To celebrate Apprenticeship Week 2025, Ecologist Apprentice, Annalise Machin, shares her apprenticeship journey with Natural England, highlighting the impact her developing skills will have for nature’s recovery.
I have always had an interest in in the natural world, loving the nature documentaries I saw on TV and getting outside at my local nature reserve. As I teenager, this interest in nature grew, leading me to seek a career that would help protect nature.
After completion of some work experience at a local nature reserve, and then with the Environment Agency, I started a Physical Geography degree, learning more about the threats to our natural environment. All of this cumulated in me applying for a job in Nutrient Mitigation in Natural England.
My role within the Nutrient Mitigation team aims to achieve nutrient neutrality in waterways, in collaboration with our stakeholders. By protecting waterways, we hope to contribute to a future where water resources are secure for human needs, but also for the needs of nature.
When I was offered the opportunity to do an apprenticeship Ecology MSc through my job at Natural England, I felt so fortunate. Although I’m still early on in my apprenticeship, I’ve already learnt about some areas that will help protect our climate for future generations and support the organisation’s goals.
The apprenticeship focuses on a range of areas within conservation ecology, including wetland ecology, planning research projects, conducting ecological field studies and conservation techniques.
In lectures we’ve learnt about rewilding projects, including Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands and the Knepp Estate in Kent. Alongside our research into legislation and other types of conservation, these lectures help us develop an understanding of how to plan conservation projects to create resilient landscapes for the future.
By tailoring my reading and projects outside of lectures, I can explore research areas that are more closely related to my job. In my case, reading lecture topics that have a focus on riparian ecology and wetland restoration feeds into my role within the nutrient mitigation team, allowing me to understand the waterways we aim to protect and their associated ecosystems. This allows me to contribute to discussions within the team and have a greater understanding of associated legislation that impacts the way we do our jobs.
Natural England supports my apprenticeship by giving me one day a week to attend online classes and work on assignments, as well as giving me the time off needed to attend field work trips, covering the associated costs. The learning resources available and various free webinars from different parts of Defra support my on-the-job learning, introducing me to a network of specialists within the organisation.
With 16% of UK species threatened with extinction and a 19% loss in species abundance on average, as reported in the State of Nature publication in 2023, the case for conservation is stronger than ever.
Natural England apprenticeships can help people like me to fill knowledge gaps, allowing our decisions to be guided by evidence-based expertise. These skills will enable us to more effectively meet governmental goals, such as 30 by 30, by creating the best solutions for nature.
Natural England offers a range of apprenticeships which support both our business needs and environmental objectives. These are advertised on Civil Service Jobs.
2 comments
Comment by Rob Yorke posted on
Excellent work Annalise in a complex contested environmental arena with plenty of synergies and trade-offs, some of which are yet to be explored.
Just one of them is "Our 30by30 commitment, to effectively conserve and manage 30% of our land and seas by 2030" - when too often media reports this as 'only' protecting land ('30x30') when the key is effective management.
Power to you elbow!
best wishes, Rob
robyorke.co.uk
Comment by Justin Jones posted on
Great article Annalise. Your dedication to learning, and impactful work in nutrient mitigation are truly inspiring.