Busy Busy Busy

Too busy to blog?! Technically yes, but I will anyway!

So everything has been flipped, turned upside down and instead of finishing off the draft of the paper I'm writing with my supervisor, I am making lists of people. Not in a Santa fashion, I have no interest in naughty or nice. My interests lie in who do I want to talk to about scale, or more importantly, what contacts do I have that I can use to make people talk to me about scale!!

A massive part of my PhD is analyzing what people in the planning/policy/environmental management/ecosystem service science world think about 'scale'. I used to think I knew what 'scale' meant, but unfortunately that is no longer the case. I am also interested in level of communication between all of these people. Communication has a massive part in scale analysis...the more people talk to each other, and discuss matters, the more likely it is that the scale of the policy will match the scale of the science.

I am currently crafting a small questionnaire that I want to send out before I attempt to get one on one time with some incredibly busy people. The plan is that the initial questionnaire will test the waters, and give me an idea of what people think of 'scale' in the ecosystem services planning and policy world. Hopefully the responses will cement what it is I actually want to know, and what questions I need to ask in order to know!

Here's hoping anyway!!

15 DAYS

Countdown!!

There are 15 days until Christmas! Which is really exciting, yet terrifying, as I am to have a draft of the paper I'm working on ready for then. And if we actually look at days I can work we have to extract  a few! Virginia's Birthday fun (3 days worth), A family luncheon, Christmas Eve (my step - dads birthday, poor lad), and Christmas day take my actual working days down to 9 days...and that is including working weekends and through hang overs!

 

All of our decorations are home made, recycled or from charity shops!

It is nice working from home...surrounded by all of our Christmas decorations! But it is also a constant reminder of the lack of time I have. I am confident all will be well though, it is the festive season, all HAS to be well!! Right...back to work!! 

A bit more doctoral training!

So Tuesday and Wednesday were busy days for me. Three sessions of Doctoral Training(DT) and the Cranfield Biodiversity working group meeting. To most people I guess that doesn't sound busy, but when you work from home, being let out into social situations is rather exciting!!

My two types of special list paper and filofax with standard bee and pink glittery pen

The first DT session was on time management. It was such a good session, with a really interesting guy, Richard Maun who has studied at Cranfield and is now a business coach, amongst other things. It was nice to have a real world speaker, rather than an academic. I was rather giddy about the amount of times he mentioned lists and filofaxes...two of my favourite things.

My aims pinned underneath my original JD Holden

The other two training sessions were on planning personal development (PDP) and stages of research. Both of which were really interesting and reminded me that I need to stay focused on my Aims and Objectives. It was suggested I print them out and have them on display by my desk. The PDP session advised us to 'self reflect' to find things we want to improve.
I have chosen some things that I want to work on...one of them is communication and presentations...so I might treat you all to a VLOG in the not too distant future!

No better music to work to!

The Cranfield Biodiversity Working Group is something I really enjoy being involved in. Increasing the biodiversity on campus is really exciting, and involves some of the seeding that I have already done with Urban BESS. 

I've really gone for it with this paper by Christmas challenge and I'm feeling confident it can be done! Especially now I have found my perfect work music. Best film ever. Best sound track ever.

I've also been on BBC Radio Leicester and photographed by the Leicester Mercury whilst queuing for Kasabian tickets today. Feeling very patriotic towards my home town! Oh and I was also wearing my LCFC hat and bright red lipstick...just in case! I'm sure this all fits in with my PDP for improving communication skills!

Conferences

Nice chaise lounge in the toilets at the London BESS conference.

I like it when I tell my friends and family “oh sorry, no I can’t do that date, I’m at a conference” it makes me feel like I have some sort of real job. Granted, conferences have only taken up 5 of the 250 days that I have been doing my PhD. The photos are all of things I found interesting enough to send to friends. There is no real relevance, but I like them.

The 5 days were spread across 3 conferences, two BESS organised, and the LWEC annual assembly. The first was in London, in March, only 1 month into my PhD. Researchers from all the BESS consortia were in attendance which was great for me to understand BESS better. There were some really interesting talks, one for each of the consortia and others not directly related to BESS.

 

The second one I attended was the BESS early career researchers conference in York. The conference was designed around what we felt we needed from it, with talks and training from Dave Raffaelli, Kevin Hicks, Piran White and Steve Cinderby. It conference really changed how I look at my PhD, by seeing how other people are doing theirs, and what avenues and routes can be taken along the way.

Flumps with afternoon coffee!!

