A green minded conservationist from Southport has graduated with the highest marks across all postgraduate arts and sciences courses this year.
Natalie Hunt, 38, wanted to change direction in her career after working as a project manager in contaminated land remediation for 15 years – and she chose to take up a MSc Conservation Manage- ment course as a ‘mature student’ at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk.
She said: “I had been looking for the right course for years to change direction in my career. As a ‘mature’ student, I was a bit nervous about going back to university so many years after my first degree but I needn’t have worried.”
She completed a work placement at Ainsdale National Nature Reserve (NNR) as part of her course, and has continued to volunteer there since. The placement inspired her thesis, which she hopes will be published in a scientific journal.
She added: “At the dunes I work with a small group of dedicated volunteers and we get involved in a variety of tasks from clearing scrub, checking livestock, tree planting, mending fences to surveying many of the unique species of flora and fauna to be found at the reserve.
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