Sophie helps spread the word on nature

A project aimed at reconnecting people with nature at Druridge Bay has a new member on the team.
Catch My Drift project assistant Sophie Webster. Picture by Anthony JohnstonCatch My Drift project assistant Sophie Webster. Picture by Anthony Johnston
Catch My Drift project assistant Sophie Webster. Picture by Anthony Johnston

Sophie Webster has been appointed project assistant with Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Catch My Drift project, which, funded via a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is set to improve biodiversity at the 185-hectare East Chevington reserve.

Sophie, 23, from Hartburn, near Morpeth, joins the team from Liverpool John Moores University, where she recently graduated with a BSc in wildlife conservation.

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Before going to university, Sophie spent two months volunteering in Peru on a conservation project in the Amazon, which included ecological studies, bird ringing and the rehabilitation of monkeys.

Although she will be based at the trust’s Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre, her role is very much community and volunteer focussed, so she will be out-and-about hosting public information and awareness sessions in the area, recruiting volunteers to the project and surveying visitors to the East Chevington reserve.

She said “I’m so happy to have been given this opportunity so soon after finishing university.

“I have grown up around wildlife, so to be able to make a small contribution to wildlife so close to where I live is wonderful.

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“I am looking forward to meeting members of the local community to hear their thoughts on what improvements could be made to the East Chevington reserve and will be actively seeking volunteers to work alongside me on the project.

“So if you see me out and about, please come up and introduce yourself.”