The BESS early career researchers formed our own sub group at the York conference and pitched our ideas on how we could stay together, and keep in touch. We managed to secure some funding and are going to be holding our own conference, amongst other things.

 

The LWEC conference, was a whole different experience. I had to apply to attend, and was very excited when I received my invite. The speakers were people whose jobs I would love to have one day, which was inspiring. I'm sure I can see myself rising to be the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, or Chief Scientific Advisor for DEFRA. One day. The conference was focused of decision making and uncertainty and my pile of notes, although slightly illegible, was high. So many aspects I hadn't thought of that would be relevant in my PhD. 

Light reading for the train home from LWEC

So far conferences have been valuable events for me, my research, and 'networking'. I have met some really interesting people, that as I go through different parts of my reasearch, may start getting annoyed with my questions. As yet the new contacts I have made at these events have been nothing but eager to help and send me info and suggested reading.

Let the countdown begin...

I love meetings with my supervisor! I always dread them and think that this time will be the time that he'll tell me that I'm not good enough. So far he has done only the opposite, so maybe it's me that's wrong?!

I had a really good meeting today, discussing the outline to a paper that I had put together. Such a good meeting that he thinks a first draft of the paper, which we are writing together, is going to be able to reach his inbox by Christmas. CHRISTMAS...Exciting. I LOVE a deadline. Although counting down to my 3rd favourite time of the year (1 - Pancake Day. 2 - My Birthday.) is now going muster feelings of both joy and stress.

Let the countdown begin...

Doing my 'bit'

Three recycling bags!

I’m going to write a little entry on ‘doing my bit’, not just about ‘my bit', but whether a 'bit' is really enough to change the world?

There are many everyday things that I know I do, which I do better than some of the people around me, and surely a whole portion of doing ‘good’ is set aside for merely doing ‘better’, surely?!

I have a strong passion for recycling, my heart swells with pride at seeing my bags of recycling piled up on a Tuesday morning. One or two bags from the neighbours, three or four from my house. Leicester city’s recycling system is one of the best I have experienced. We only put our black bin out once every two or three weeks, again another source of pride.

Home made and charity shop home wares

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 My recycling love extends to my wardrobe, I would think it an underestimation to say that at least 75% of the clothes in my two wardrobes have come from charity shops. Our house went from being unfurnished, to being our little home with 90% second hand goods. These goods came from charity shops, freecycle, friends and also my lovely grandmothers church closing down.

Recycling continues into crafts, I love making things. This afternoon has been set aside for Christmas crafting with mum. I have lots of charity shop bought material and checked shirts to craft with, if you're lucky I might post an update of what we make.

Brewing!

My BF and I like to brew our own wine and beer, which reduces packaging considerably, and means we get more for less money, which is always nice when you're a poor PhD student. Meat from the butcher and fruit and veg from the market again cut down packaging.

We are a one car household, as we live in the city centre. Prior to passing my test last year, I would pretend that I didn't drive because I love the planet.

Right, now, let's get down to business...this is all well and good but it is all also highly convenient. I save money, have unlimited alcohol and feel smug on Tuesday mornings. This is all very 'I' focused, and in essence all I'm doing is recycling. Which unfortunately is not enough. What more can I do?

This website is really interesting, but doesn't really tell me anything new, maybe that means i'm doing enough?! No! It is good for ideas on how to make changes in your life, to be more eco-friendly.

Eco-friendly + Inconvenient

I want to do something inconvenient. Something more inconvenient than the 'ecofriendly, less packaging' toilet roll I purchased that doesn't fit on the toilet roll holder. Thoroughly inconvenient. 

I don't think I have the guts to go out into the sea and board ships to stop oil drilling or whale killing, or other hard core environmental activism. But in completing my PhD, I will hopefully have helped in some way to encourage more efficient ecosystem service management and policy creation. Maybe I'll have built myself some sort of platform from which to shout about saving the planet?!

I think, for now, I need to get out there and volunteer. Cut turtles free from can holders, preserve areas of the Amazon Rainforest or tidy up the Great Barrier Reef. I think I might start closer to home I could dive and collect litter, put my Advanced PADI diving skills to use. Or I could clean up my local country parks. I have put it on the internet, so now I have to do it!

Me and My PhD

So.... I’m 26 (just), I live in Leicester, I idolise Kirstie Allsopp, I love bees and I want to make some sort of environmental difference or impact or change...what that actually means i don’t really know!!

My PhD is based at Cranfield university and funded by BESS, a NERC research programme. Within BESS there are four consortia and I am working alongside two of them, Urban BESS and Wessex BESS. My project title is ‘Matching Scales : The impact of natural scales on the planning, decision and policy environment’. I am focusing on the scale at which ecosystems function, the scale at which they are managed, and the scale at which policy is created.

