BSc (Hons) Animal Conservation and Biodiversity
"If I hadn’t attended Hadlow College, then the opportunity to work for Kent County Council never would have arisen, therefore it was the only factor in securing the job I have now."
Louise Butfoy - Sustainable Business and Communities - Environmental Project Support Officer, Kent County Council
I have always cared deeply for wildlife and the natural environment, but was never sure how I could make a significant impact or even turn this into a career. After spending several years working in the retail and hospitality sector, knowing that this was not what I wanted, I applied for and was accepted onto the BSc(Hons) Animal Conservation and Biodiversity course at Hadlow College.
The rural location of Hadlow College meant that there was always the option to take our lessons outside and into the nearby woodlands and college grounds. This particularly came in useful during the Field Survey Skills module, where we would improve our ID skills with the flora and fauna around us.
The trips organised by the College were excellent. I particularly loved visiting the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland and Somkhanda Game Reserve in Zululand, South Africa - so much so that I went back a few months later. Both these trips comprised significant moments, not just in my time at Hadlow College, but in my life in recent years.
I started working with KCC while still studying at the College. Initially, this was as part of my work experience, but the role became longer-lasting.
I joined the County Council’s Resilience and Emergency Planning Service as a Project Officer. In this role, I focused on animal and plant health, flooding and severe weather impacts and ensuring resilient communities. A prominent part of this role involved monitoring the impact and spread of ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus Fraxineus) fungal pathogen across Kent and more widely, Brexit planning and latterly the COVID-19 response.
In April 2020, I moved to the Sustainable Business and Communities team within KCC, where I am now helping to draft a pioneering Natural Climate Solutions Strategy for Kent and Kent’s Tree Strategy, compiling tree canopy coverage data for Kent’s districts using the GIS skills I acquired at Hadlow College, exploring tree planting opportunities for the County and supporting the Kent Nature Partnership, amongst other responsibilities.
Outside of the County Council, I am vice chair on the management committee of two Local Nature Reserves in the Maidstone area (on a voluntary basis), and have launched several high profile petitions to Government, in partnership with Buglife, to amend historic Acts that are detrimental to the UKs natural environment, one of which has recently been picked up by a local MP.
Pro-active engagement with elected politicians (local and national), national non-governmental organisations, opinion-forming individuals and Government departments has been a thread running through my professional and voluntary interventions on environmental matters. The relationships I have developed with many high profile and influential groups and individuals have increased the effectiveness of my work for nature.
The ash dieback data collected in my role at Kent County Council, which forms one of the most detailed datasets in Europe, was utilised in an international study ‘Estimating mortality rates of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) under the ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) epidemic’ along with research from Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, Queen Mary University of London, Norwich Research Park and Mendel University in Czech Republic, published in the journal Plants People Planet (Wiley) last year. I recently received news from Wiley that this paper was among the top 10% most downloaded papers between January 2018 and December 2019.
My advice to others seeking a similar role to mine would be to remain pro-active and committed to what you love and care about, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, be ambitious in the area you’re actually passionate about and interested in - and don’t be afraid to show it. I also think it’s really worthwhile to expand your network, make as many contacts as you can from different organisations; the majority of work done is in collaboration with others.