This is a question I’ve been asked many times since I donned the mantle of “Survey and Monitoring Trainee” at Natural England. Tom, my fellow trainee, and I find ourselves in the rather enviable position of spending three months involved in a wide and varied plethora of tasks touching upon varying aspects of the management and conservation efforts within a National Nature Reserve.
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Before I moved here I was promised by anyone I discussed my impending placement with that I was relocating to one of the most beautiful locations in the country, with more wildlife and biodiversity than I could shake a stick at. I will readily admit that, one month in, I have not been disappointed. With tasks ranging from surveying marsh fritillary habitats, herding Shetland ponies, discovering new colonies of the Red Data Book Species land quillwort (Isoetes histrix), and failing to register historic ones, maintaining invisible fences, nest-watching Cornish choughs, partaking in guided woodland walks and observing barn-owl ringing we’ve got more than just a flavour of what conservation on the Lizard is all about.