Freshwater Habitats Trust’s Thea Margetts – Q&A
Name: Thea Margetts
Organisation: Freshwater Habitats Trust
Job Role: Project officer – Wilder for Water
Q- Why are our green and blue spaces important to you and did that influence your decision to apply for this role?
A- The landscape is important to me as it supports all life and there is so much value and beauty in the life. I have grown up in the countryside surrounded by green and blue spaces as I explored areas walking our family dog. My natural curiosity about how these spaces worked, why managements were being done and what was causing changes I witnessed, lead me to pursue a job role in nature conservation. I applied for the project officer role with Freshwater Habitats Trust as it aims to deliver positive changes and prevent negative change, supporting the landscape that supports so much life.
Q- What were you doing before?
A- Before this job role, I was completing my studies at Loughborough University and then I volunteered for the National Trust in North Devon on a national project called Dynamic Dunescapes. The Dynamic Dunescapes project aimed to highlight UK sand dune as a declining habitat, delivering practical work alongside engagement with the public to showcase the value life that calls a sand dune its home.
Q- What do you hope to achieve by the end of the project or get out of the role personally?
A- My project has some clear goals I hope to achieve, such as set numbers of events to attend and organize and posting on social media weekly. I hope to have achieved all of these set goals but also to have gone beyond in order to create a lasting legacy for the project. Personally, this role is excellent for my professional growth as there is lots of decision making and a full range of skills tested as the job role can be very varied.
Q- If people take away just one fact about the New Forest, what would you like that to be?
A- That the New Forest supports over a 3rd of the UKs freshwater invertebrates (approx. 400 species) and over 2/3rds or 75% of the UKs wetland plants (approx. 300 species) because of clean water, grazing and habitat variation.
Q- What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into a green job?
A- Take any opportunities that you can find within the sector, don’t be scared to email or ask people and don’t be discouraged if they cannot at that point in time.
Q- You’re going for a day out in the Forest, what must-haves are in your bag?
A- My bag always contains a range of things, not all of them must-haves but each can be useful. The bag I regularly take into the New Forest at the moment has waterproof trousers at the bottom, New Forest Water Code posters lining the back and a selection of pens/pencils rattling around. The front pocket contains a penknife, which I have only actually used once to deconstruct a den. The odder items I have in my bag are individually packaged tea bags, an origami shrimp and some orange wool.
