I’ve been involved With Otters for around 25 years and have kept Eurasian, Asian short clawed and Canadian otters in captivity as part of an extensive Zoo career, since then I have worked as a teacher and I am now an ecologist. I started SWOT because I wanted to help Welsh Otters.

Many thanks to the SWOT team and voluntary surveyors who give their time, knowledge and share their experiences freely to help achieve the objectives of the Trust. Thanks too to the groups and individuals who have provided advice along the way. 

l started watching otters at an early age and always wanted to be involved with otters. A break studying and working with every species of deer followed but when we moved to North Devon, that passion for otters was reignited after seeing a mum and cub. I founded and now run the UK Wild Otter Trust working with the angling fraternity, a very large, orphaned otter cub rehabilitation centre and founded and run our internal Fishery investigation & Support Team. My experience has come from watching, learning and working with otters  for over the past 45 years. 

l saw my first otter in a South Wales river in January 2011 and have been captivated by this wonderful, semi aquatic mammal ever since. On behalf of Gwent Wildlife Trust initially and then SWOT, I have presented over 100 talks and events on our Eurasian Otter. Since the formation of SWOT I have volunteered for all manner of tasks that ultimately help with the conservation and protection of our otters. However, there is nothing better than spotting and watching otters on our waterways.  

l’m a wildlife camera woman and I’ve travelled the world with my camera, filming a huge range of animals in exciting paces, but I have a big passion for nature on my doorstep and have had a love for otters since childhood. I use my camera skills to help SWOT with education and awareness, filming YouTube videos and anything else the team needs to assist with training. 

l’m from the Rhymney Valley, but live in the Taff Valley now. I taught Outdoor and Environmental Education in North Wales and Berkshire. I did voluntary conservation work with the Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust before I moved back to Wales. I’m retired now, but still interested enough in natural history to see that SWOT’s work, collecting information about the status of one of our key indicator species, is really important for conservation management.  

My interest in otters started when I was in University, when I was carrying out my dissertation project alongside Cardiff University Otter Project. Since graduating in 2016 (with a brief hiatus for my Masters degree in 2017) I have worked as a professional ecological consultant.

Otters are by far my favourite animal to survey for. You never stop learning new things about their behaviour, and that’s what really fascinates me about this wonderful mammal.

I’m currently a student studying Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change at UWTSD in Swansea. My interest in otters comes from attending a SWOT volunteer training session that was run by Lee Jenkins and Jeff Chard. Ever since then, I have spent most of my spare time walking riverbanks and other waterways, looking for spraints, paw prints and other otter field signs., and submitting records of my findings.

My passion for nature started at a young age and it led me to studying and achieving a Master’s degree in Zoology. It was through my passion that I encountered SWOT. I was watching otters in my free time and I met Lee and Jeff. Who invited me to become a survey volunteer. After my training and collecting records for two years, I am now a training officer and admin.

When I’m not surveying, I also volunteer at the Bristol Zoo Project as an Engagement Volunteer.