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. 

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 one of the survey and training officers for SWOT. 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.

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.