After finishing my undergraduate degree (at Dundee University) and moving to Glasgow, I realised I had a great degree but basically no practical skills. I also knew very few people in Glasgow. Volunteering with TCV (BTCV back then) I met new people, travelled to new places in and around Glasgow and developed a range of skills. They even put me through a first aid course! I volunteered for a year and then went back to further education to complete a Masters.
After my Masters, I went back to TCV and was successful with joining them as a TCV Natural Talent trainee where, working with Buglife, I surveyed brownfield sites in Falkirk for invertebrates and other wildlife. I had a fantastic 14 months as a trainee where I learnt so many new skills, species id, report writing, project management and again got to travel to new and exciting places- North Uist, Inverness, Aberdeen, Peterborough and Plymouth!
Since I finished my traineeship (in 2011) I joined Buglife as a conservation officer. Today I am the Manager of Buglife Scotland and am still involved with TCV – we have offices in their building in Stirling and I regularly work with their weekday volunteer groups!