Women in Science Day - Abbey
Saturday February 11th is the International Day of Women & Girls in Science. To mark it, we decided to reach out to women involved with Andover Trees who have a scientific or STEM background, and ask them to write something about their experiences. We’ll post a piece on here each day for the next few days.
Abbey Sadler, Nature & Community Officer: Marine Biologist
As a Marine Biologist, my love of science and marine life started at a very young age. My father kept Japanese Koi Carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus) throughout my childhood. I spent most of my time with him outside, understanding the inner workings of a pond and the life cycle and needs of a fish. This furthered my interest in marine biology, and along with passionate teachers in school, pushed me to study it at degree level.
Whilst in university, we had an inspirational lecture about sea turtles that made me change my mind on what I wanted to use my degree for. Originally I knew I wanted to work within conservation, but with a focus on coral. However, this lecture made me consider other avenues, and I eventually decided to start my career in sea turtle conservation. This initially led me to volunteer on the island of Sal, Cape Verde with Project Biodiversity.
I spent six months working with Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta), in Sal, Cape Verde. My time there allowed me to participate in several data sampling techniques and the somewhat chaotic process of nesting and hatching. I also helped spread awareness of the project and the endangered status of sea turtles to several demographics in an additional role of public liaison.
After working in Cape Verde, I spent several years working with Archelon - The Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, at their Zakynthos research station. While there I not only did similar duties to what I did in Cape Verde, I was their Public Awareness Leader and got to organise all public outreach. This project, along with previous jobs working with children and the public, made me realise that not only did I have a passion for marine biology, but for educating and communicating with the wider community. This led me to my decision to join Andover Trees United.
ATU has allowed me to combine my passion for nature and my love of educating and communicating. My role as Nature and Community Officer, has given me the opportunity to continue my career in science, even though it is not marine based. As a charity in my hometown, it gives me the opportunity to hopefully inspire more women and girls to pursue a career in science.