So I think it's safe to say that this summer has been a roller coaster ride! (Hence lack of blog posts). It has been spent job hunting, preparing for an MSc, car hunting, taking a couple cheeky trips to Cyprus and Ireland, graduating from Aberystwyth, learning to play the flute again and moving to London!
So here I am now, living at Silwood Park (near Ascot) studying at Imperial College for an MSc in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. It just so happens that I share my new home with ~300 rabbits and 80 or so other like-minded postgraduates.
So far being an MSc student is like being a 3rd year BSc student but without 2 years prior knowledge and practice of all the skills required to complete a dissertation. Instead, we are squeezing all of this into 6 months of super intensive learning. I'm coping (just about) so far.
Next week will be spent on a field course at Knepp Castle Estate, an area of land that is undergoing a re-wilding project. This basically means that the land and it's plant and animal inhabitants are allowed to develop naturally as they would in the wild in a strong Ecological structure, as previously the land was used for farming. It's rumoured that meat from the animals (which is completely free range and organic) is now sold at Harrods, talk about fancy!
The estate is also home to a whole range of conservation projects and represents a specific habitat that isn't available anywhere else in the UK, hence why it's of so much interest to researchers.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough about my new endeavours, watch out for blog posts about my trips to Cyprus and Ireland and my future life at Silwood park!
So here I am now, living at Silwood Park (near Ascot) studying at Imperial College for an MSc in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. It just so happens that I share my new home with ~300 rabbits and 80 or so other like-minded postgraduates.
So far being an MSc student is like being a 3rd year BSc student but without 2 years prior knowledge and practice of all the skills required to complete a dissertation. Instead, we are squeezing all of this into 6 months of super intensive learning. I'm coping (just about) so far.
The Silwood park campus is based around three buildings and the historical manor house (look up), I can't help but feel a little bit like I'm living the life of a Herbology student at Hogwarts sometimes! Not that, that's a bad thing (Harry Potter nerd alert).
So far we've covered some plant Ecology for the "National Vegetation Classification" and code for the program R. Plant Ecology is really interesting stuff, Silwood hosts a wide variety of plants, trees and grasses due to it's rural location and history, but programming in R could not be less thrilling, safe to say I won't be pursuing a career in modelling!
So here's a friendly few facts about Silwood:
- Silwood Park is one of Britain’s foremost centres for research and teaching in ecology, evolution, and conservation.
- It provides modern academic buildings, laboratories and greenhouses, set in 100 ha of parkland .
- There are probably more rabbits than residents.
- It has a nuclear reactor that is currently being decommissioned at an approximate cost of £35 million a year.
- It's a long way from anywhere that isn't London.
- It has a large man-made lake full of American Signal Crayfish.
- It's situated in close proximity to Windsor Great Park.
- It's a great area for spotting various species of deer.
- Ring-necked parakeets love it here!
Next week will be spent on a field course at Knepp Castle Estate, an area of land that is undergoing a re-wilding project. This basically means that the land and it's plant and animal inhabitants are allowed to develop naturally as they would in the wild in a strong Ecological structure, as previously the land was used for farming. It's rumoured that meat from the animals (which is completely free range and organic) is now sold at Harrods, talk about fancy!
The estate is also home to a whole range of conservation projects and represents a specific habitat that isn't available anywhere else in the UK, hence why it's of so much interest to researchers.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough about my new endeavours, watch out for blog posts about my trips to Cyprus and Ireland and my future life at Silwood park!
Ciao x-x
