Time for a Change

Sometimes you just know that you’ve got to make a change. It might feel scary but your instinct tells you that it’s the right thing to do. Today was the start of the big transition for me. It was my last day as a tax advisor. A few months ago I decided that, although I worked with a great team and had a safe, secure job, tax advisory just wasn’t for me. I spent most of my spare time either outdoors immersed in nature or reading about wildlife and conservation.

At the very end of last year I saw a piece in BBC Wildlife Magazine calling for readers to start their own local patch reporter blogs to explore the wildlife in their surrounding areas. From that idea “Exploring Our New Patch” was born. I discovered that blogging about nature is a fantastic way to take notice of the breath-taking beauty all around us.

Writing the blog helped me realise that it is nature that makes me feel alive, and ignites wonder, passion and curiosity within me. It drew my attention to the fact that I would sit in my office and long for the next time that I could be roaming outdoors with a camera or inside writing my next blog or editing and narrating my wildlife film footage.

I decided that I could either stay where I was in my career and almost certainly regret it later or take the plunge and follow my passion. The latter option seemed to make so much more sense in the long term. So I applied for a place on a two year part-time Graduate Diploma in Ecology and to my absolute delight was accepted onto the course.

Having said goodbye to the corporate world and hello to the life of a student again (albeit alongside a part-time job) I will be starting my new course on Monday!

I can’t pretend that the change isn’t a little intimidating, but more than anything else I am excited. It is easy to feel helpless when reading or hearing about the conservation issues which we face and for me the way forward is to learn more so that I can hopefully help more. I won’t be able to afford that new lens or a trip to the Galapagos anytime soon but I know that the satisfaction I will get from pursuing my passion will far outweigh any downsides.

Wish me luck for the next chapter and I’ll keep you updated along the way. And, of course, I’ll carry on posting about the incredible wildlife in our local patch. Luckily I’m commuting to university so my patch will remain just where it is in this lovely little corner of Cambridgeshire.