My Environmental Studies Degree - Worth It?

The 15th August 2013 was one of the longest days of my life. At 6am, I was a sweaty ball of nerves mentally praying that I’d got the grades needed to study Ecology at Bournemouth University. By 11am, I was agreeing terms with the University of Kent to do Environmental Studies instead. I’d not heard of ‘adjustment’ (the opposite of clearing) until the night before. That day was a wild ride but after an anxiety-inducing morning, it felt as though the course of the rest of my life had been reset. In July 2016, I’d graduated from a Top-20 university having studied a subject matter than was hot on the political agenda. The world was a vast and cracked open oyster, ready for me to raid and conquer. Did it all go to plan? Well…

I’ve alluded to the direction of my career before and all of the hurdles in between. For further reading, I’d recommend ‘Why being a young naturalist sucks’. But after you’ve finished reading this. In summary, graduation opened very few doors which meant I essentially needed to rethink my career path pretty quickly. I could have studied a masters, got involved with unpaid internships or taken a year out to travel the world whilst simultaneously networking. Adult life unfortunately makes no exceptions for this and you can’t pay your gas bill on good vibes only. I needed a salary and I didn’t have time on my side. It would’ve been nice to have the bank of mum and dad offer me guaranteed financial security but much to my dismay, I was no longer a ‘child’’. An undergraduate degree from a decent university certainly helped me get a step up, regardless of the actual subject matter, so there’s no begrudging that. 

Did I choose the wrong degree? With Environmental Studies, the focus was on social sciences and taking on a more anthropological perspective on conservation issues. I’d always say that anything deeply scientific is not my strong suit, so zoology or marine biology would not have been an option. The difficult aspect to consider when you start a degree is where it will lead. You don’t worry about your career on results day or freshers week, you worry about what mixer is cheapest and whether you can genuinely die from a hangover. A degree feels like just one further step on the path you’re supposed to tread, a path that started in nursery and has been laid out for you ever since. I only panicked about getting a job and the rest of my life at the tail-end of my final year and in honesty, it’s not in a university’s best interest to carve out your career. Firstly, it strongly involves your own impetus and secondly, as long as they have your tuition fee, they’re satisfied.

Thus far, I’ve painted myself as a helpless victim in an unfair world. Is it as black and white as that? Definitely not. You can’t blame me for not focusing on the world beyond university. It’s frightening and I’d assumed the transition would be straightforward. Every other development in my life had involved an element of hand holding but this next chapter was clearly not going to be as merry. Undergraduate life only helped to create a false bubble of comfort with very little insight into what was coming next. I went to war with a shield made of cider cans. Being a student is a toxic combination between feeling adult enough to make independent decisions but with cushioned consequences. I shrugged off the notion of getting a part time job as a student because I wanted to surround myself with fun. I turned my nose up at volunteering because that sounded like effort. All valuable avenues for me that I wished I’d had a kick up the backside about.

Did I enjoy myself though? Absolutely. I thrived at university and built social circles that have stood the test of time, even today. I fully embraced the student way of life, much to the ills of my wallet. As far as lectures and seminars, I genuinely engaged with the subject matter. All of my classmates shared mutual passions and I actively wanted to learn. I joined university as simply a birder but left as a conservationist. I felt for the first time that i was amongst others that spoke my language and it was sensational. There were no other degrees readily available that weren’t simply focussed on science, so the marriage with anthropology very much aligned with my own perspectives on the subject. To put it simply, I was gutted when those glorious three years came to a close.

So to summarise: was it worth it? My student loan is a hefty price to pay (once I start paying it off) but even though I’m not Attenborough’s apprentice, I would say the whole university experience was so vital as my life has gone on. I certainly could have started an apprenticeship, cut out the tuition fees and experienced adult life earlier, but I may not have been allowed the same opportunities, plus what would be the fun in that? I expected a brilliantly paid job and a clearly set out career to be presented before me upon a silver platter with minimal effort. Yet, I’m surprised that it didn’t all go to plan. For anyone wanting my condensed advice, you can get an undergrad degree by all means but make sure you do all you can to prep for the big wide world out there.

