First-year biodiversity and conservation master’s student Helen returned to university to study part time after a decade working in the finance industry. She shares her Southampton journey, which she juggles alongside her career, her gardening hobby, and her passion for being outdoors.
I studied economics at uni the first-time round. I started with a professional career in finance, but I’ve always found myself gravitating towards nature, biodiversity and sustainability.
A few years ago, I moved into being a sustainability director for Deloitte, one of the big professional services firms, before going freelance this year as a sustainability consultant.
I'm also a keen gardener. I run a gardening Instagram account, talking about how people can garden in a sustainable way. Off the back of that, I also write articles, do a bit of presenting, and I'm on the board of a few charities, including the Royal Horticultural Society. So, you could say I like to have lots of different things on the go to keep me busy!
With my interests in gardening and sustainability, I found myself at a nexus between traditional horticulture and the biodiversity and conservation space – seeing the conflict between one of my hobbies and the impact on the ecosystem.
It seemed like the right time to solidify my knowledge from the biodiversity perspective, and I chose this master’s course to help me understand both sides of the puzzle.
It's been fascinating to see how the two fields interplay, and how the thinking around this is developing. It's already made me rethink my horticultural practices.
Nature on the doorstep
When I started to think about doing a master’s, I didn't consider going anywhere else. I already knew the teaching facilities were amazing, I live locally, and I love the flexibility of getting into the city centre.
One of the reasons I chose to live in Southampton is that we have so much wonderful nature on our doorstep. We’ve got the New Forest and all the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust reserves. It's a really beautiful place – a wonderful part of the world to live in!
Be curious, ask the questions you need to know, and give it a go
Coming back into university after 10 years was a bit of a shock, but everyone was so welcoming, so helpful with flexibility and answering all the questions I had. I love how passionate everyone is about the topic, both the students and the tutors and lecturers. It's so inspiring.
I did have a few worries initially: I don’t have a zoology or ecology background, which quite a few people on my course do, so there has been a bit of a learning curve. Getting back into writing essays and doing coursework has been a challenge, but it's been really fun, and I think I'm managing so far. There are some advantages to coming with a professional background though – I'm much more confident at presenting and working as a team than I was in my first degree.
The tutors are very understanding too. If you're going in with open communication, and you know when your deadlines are, you can definitely plan your life and work around your studies.
The community's been so welcoming. Everyone on my course is lovely, and everyone is in it for similar reasons. Part-time and full-time students are mixed, so there is a bit of difference in terms of the number of modules and the deadlines, but everyone is passionate about what they're studying, and we're all included in the group chats.
I've joined the Wildlife Society. It's been really good; they've put on some talks and some walks, so I join in when I can.
Growing roots that nourish the community
We’ve used some fantastic facilities so far – in a recent practical we used the Spectral Lab to test the level of chlorophyll in leaves for remote sensing, using electromagnetic radiation. That was a whole new world that I didn't know existed, and one of the most exciting days I've had in a long time!
Helen, MSc Biodiversity and Conservation
On my course, I’ve been learning more about native plants, planting schemes and restoration, which is really important to understand how everything fits into the wider ecosystem.
We're doing lots of field trips, which are fascinating. The other day we were planting native trees in a reforestation project in Eastleigh. This project has an amazing community impact, and hopefully I'll be able to go back and see those trees over the next few years as they develop.
Just thinking about the species that all those different trees will support, and the benefits that they bring will to the local area, it's definitely a breath of fresh air to be outside, working in a hands-on way and bringing it all to life.
And that's where I want to be. I want to be outside. I want to be making a difference. And I think that the course will lead me into a career in conservation and reforestation, and a more hands-on environment than I've been used to.
We’ve used some fantastic facilities so far – in a recent practical we used the Spectral Lab to test the level of chlorophyll in leaves for remote sensing, using electromagnetic radiation. That was a whole new world that I didn't know existed, and one of the most exciting days I've had in a long time!
Opening your eyes to future possibilities
This master’s has definitely opened my eyes to all the different options out there and has made me feel that I have so many opportunities ahead of me.
I've already seen the world change in my lifetime, and it has made me realise that we need connection to nature and community more than ever. The world needs more kindness, the world needs more community, and I think that it's all interlinked.
The knowledge I’ve gained on this course has given me hope that we can tackle the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis, and that this generation might be the one to make the difference.