I graduated last summer from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Environmental Science, during which I spent a year in New Zealand working as an intern for the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. While I was there I spent time working on a shore bird project and was fortunate enough to work on a colony of Buller's Albatross.

 

The research I was involved with in NZ gave me my first experience of working with and handling birds (although they are quite a bit bigger than parrots!). It was amazing, and I've been looking forward to the next oportunity to do some more work in this field. I have also worked on various conservation projects in Costa Rica including ecotourism and environmental education projects and work with Leatherback turtles.

Since graduating I have been working at Creation climbing centre in Birmingham where I spend every day indulging in another one of my favorite activities-climbing! I enjoy all sorts of climbing, mountaineering and any other adventurous mountain sports including fell running, mountain biking and snowboarding. I found out about the project while snowboarding in the french Alps....a far cry from the sunny weather in Bonaire!

I'm pleased that I am able to use and apply the skills I've acquired through past experiences and even from my hobbies to contribute to the conservation of such a beautiful parrot!