Role
In my role as Project Officer, I am supporting research, reporting, and the delivery of projects run by various colleagues across the team at SWM. The main topics covered include Net Zero Innovation and Climate Change Adaptation.
Profile
Growing up surrounded by precious countryside and a family with a ‘make-do and mend’ attitude to possessions gave me a respect for the environment and how we use resources before I had ever heard the term ‘sustainability’.
I studied Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham where, as well as the scientific knowledge, I gained an appreciation for the importance of communicating science to the public. I decided quickly that working in a lab wasn’t for me, despite my interest in the science itself. My studies shifted to people- and system-focussed science for my Masters’ Degree. My project investigated how socioeconomic factors influence food security and biodiversity conservation in rural farming communities in Eastern Africa and Nepal.
Whilst at university I became acutely aware of the environmental damage and vast inequalities we are causing internationally and right on our doorstep in the UK. I directed my passion for tackling the climate crisis and creating a more sustainable world to the university, lobbying for more student input and involvement in the organisation’s decision making and initiatives around sustainability. I pitched a role with the purpose of expanding on my ‘Sustainability Champions Programme’, and this was adopted by the Communications and Reputation team. They created an internship I filled as a Communications and Engagement Assistant, where I also supported other projects in sustainability communications, behaviour change, and public engagement.
Alongside studying and working at the university, I have organised international online conferences and carried out a web development project for the charity Earth Building UK and Ireland, who promote sustainability and conservation through the fostering of new and traditional Earth Building techniques.
Outside of work, I enjoy live music, pub quizzes, and visiting my family and gorgeous dog in Norfolk when I can. I also channel a love of the sea by regularly visiting Devon and Cornwall.