River Internships Nearing Their End; Iolo’s Perspective

I have been at North Wales Rivers Trust as a River Intern for the past 3 months, and it has been a fantastic way to get experience working in the conservation sector after finishing my degree. When I first started I had an idea of aspects of the job I most wanted to learn more about. In previous roles I had mostly been involved in the final delivery of projects, so it was great to be involved with the feasibility and design stages of a variety of NWRT projects, including for a saltmarsh restoration project and the installation of experimental leaky dams. I was also keen to use GIS in a work context, so having the opportunity to create maps to aid with different projects over the course of the internship has helped me learn how to apply my GIS skills in the real world.

Iolo helping with the installation of biochar dams

On top of having the opportunity to develop skills I had in mind from the beginning, I also had some great experiences that I did not expect. I really enjoyed undertaking in-river ecological surveys such as kick sampling and electrofishing, which was a new experience that gave me an insight into how populations of species are measured in rivers. I also discovered that I enjoy the creative elements of working at a conservation charity, such as writing blog posts for the newsletter, and filming and editing videos for social media.

I have had a blast working with the wonderful team at NWRT, and am looking forward to taking all the skills I have learned as an intern, and applying them in the next step of my career.

Written by Iolo Tossel