Working in this sector is something I have been passionate about since I was a teenager.
I get my love of nature and wildlife from my mum who shared her passion for it with me and my sister from a young age. We all still frequently share our garden wildlife sitings in the family WhatsApp group!
After graduating from university with a degree in Conservation Biology, I started to pursue a career in conservation by volunteering with Kent Wildlife Trust. I volunteered with Alison’s (Area Manager) Darland Banks task day team and then moved onto volunteer with the land management advice team. I eventually found my place in People Engagement and have been there ever since.
However, whilst volunteering two days a week and working 3 days a week I started to get ill. I had this severe fatigue that just wouldn’t shift. After many tests and many years fighting to get help, I was eventually diagnosed with ME/CFS. More information on this condition can be found here.
The environmental sector is the second least diverse in the UK. In last year’s EDI survey 25% of KWT staff reported that they have a disability. But as one of those 25%, what is it like to work here?
Well, I’ve been working flexibly since way before Covid! The flexible working policy has really helped to manage my disability. I mostly work in the afternoons where possible, rather than full days so I can pace my activity levels and manage my energy. I also do most of my admin work from home where I am more comfortable, better able to manage any pain and noise, light and temperature sensitivity.
This year I’ve had the privilege of working on the Reaching Greater Heights project at the Western Heights in Dover. I have been working with community groups in the local area to get more local people enjoying the history and biodiversity at this wonderful site. I have been working with Access Arts for All – an organisation offering accessible art workshops for people with disabilities – to run a series of online and in-venue art workshops themed around the history and wildlife at the site. Having the opportunity to share the beauty and wonder of this site through art with people who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to access it has really reignited my passion for my job.
However, there are still many barriers to working in this sector and visiting our nature reserves. For longer days and longer distances I use a walking stick or an electric wheelchair. The majority of our reserves are inaccessible for people with mobility issues. Kissing gates, cattle grids, stiles and so on cannot be used by those using a wheelchair or mobility scooter. Disability Pride, even to me, seems like a strange concept. I would much rather there was a cure for ME/CFS! However, Disability Pride exists and will continue to exist to raise awareness about the barriers people with disabilities face every day.
I hope that in the future accessibility is embedded into everything we do. There are so many designs and pieces of technology now that make places and natural spaces accessible for all. I hope people with lived experience of different disabilities are consulted when buildings are refurbished and new buildings are built. And I hope that nature can be accessible to all because we all know just how healing it can be for mind and the body.
As a deaf person working in the nature and conservation sector, I have experienced both the rewards and the challenges of building a career in a field I am passionate about.
Communication barriers can still be a significant obstacle, whether that's meetings without adequate accessibility, networking events in noisy environments, or assumptions about what deaf people can and cannot do. Despite these challenges, spending time in nature has always been a place of connection, wellbeing and inspiration for me.
The natural world is something that everyone should be able to experience and engage with, regardless of disability, and I am proud to play a role in helping make that happen.
My journey into the sector has been driven by a love of wildlife and a desire to connect people with nature. In my role, I work to engage communities and create opportunities for people to experience and value the natural environment. Looking ahead, I would like to see the sector become more inclusive and representative, with accessibility embedded from the start rather than considered as an afterthought.
In five years' time, I hope to see more deaf and disabled people employed across the sector, more accessible events and opportunities, and a stronger recognition that diverse perspectives make conservation and nature recovery efforts more effective and impactful for everyone.
Navigating day-to-day life can be tricky when you have OCD and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
For me, these two things combined generally mean that:
I worry obsessively about a group of particular things and then obsessively worry about everything else!
So, it’s fair to say that building a career in the Conservation Sector isn’t always a ‘walk in the park’ (or… nature reserve?!’).
For me, any given day can feel like a whirlwind of overthinking and overanalysing, of replaying conversations, of second – third, fourth, fifth – guessing myself, of irrational guilt for perceived or real failings. In meetings – even with colleagues and friends that I’ve known for years – I often feel like one of our European bison has sat on my chest; that I’m attempting to think clearly and convey information whilst the air is being crushed from my lungs.
Then there’s the obsessive need to avoid (or, if I fail to avoid, to compulsively neutralise) ‘threats’ – real or imagined.
The ‘threats’ vary, and I collect new ones along the way. But one of the most challenging for me (and I want to preface this by saying I love all animals) has been dogs, and – sorry, I know it’s gross – dog poo.
Added to this list is blood, chemicals, public toilets, litter and sharp objects (I’m perpetually petrified of encountering needles) and most recently – and perhaps most unhelpfully – metal; it turns out quite a lot of things are made of metal.
I am fully aware that this is irrational, but the anxiety is real.
Encountering or even thinking I have encountered these things, leads to compulsions – like endless handwashing, showering, or changing clothes repeatedly. The way I move about the world is strange now. I often pin my hands to my side or chest; stop to stare at the ground; and walk in long, looping strides to avoid things. My family lovingly joke that I would be completely at home in a Monty Python ‘Ministry of Silly Walks’ sketch.
For me, and lots of people with OCD, life can feel like one giant game of buzz wire.
Needless to say, this makes visiting nature reserves – and sometimes even going outside – a challenge. I work for a nature conservation charity because I love nature. So, this has been hard.
But it’s not all bad. Because I work in the nature conservation sector, I get to think and talk and write about nature endlessly. Even if I can’t always experience it first-hand. As a bid writer and fundraiser, I need to be thoughtful and analytical, to look at things from different angles. I like to think my OCD helps with this, and that it’s made me more conscientious and empathetic, which is also handy in fundraising.
I know that there are lots of other people out there who, for whatever reason, also find it hard to get outdoors. I hope that I can use my position to continue fundraising for projects that increase access to nature; I’d love to see a project aimed at creating virtual resources that allow people to experience and enjoy nature from home.
A big part of my job is to bring nature to life on the page. To inspire people to care about it, just as much as I do, and to restore and protect it. I like to think that by researching and writing about nature I’m still getting to experience it every day. And that, by fundraising for vital conservation work, I am in my own small way, helping to safeguard the natural world – so that, when I am ready to get back out there, there will still be lots of wonderful wildlife for me and others to enjoy.
Find out more about how the Wildlife Trusts are working to become Disability Confident!
In this blog we reflect on 2024 and celebrate the successes of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Team at Kent Wildlife Trust. While there's always room to learn & grow, we're proud of our progress!
July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities and to advocate for greater accessibility and inclusion.
Ray Felix Carter from Untold Origins is asked about what Black History Month means to them and how we can improve accessibility to nature within the ethnic majority.
