The scenic and extensive campus at Royal Holloway University of London is home to many of Surrey’s iconic species, making it a fantastic place to hold the Youth Action for Nature event. We were pleased to welcome students from GSCE, A level and undergraduate stages of education from schools across the UK. At this event, we focused on introducing students to the skills needed to pursue a career in the environment sector.

The students first had the opportunity to get involved with some pond dipping, which was a wonderful way to see some of Surrey’s aquatic fauna up close, and record some of the species there. Excitingly, some of the animals found in the pond, such as caddisfly larvae, are indicator species because these creatures are sensitive to water pollution. Their presence in the pond suggests that the water quality is good, and that the pond represents a healthy ecosystem.

Our partnership with the Surrey Biodiversity Information Centre also reminds us of the importance of monitoring natural populations – as such, we performed a brief BioBlitz on the Royal Holloway campus, where we encouraged students to identify as many native UK species as possible in 5 minutes. These activities are great for capturing a snapshot of an area’s biodiversity in a limited amount of time, and accumulating such data is important for monitoring populations and ecosystem health. This also provided many students with their first chance to become familiar with free species identification apps, including Seek and Merlin. In addition to being an important tool for establishing global databases about species distribution and population, these apps are incredibly useful for furthering your own knowledge about species in your area and worldwide.

Students next had the chance to talk with and help Royal Holloway’s resident senior gardener Daniel Steel with tree planting – he gave us an interesting talk about how Royal Holloway manages their campus to maintain biodiversity, in addition to removing invasive species like rhododendron. We were also reminded of the complex interactions within ecosystems; although it is important to get rid of invasive rhododendron, the gardening team was also keen to preserve some, so birds on campus have suitable nesting habitats. Students planted native hornbeam, and learned some gardening tips as well, such as digging a square hole to ensure root health, and covering saplings with plastic to ensure the best start in life and reduce nibbling by herbivores.

These hands-on activities are key to gaining practical experience prior to higher education or a career in nature – even if you live in urban areas, there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in green spaces. Familiarising yourself with the natural world like this can be motivating and give you a great head start in your studies!

We were then lucky enough to hear about some of the career paths of both students and academics, as well as Surrey Wildlife Trust staff. Kathryn Brown OBE, director of climate action at the SWT, gave us examples of the positive action we can personally take to account for our own carbon footprint. Dr Sarah Papworth shared the findings of her research with the SWT, identifying nature-friendly actions and encouraging us to make our own pledges to protect nature. Louise Shorthose, Daniel Banks, Ferozah Mahmood, and Emma Randall told us about their valuable work at SWT, and reminded us of the importance of volunteering and showing enthusiasm for the natural world. Two postgraduate students at Royal Holloway, Ruby Tomlinson and Freya King, also talked to us about their experience studying zoology at university.

As Events officer on Surrey Wildlife Trust’s Youth Action Committee, it’s incredibly fulfilling to facilitate these events, and to see so many young people become as fascinated with the natural world as myself and my colleagues are.

We were glad to receive much positive feedback about the event; several students felt that they had learned valuable skills and information regarding nature, and many noted that they hadn’t had the opportunity to take part in some of the hands-on activities before and enjoyed them. We at the Youth Action Committee (and SWT more widely) would love to hold more events like this – it’s fantastic to see so many young people enthusiastic about Surrey’s wildlife, and rewarding when events like this go so well!

We would like to invite anyone who is interested in Surrey’s wildlife to apply to volunteer at volunteers@surreywt.org.uk. If you are aged 16-30 and are passionate about having young voices heard with regards to Surrey’s wildlife, please also consider joining the Youth Action community, where you can develop your skills and share your thoughts and ideas about how to protect Surrey’s wildlife. You can find more information about joining here

Of course, we want to extend a huge thanks to everyone at Royal Holloway who gave their time to make this event possible (particularly Dr Becky Thomas, Dr Sarah Papworth, and Daniel Steel) and the attending students, whose enthusiasm and effort was greatly appreciated!