Stephanie: Volunteer Engagement Officer at Bat Conservation Trust

After finishing her degree in Zoology in summer 2022, Stephanie, 23 and from London, was determined to find her way into a green job. Now working as a Volunteer Engagement Officer at the Bat Conservation Trust through New to Nature, Stephanie has ambitions to bring more diverse voices to the sector.

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Stephanie applied for many jobs at environmental organisations after leaving university, but found that even entry level positions in the sector were demanding levels of experience which were unrealistic for university leavers – she was stuck in the cycle of needing experience to get experience.

Having learnt a bit about bats at university, Stephanie’s experience at the Bat Conservation Trust so far has enriched her knowledge and she has a new-found passion for these misunderstood creatures. The placement is also providing valuable insight into how organisations in the sector operate.

The role is a mixture of hands on community engagement and networking with local community organisations, as well as creative tasks to produce digital content and desk-based admin jobs. This is giving her a rounded experience which will strengthen her CV, improving her employment prospects and giving her the best chance of staying in the sector when her 12-month placement comes to an end.

A stable future in the nature sector is important to Stephanie, as her passion for conservation has manifested in some very inspiring ambitions to help change the face of the sector. Stephanie hopes to improve diversity in green jobs and amplify the voices of underrepresented communities, such as her own South Asian background.

Stephanie said:

“One of my goals when I was coming into this placement was getting experience, but also learning how a conservation charity in itself operates and what they do – not just for the environment or for the animals they’re trying to protect, but also for society and the wider public.

“I’m a South Asian woman, and I am also an older sibling that cares for someone who’s younger. In our community, we are there to take care and look after each other, and being a secondary carer is important to me, so sometimes I have to stop what I want to do in life. I want to go and do things, and take opportunities but I’m not able to push myself, or I haven’t had the time and money, but now that it’s within the time frame of my work, I can!

“The placement has really enabled me to try different things, such as the Bat Conference that’s happening up North. Having that opportunity to go and visit these sorts of different parts of the country and listen to different people within the sector is really exciting.

“I get to meet people from all sorts of different communities. It’s also made me get in touch with my own local communities. I don’t like always being online and just looking at my computer, I like talking to people as well! Seeing a final event come together is one of the best things in my opinion, because you get to see all your hard work from start to finish payoff. Actually seeing people that you’ve invited to the event participate and get really excited about the talks or even listening for bats is great.

“In the physical sense it really pushes me to go outside as much as possible and discover local areas, looking for bat sites near to me. Which is something I would not usually do! I like to count my steps on those days when I go out – it’s always loads, it’s so great. It’s definitely kept me a lot more active as well as keeping on track with many things from the mental health side of things.

“I get excited about bats, I love them and I really want everyone else to know about it so it’s a great way to share my enthusiasm. At the end of my workday, I feel a sort of satisfaction. Sometimes when I go home, I say, ‘let’s for a bat walk, it’s a great evening!’

“I feel like a lot of people who migrate to the UK might feel left out from the conversation all the time and are not really asked ‘what do you think you can do to help out in this?’. So, I’d like to bring that together and invite them to the table – that’s what I hope to achieve in some sort of way.

“I think it would actually be very difficult to get a role like this without New to Nature in all honesty. Without this sort of programme, I wouldn’t have been able to get into a conservation role really early in my career. Well – I wouldn’t have been able to start a career as early as I have!”