Projects For Students & Volunteering

I would very much like to encourage students to make use of my resources and my family's land in order to carry out valuable research. When coming up with ideas for a dissertation project, I know only too well how difficult it can be to find a suitable fieldwork site with on-hand expertise, laboratory space and accessability to land/animals. Another major consideration is often cost of accomodation in the area.

My family owns 50 acres of land in St Davids, consisting of a stretch of the River Alun, an area of wetland (marshy grassland), scrub and sycamore woodland, semi-improved grassland, improved grassland and arable (including wild-bird crops). The whole area is surrounded by thick, wildlife-rich  hedges and we graze our own Welsh Black cattle as well as ponies in the summer and sheep in the winter. In the area, I also work closely with a number of other farmers who are willing to open-up their land for research projects. Our own land is near to the biologically well-known Dowrog Common and the species-rich coastal heath of St Davids Head. I have permission from the Countryside Council for Wales and the National Trust to carry out research on these areas.

I have laboratroy space that can be used and there is plenty of inexpensive accomodation close-by. For those on a really tight budget, there are many camp-sites, and you could even put a tent up in one of our fields!

→St Davids YHA

→Camping/Caravans

Please follow this link to view some Project Ideas.

Volunteering

I would also be thrilled if any one would like to come and volunteer with me in St Davids. Gaining knowledge of practical fielwork and laboratory skills not only looks good on the CV, but also prepares you in advance for any projects you may complete in the future. Volunteering also allows you to get out into the countryside and carry out conservation activities that will actively help to conserve biodiversity.

If you were interested in volunteering, here is a brief list of things you might be doing:

→Assisting in biodiversity surveys

→Assisting with fieldwork projects in the area. See UK Projects page.

→Assisting with recording insects, especially beetles

→Attending recording days with other local recorders

→Manually controlling scrub growth on an area of wetland

→Carrying out your own small project within whatever timescale you wish

→Working in the laboratory sorting samples of insects from the UK, Honduras and Zambia

→Learning to identify the different insect orders

→Learning to identify some UK insects to species

→Learning how to pin and label insect specimens in the accepted way

I can also find you voluntary work with other Biodiversity organisations in the area.

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