In Action

Earlier in 2015, WildAid attended Myerscough College's career Fair where we got chatting with Laura about wildlife and the natural environment. Little did we know that several months later Laura would be working with us to complete her research dissertation. So tell us a bit more about yourself and why you wanted to work with us:

Fun Fact: I have a birthmark that looks like a group of islands, slightly obsessed with tattoos and love classic rock and country music…which isn’t what your average 22 year old listens too! 

Best Wildlife Moment: Seeing wild bats for the first time on a Bat Walk and my weeks work experience working in a zoo (Lemurs and Squirrel monkeys were my highlights!)

I struggled to think of an idea for my dissertation for quite a while but after seeing the amazing work WildAid does I was inspired. What they are doing really is key in securing the safety of our planet through creating the next generation of conservationists, ecologist etc. My dissertation will investigate the effects of environmental education on the attitudes and behaviours of 12-18 year olds towards nature, i.e. seeing if education yields more positive attitudes and actual behavioural change than not having education.

I have been passionate about wildlife for as long as I can remember and I think it’s so important for them as individuals but also for nature, that younger generations feel this connection too. David Attenborough said that 'people will not protect what they first do not care about', which is why this field of research is so important. Working on my dissertation with an organisation that is so committed to restoring this connection through education is such a great opportunity and privilege and I am really looking forward to seeing the result it yields. Despite being small in scale, I feel it could have important implications for the future of environmental education and the environment itself.

We could not agree more. Working with older children and young adults and understanding their attitudes towards the natural environment is so important. Especially so since this area of research is little understood.  We are really excited about working with you Laura and can't thank you enough for your support.