Over the course of the PARTRIDGE project, the GWCT has hosted up to three new students each year – always sad to see them leave but equally excited for the next students to arrive. Over the years it has been a pleasure to employ some extremely talented undergraduates from across the UK. Here, several of our past students share some of their highlights since finishing their placement with the PARTRIDGE project, and their achievements and experiences make a very interesting read!
Holly Kembrey, English placement student 2017-2018
After finishing my placement with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust in 2018, I returned to complete my final year at Nottingham Trent University. It was during this year that I took part in the UK and Ireland ASET placement competition. For my entry, I wrote about my experience and the benefits I had discovered, both personally and academically, that a placement year provides – to my delight, I managed to win this competition!
After graduating from Nottingham Trent, I began working as a seasonal assistant ecologist at FPCR where I gained a lot of experience with protected species. I continued with this job whilst completing an MSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Management at the University of Oxford in 2022. I am now working as an assistant ecologist at FPCR and thoroughly enjoying it.
I believe a lot of my successes have stemmed from my placement year and I have Francis Buner to thank for the most amazing opportunities he gave me – if I could go back and do it all again, I would in a heartbeat.
Markos Nikolaou, Scottish placement student 2019-2020
Since my time with the GWCT, I graduated from the University of Leicester and shortly after I ran an online campaign in Cyprus to raise awareness about endangered species and ecosystems of the island. In the autumn of 2021, I enrolled as a student at Uppsala University in Sweden, undertaking an MSc in Ecology and Conservation.
In the summer of 2022, I spent six weeks in the Yucatan, Mexico, doing fieldwork for my thesis, which I’m currently working on. The project aims to decipher what dictates patterns of habitat use and distribution for two primate species in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, also in Mexico.
Ellie Raynor, English placement student 2020-2021
I finished my placement in September 2021 and went back to complete my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University. The skills learnt from my placement year enabled me to excel in my final year of study, by creating high quality presentations, detailed GIS maps and an excellent final research project. Allowing me to achieve a first class honours degree. The hard work truly paid off.
I did not stop there, I continued volunteering for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust in the summer of 2022 where I first gained a passion for conservation. The volunteers there are truly amazing, and I hope I can be as hardworking as them when I am in my 70s. During this time, I began bird ringing with the Stanford Ringing Group, adding yet another skill to my CV.
Then you will not believe it, I have done a full circle and been hired by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust again. This time as a Research Assistant. They just could not get rid of me! I have been in the job a couple of months, and I look forward to what my new role develops into over the near future.
Amelia Corvin-Czarnodolski, English placement student 2021-2022
Since finishing my placement in August, I spent a couple of weeks in Cornwall working on citizen science rockpooling projects and volunteering at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay – this was a lot of fun, and it was interesting to try something marine-related after spending the year learning about terrestrial ecology. I then went to the island of Salina, off the coast of Sicily, Italy, for a short internship with the Blue Marine Foundation, where I learned how to conduct scientific dives in seagrass meadows.
It was during this trip that I was notified I had been awarded 'Placement Student of the Year' from the University of Leicester thanks to the lovely words that Francis Buner and Cameron Hubbard wrote about my contribution to the PARTRIDGE project. I have now returned to university for the final year of my undergraduate degree, and I am continuing to train as a bird ringer; a skill I picked up and fell in love with during my placement year.
If you are interested in applying for a placement student role at GWCT please follow this link >