Help Fund Me to Save Our Seas!

I've been offered a place on my dream Masters course (yay!)

But I can't afford to cover the full tuition fees alone (boo!)

So I'm looking for your help.

My story...

Through voluntary and professional work, and altogether being quite a bit of a 'marine nerd', I've dedicated every minute of my free time over the years to doing whatever I can to protect and conserve our local seas and the global ocean.

Growing up in a rural, inland town in Scotland, the sea was a mysterious and magical entity to me that I largely experienced through the first Blue Planet series or Steve Backshall’s children's programmes. This, and trips with my parents to the west coast where I spent hours leaping over waves and exploring rock pools, fostered my love for the ocean. I was determined that ‘when I grew up’, I would be a mermaid. But a marine biologist is just as cool.

My fascination with the ocean stayed with me, but over the years I became acutely aware of the myriad of issues threatening marine life. Jacques Cousteau once said, ‘when I realised how endangered our oceans were, I decided to campaign as vigorously as I could against everything that threatened what I loved.’ That essentially sums me up.

I started raising awareness of plastic pollution and the plight of sea turtles in high school. This commitment continued with my pursuit of a BSc(Hons) in Marine Biology at the University of Stirling. During my second year, I founded the university's first Marine Conservation Society, one of my proudest achievements. Through this society, I delivered workshops and presentations on various marine conservation issues, organized beach cleanups, and raised funds for conservation causes. I started volunteering for marine conservation organisations, took up public speaking, cleared the shelves of my local Waterstones of marine books. I also became a certified Marine Mammal Medic with British Divers Marine Life Rescue. Marine conservation has become my life’s mission.

Why I want to pursue this Masters...

My interest in marine vertebrates was cemented when I spotted my first humpback whale while shorewatching on the Firth of Forth. A university field course at FSC Millport further ignited my desire to understand marine vertebrate ecology and identify research gaps to inform conservation practices and policies. The MSc Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter is the perfect fit for my interests, especially with its modules on Marine Protected Areas and GIS in ecology and conservation. With the University’s international renown for marine biological sciences, and the campus’ wonderful location, I feel that this would be the perfect place for my conservation passion to be nurtured.

This MSc programme will equip me with the skills and knowledge to create positive change for marine vertebrates, and I hope to use what I’ll learn to conduct further research that informs conservation policy, potentially pursuing a PhD, or go straight on to work on conserving critically endangered species such as the Vaquita or North Atlantic Right Whale. I want to play a part in preserving the marine life that inspired my passion all those years ago.

Why I need your help...

The cost of tuition for this Masters is £15,700. This isn't even considering the cost of relocating down to the Penryn/Falmouth area and general associated living costs. But I'm not looking to raise the full amount, since I can get a student loan and intend to work alongside the degree, instead I'm aiming to raise £10,000 to help cover the remainder of the tuition and have a small cushion that can cover any further course/living costs.

I come from a low-income background and am a young carer. Though I've tried my best to not let this become a barrier to me pursuing my dreams, it has meant that I've had to work a bit harder to get there - during my undergraduate degree, I had to work two part-time jobs just to help me get by! But I haven't been able to afford to complete SCUBA qualifications or boating qualifications or to go abroad to join pay-to-participate voluntary programmes that might help me further develop my skillset. Coupled with the cost of living crisis, I've never really been able to afford to save. Perhaps that should be reason to reconsider this Masters, but with my undergraduate studies hampered by Covid-19, and wanting to develop more specialised knowledge and skills related to marine vertebrate conservation, this is what will help me achieve my dreams.

What's in it for you?

Of course, I'm keen and willing to give something in return for any donations. This could be a simple personalised thank you, named in the acknowledgements for my final dissertation, collaboration on research/projects/campaigns. I have several years of experience in public speaking and would be happy to deliver a presentation/talk, write a blog post, or help create social media assets for your organisation/campaigns, just to name a few ideas.

If you've read this far, thank you! And if you can contribute anything at all, whether just a few £ or even just sharing my fundraising page, that would be greatly appreciated.