2015 Overview, Start of 2016 and New Year Plant Hunt

2015 was a great year for me. I graduated from University with a 1st class Bachelor's degree. I had a great summer working with a scientist I have admired for much of my degree and attended Unkown Wales Conference in Cardiff to see the results of some of our work being presented. This is also the year I started my Master's degree in Environmental Biology. At the start of my new degree in September, I made myself some goals to stick to in order to get the best from myself and make sure I was giving my all. Now with 2016 in full swing it's time to re-evaluate and jump right back in to my education. 

The New Year has already started well for me. I took part in the New Year Plant Hunt run by the BSBI (See here for more info) and managed to record 15 species. I have also decided to start recording more frequently and have began compiling a year list of species, which is something I haven't done before. The rest of January is going to be busy with exams and a GIS project to do along with a few Wildlife Trust events to attend, but what I'm looking forward to most is the start of new modules in February on ecosystems, movement ecology and environmental management, all of which are subjects I'm really interested in. I'm also looking forward to doing more volunteer work with the Vetch (a project I'm coordinating in Swansea in conjunction with VetchVeg and Discovery SVS) and also with the National Trust. 

Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum - one of the plants recorded for the New Year Plant Hunt 2016

2015 Achievements
1. Got a 1st in my degree
2. Carried out ~40hrs volunteer work
3. Got experience surveying dune slacks
4. Awarded Florence A Mockeridge Award at Swansea University

2016 Goals
1. Continue to treat education as my full time job and give 100% at all times
2. Networking - go to more events, get involved more often and talk to more people
3. Learn new skills/get more experience
4. Read more scientific literature