Student intern: Nora Krogsgard (Sustainable Development)
Supervisors: Anne Magurran (School of Biology), Rehema White (School of Geography and Sustainable Development)
This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work with the Biodiversity Interdisciplinary Research Community Hub (BIRCH) at the University of St Andrews. I immersed myself in interdisciplinary research focused on Participatory Biodiversity Monitoring (PBM) in a nearby woodland in Fife, Scotland.
PBM is an approach that actively involves community members in the observation and documentation of local biodiversity, fostering both environmental stewardship and meaningful data collection. Through this work, I explored how engaging communities with the biodiversity that surrounds them can deepen our connection to nature and enhance conservation efforts.
As part of my research, I conducted an extensive literature review on the importance of nature and biodiversity in our lives, explored the challenges and opportunities of PBM, and conducted the first trial runs of the biodiversity monitoring (which had the added bonus that my camera roll is now filled with countless pictures of beautiful leaves and flowers 🌱📸). This research not only underscored the importance of preserving biodiversity for the health of our communities, but also highlighted how powerful community-level initiatives truly are.
Throughout this experience, I developed important skills in academic writing and research, from analyzing complex literature to crafting academic papers. Through the help of my supervisors, I now understand important writing skills which will come to great use when I begin writing my dissertation in the spring. This summer has been a valuable step forward in my academic journey.
Beyond developing academic skills, the BIRCH internships hosted a few social lunches throughout the 8 week period. Hearing and learning about other students’ research was both inspiring and motivating, knowing that despite coming from varying and diverse academic backgrounds our goals and hopes for the projects remain akin. Biodiversity and the conservation of nature are topics and issues that are needed to be addressed by everyone, this summer, BIRCH highlighted how this might be possible.
I’m excited to carry these experiences and skills into my future work and to continue exploring the intersections of community, conservation, and well-being.
