We’re delighted to welcome our two new Trainees, Jess and Beany, to the London Blue Chain team! Read on to get to know them and find out more about their journey to their role with Froglife.
Jess Walker
I am interested in animal behaviour, wildlife conservation and community engagement.
My fascination with reptiles and amphibians began as a child in Jamaica, where small lizards called anoles could be found scampering across the gardens, and continued as I volunteered with ‘Sciensational Snakes’ during my undergrad in Canada teaching people about snakes and turtles.
I worked at Subway Jamaica in project management before doing graduate studies in the UK. While studying Animal Behaviour: Applications for Conservation at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, Froglife ran some great crested newt training sessions in Peterborough which piqued my interest. I also volunteered for the Journal of Reptiles and Amphibians and with the Cambridge Chalkstream Project, before joining the London Blue Chain Project.
I am eager to see how creatively we can encourage people’s interests in wildlife conservation and habitat management in their own communities in the long term. It is truly a joy to work with people, and I want to create curiosity and positive associations about reptiles and amphibians in their minds and hearts. Wherever you come from, London is a healthy place to find community, and similarly, the biodiversity in the habitats we hope to create and manage is what makes them healthy.
My favourite reptile native to the UK is the slow-worm, which I saw for the first time during a walk a few years ago. I find its appearance very charismatic, and I like that it eats invertebrates and gives birth to its young.
Beany Ashley-Norman
I have loved being outdoors in nature since childhood, whether it was jumping across rocks on holiday following lizards or camping out in my back garden on school half-terms.
I was able to embrace this passion whilst at Southampton University, studying MSci Biology and Marine Biology. I became very involved in the university’s wildlife society and gardening collective. Since graduating, I worked in the education sector – most recently at a forest school nursery.
I’m really excited to join the London Blue Chain project as a Trainee. I love Froglife’s drive to include all kinds of people from across the community and I’m looking forward to working alongside them to make a real impact in South London. I’m excited to learn more about wildlife conservation and gain hands-on experience on different projects.
My favourite native reptile or amphibian has to be the common frog. I have a very vivid childhood memory of walking on Hampstead Heath with my family and seeing hundreds of common frogs jumping across the path to the nearby pond. It was an incredible moment and I am always on the lookout for more in the garden and at the allotment!