Emma Withers: Community Engagement Officer, West Wales Rivers Trust
Emma Withers writes about how she turned a lifelong love of animals into a fulfilling career around rivers.
How did I end up in this role?
One thing I often get asked, which I could answer in a multitude of ways, but we are going the long route today, and I’m afraid it isn’t entirely river related. My Dad always said, ‘you never work a day in your life if you’re doing something you enjoy’, and this has been my main motive since. To find a role that amalgamates all the things I enjoy, protecting and learning about the environment, spending time outside and meeting new people. But I can’t say it was particularly easy to get here, and it wasn’t as simple as walking out of university with a degree (or 2) in hand, straight into the conservation world.
Growing up in nature
My interest in nature stemmed from my interest in animals and from spending so much time outside growing up. I’m sure that the countless visits to farms, zoos and my local Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) made an impact. I have fond memories of visiting the Quantock Hills for weekend BBQs, splashing through the streams, building dams and climbing trees in the forest.
The natural world has always been magical and sparked my curiosity, but it was only when I flicked through my college prospectus that I realised I could not only study this enticing world; I could also find a career in it. And all whilst cuddling fluffy and scaly animals. What a win!
Studying our natural world
My Level 3 Diploma in Animal Management (BTEC) was my first step into animal and conservation studies which opened my eyes to possible routes to working with wildlife. Rather than limit my learnings, I kept my bachelor’s degree subject broad with a Biological Science (BSc) degree in Zoology at the University of Reading, before channeling my interests with a MSc in Global Wildlife Health & Conservation at Bristol University. My studies revealed all the aspects of working with wildlife but I soon realised that I was more interested in the ‘wild’ part! Conservation through captivity is still something that doesn’t sit well with me, and soon we would have nowhere suitable to release those captive bred species anyway. Protecting our natural world needs tackling, and I decided I wanted to be a part of its protection.
My undergraduate dissertation involved monitoring the population of hedgehogs – Erinaceus europaeus -across urban gardens in Reading. This project relied heavily on community volunteers who set up and monitored the trail cameras and footprint tunnels in their gardens. This was my first experience of working with the community and I loved it. I found huge value in public involvement and the deep care and concern felt by local people was really motivating.
Diversifying my experience
After graduating I set out to gain as much experience as possible to help me get a role in conservation. That’s when I discovered that volunteering opportunities in the sector were far fewer in this country than abroad. It was frustrating that there was a push from conservation organisations to gain experience, yet no apparent avenues to achieve it. In desperation I set up my own volunteering opportunities to gain the experience I needed and set up a blog post to share resources and advice with other aspiring conservationists.
Through outreach with local wildlife groups – Somerset Otter Group, badger group and bat group – I found plenty of volunteering and networking opportunities. I also met Ed Green, owner of Chesterblade Hills, at that time a 100-herd dairy farm, who wanted to change his income strategy to benefit nature. I was fascinated by the work they were doing – including the neighbourhood conflicts around their resident badgers – that I established my own community research project on their land. Recruiting volunteers to help collect wildlife data with trail cameras, I ran a number of community events that helped neighbours to understand the work aims of the farm, defuse the conflict and increase engagement between farm and community. Chesterblade Hills now generates revenue solely from nature-based activities.
Working for nature
My first role in the wildlife realm was as an Assistant Ecologist for an Ecological Consultancy. Although this hugely increased my knowledge of British wildlife, I always felt I was on the wrong side of conservation; helping to pass planning permissions rather than preventing them. There was little compromise for wildlife, and humans were winning this human-wildlife battle. I also realised that I greatly missed the ‘people’ aspects of conservation, and report writing was certainly not going to tackle any societal issues. Thus, I finally pinpointed that I wanted a role that connected people with nature and involved working within communities. This is where I believe real change lies. And that’s really how I ended up in Pembrokeshire!
A role as an adventure guide, and then Operations Manager at TYF Adventure, meant working around Pembrokeshire’s wild coast and rivers with people; a little less wildlife and a little more adventure! Although my time there was invaluable for my project management and education deliverable skills, I was still lacking in wildlife experience. But living and working in Pembrokeshire’s outdoors continued to fuel my need to protect it and demonstrated other ways of connecting with our local environment.
When the role of Community Engagement Officer in Pembrokeshire for West Wales Rivers Trust (WWRT) was offered to me, it was like all the pieces of the puzzle had finally come together.
Working for Rivers
My role at WWRT is to encourage and educate communities about the protection of our sacred river environments, learning about the diversity of our societal and environmental issues along the way. My job allows me to spend time by our rivers, sharing my enthusiasm and enjoyment, whilst working every day towards a cause I care about. I hope others can get the same benefits from spending time in nature, next to our rivers, as I do.
Our river environments are ever shifting and their meaning to society has evolved to serve our ever-changing needs; from harvesting and transporting resources, to arenas for outdoor recreation and contemplation. Our rivers are truly intertwined within our communities, making human connection with riparian habitats personal for everyone. This close overlap between humans and rivers differs perhaps to other areas of conservation. Not to mention that our riparian habitats offer some of our most biodiverse homes for a number of well-loved and intriguing wildlife species. The history, heritage and biodiversity of our rivers tap into emotions and connections that I have not experienced in other areas of conservation.
Highs and lows
Sadly, more often than not, engagement with our waterways comes from negative stimulus. Like all conservation issues there are lots of threads but onslaught from water companies, government policies and regulations – or the lack of them – leads to anger and frustration. I enjoy trying to channel this frustration within the community towards positive, proactive actions for river protection.
I have met and worked with so many interesting, inspiring and knowledgeable people through my work with rivers. I have truly learned through the community and always leave an event re-energised, with new knowledge, shared ideas and a real sense of hope for the cause we all care about so dearly.
Working with schools has been particularly rewarding. Having the chance to share my knowledge and enthusiasm has given me the chance to create generational change. Understanding of the large-scale issues is important but I also believe that taking individual responsibility is a driver for change.
Since taking on this role, the Pembrokeshire community has gained 157 citizen scientists recording river health data; 12km of invasive species has been removed from our riparian habitats; 405kg of waste has been prevented from entering our waterways, and over 700 students have learnt about the importance of these ecosystems for humans and nature.
I’m excited to continue to inspire individuals, support communities and educate generations to come together to be the voice of this magical habitat. And just maybe we can start to live in a little more harmony in the future…