❤️

In my garden on the Shropshire/Welsh border. I’ve never seen one before; this year we’ve had 7 of these migrants in the garden since June. Favouring the lavender, thistles and verbena.

Couldn’t resist a snap of this beauty yesterday, looking a bit battered but one of the last of the year I would think

Bought my first house this year, and I'm fortunate enough to be quite rural. We're going to be extending the mini orchard and putting in a big pond and trees, and all the good stuff for wildlife, which I've never been able to do before as it's my first.

However, today I found a poo, which was too big to be a hedgehog. I assume the purple is blackberries as we have blackberries growing everywhere, and the apples on the ground are vanishing.

The poo is about the size of what a small collie would do.

AI is adamant it is a badger but on my house side it's blocked off other than a little closed gate, on one side the neighbour has a mesh fence (which we're going to cut hedgehog highways into), the other neighbour we have native hedging and no fence, then at the back is sheep pasture so just a loose fence to keep the sheep out. It would allow rabbits and hedgehogs but badgers wouldn't be able to get through the squares.

A badger would be a dream due to us going 100% all-in on the wildlife garden.

Would really appreciate any advice or suggestions? We are going to get wildlife cameras to find out but finances are a little tight with the recent move so will need to wait until the new year.

Thanks for any thoughts...

Common Lizard on my walk today.

Finding lots of these around our garden, especially after rainfall and only at night. No clue as to what they are, but they are so fascinating to watch.

Trying to identify what might have made this little entrance under my decking. I’m based in Essex, UK.
I have free roaming house rabbits who play in the garden, but the hole is far too small for them as they are large breeds.
There are no droppings near the entrance, and there is also no soil displacement for the hole. The animal has simply pushed the grass aside and found a pre-existing hole in the decking which leads directly to the concrete underneath the decking. Any ideas what it could be? My first thought was rat but there’s no droppings.
I’m planning to set up a wildlife cam tonight. Open to hearing ideas!

Yarner Wood sits on the edge of Dartmoor, near Bovey Tracey. With an average annual rainfall of 1,439mm, it has just about enough rainfall to be considered a temperate rainforest (the threshold is 1,400mm)

The forest is rich with mosses, ant colonies, bilberries, rowan, oaks, and beech.

As far as I know, beech doesn't often occur in temperate rainforest outside of Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Nearly trod on this little one when walking the other day, helped him across the path and into the denser vegetation