Some people pursue their passions with their degrees acting as perfect springboards, others simply use it as another line on their CV’s. As long as you know you’d enjoy further studies and are prepared to graft beyond what is expected of you, you can have no regrets.

The Chronicles of an Amateur Wildlife Gardner: Volume II - One Year In

Happy January everyone! What a murky, miserable time to be alive but at least the days are getting longer. That is legitimately one of the only positives to say right now.

It’s almost impossible to believe that we moved into our house a whole calendar year ago and in that time, all four seasons have played out in dramatic fashion. I’ve seen it blanketed in snow, blossoming in spring and baking in a heatwave. I even had a fence panel come down during storm Arwen! I know, drama. Managing a garden for wildlife on my own for a year has been filled with intrigue and has allowed me to reflect on my expectations about it. I’ve been surprised by some things and my assumptions have only been reaffirmed by others. 

So what are some of the lessons I have learned since getting the garden?

1. You can’t stop cats

Full disclaimer, I love cats. Their independence and intelligence makes them an ideal pet. But when you all of a sudden have neighbours with cats, they basically become the most irritating and vile creatures on the face of the Earth. They can’t help being curious and wondering what pigeon tastes like. If you’re trying to build your own haven for wildlife, having moggies spill through daily scuppers any dreams. I’ve tried cat repellents that are about as useful as a toothless beaver. I’ve tried blocking entrances to the garden and they still find a way to sneak in. If you build a wall higher, they’ll just jump over it. I’m unintentionally putting on a buffet for them all and like a meteor hurtling towards Earth, I can’t do anything to stop it. I’ll keep trying to deter them but chasing them in my bright pink crocs has its limitations.

2. Mix it up

When catering for the birds in your backyard, it’s unfortunately trial and error. There’s no way for them to knock on the window and request their meal via a menu, so it’s annoyingly taken a lot of guesswork. I have tried almost every variety of food available with some hits and spectacular misses. Peanuts and fatballs have turned out to be massive failures whilst sunflower hearts and suet blocks have gone down a treat. I even quickly managed to lure goldfinches by putting out nyjer seeds, which was an unexpected plus. I’ve also realised that different foods are more popular at different times of the year. I only seemed to attract starlings in the spring so by the summer, the suet blocks sat gathering dust. My advice would be to not persist with food that just isn’t being eaten. There’s no point in letting it turn mouldy, revamp your menu to see what sticks. Birds can of course be incredibly fickle.

3. Be grateful for what you have

I’ve lived alongside two gardens in my lifetime. My current Essex garden in an urban backdrop and my childhood garden in rural Norfolk that attracted bullfinches, barn swallows and barn owls. The bar was unfortunately set very high. Imagine my buzz when I first had a woodpigeon visit the yard. I soon became overloaded with feral pigeons that gregariously dominated the bird table. Initially I was miffed that this was the only semblance of biodiversity out of my window but I soon realised that they were in fact the trailblazers. With a garden full of pigeons, other birds felt at ease knowing there were multiple sets of eyes on the watch for cats and other predators. Great tits, collared doves and starlings soon followed, comforted by a literal barrier of feathers. We can’t all have capercaillies coming round for tea so the best solution is to simply manage your expectations.

4. Get your neighbours involved

Living in a mid terrace has its difficulties and what has certainly been a hindrance for me is the isolation of my garden. The patch is simply an island surrounded by an ocean of trampolines and paddling pools. There’s a lack of thick vegetation that provides shelter and of course, there are enough cats to sink a battle ship. If you collaborate with your neighbour to plant a hedge or simply put food out for wildlife, it will surely expand your theoretical nature reserve. I haven’t tried to myself as I’ve obviously only recently moved in and I’m frightfully British but if you’re chummy with your next doors, get them to lend you a hand.

And finally:

5. Don’t put suet pellets on your lawn

They essentially melt, stick to your grass and leave an immovable stain that can’t be eaten by anything. Put them on your table to prevent any embarrassment. I learned this from a friend.

What do you love/hate about your garden? If you don’t have a garden, just go and get one. We have the same 24 hours in a day…