I’ve been interested in ecosystem services since the first year of my BSc in Geography, with a particular passion for bees and pollination. My undergraduate dissertation focused on the decline of bees in the UK. My MSc dissertation looked at the link between policy, and conservation success in the UK. My PhD is an in depth, more specialised look at some of these ideas.

So far within my project I have been looking at the scale at which ecosystem services function within the Urban BESS research area of Luton, Bedford and Milton Keynes. This means I’m reading a lot of papers and looking at some land use maps.

Hoovering insects, vigorously.

So, I don’t feel that I have got very far as yet but I have also been helping out with parts of the Urban BESS Projects. I have been hoovering insects, sewing seeds, weeding weeds, measuring trees and other exciting outside things...i love outside! Doing these activities has been useful for meeting and mingling with people within the BESS community and also with the people who I will be approaching later on in my PhD to give me their thoughts and opinions on the effect of scale within the policy environment.

I work from home - I like to watch videos, to pretend some sort of human interaction.

I like watching videos on interesting topics, probably another thing that makes me feel like I'm interacting with people whilst working from home, alone, all day. I'm going to keep a log here for you, on the ones I think people might like to know about.

30/10/13

I watched (mostly listened whilst writing up some notes, it's a long one) the Commons select committee hear evidence on women in Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers. As a woman at the beginning of her STEM career it was a good watch, opening my eyes to the amazing amounts of support that there is out there. It was good to hear about  the people that are fighting our corner with things such as the Athena Swan Charter, and support through career breaks.

My supervisor has said to me before that it's not easy to be a woman in science, and that to ensure success I need to make a strong headway from the beginning, this was touched upon in the evidence heard. I really hope I don't become a statistic and become another woman in a STEM career to slip out of the "leaky pipe".

I'm here to stay!

29/10/13

This video came up on my twitter feed, so I watched it with a cup of coffee, and replied to the twitter comment, and got a retweet from the BES for my efforts! Professor William Sutherland giving a lecture on improving decision making in the policy environment. My PhD is based on the scale at which policy decisions are made, so the video was highly relevant. There were three specific highlights for me.

Firstly, I'm innocent!! Professor Sutherland declares those of us that have started our PhD's post 2006 are innocent of the problem surrounding bio-fuels. Although that isn't really something I would have looked into anyway, it's nice to be told I'm innocent!

Secondly, the future. The scale at which policy decisions are made is dependent on how far we look into the future. The BES get together every year to assess which issues are looking to be important in the future and which of those require action. The future is something that within my PhD is a big problem, where do we stop? Which future are we planning for? How many generations? Questions I need to answer.

Thirdly, the policy checklist he presents at the end. At the end of my PhD I am aiming to produce a framework to help make decision making in ecosystems services more fluid, check lists would definitely work well within the framework. Also I love lists, and lists of lists, but specifically lists of lists of lists!

Doctoral Training

This is the lovely building I work in when I'm in Cranfield. It's light, bright, airy and reminds me of a Pizza Hut. It's just VERY quiet - which I find quite difficult to comply with. I don't come up often, but I love it here when I do.

I'm here today to attend my first 'Doctoral Training' session 'Getting Started with your Research'. As I started my PhD at an odd time, there wasn't any training available until now. At seven months in it's all a bit 'better late than never'. I definitely got some good ideas from the session, mainly on supervision. The best thing I took away from it was how to do a few of the things I'm already doing, an awful lot more efficiently. More time saved though means finding more things to do - I'm sure that won't actually be a problem though. Who's for cassoulet??

I'm booked onto four more sessions in November, so here's hoping that by December I'll know what I'm really supposed to be doing. Or at least the way in which I'm supposed to be doing it.

Blogging Beginnings

Welcome!

I’m Zoe, I’m a PhD Student, I live in Leicester, I study at Cranfield University and I love outside.

To begin my blog, I thought I would relay the reasons why I have decided to start blogging. There are many reasons, but they all fit into three main topics.

More things to do means more things done.

This is how I work, the more I have to do, the more I can achieve. If I have one thing to do, I will do it, but it could take a while. If I add in more and more activities, my brain becomes more focused and I get things done both faster and better.

I work from home which means I am constantly surrounded by the lures of washing up, CSI (mostly Miami, solely for Horatio) and cooking elaborate meals for my other half. Whilst all of these things are important, none of them are productive. A blog on the other hand could be productive, I can tell you about the cool science I’m involved with, the ups and downs of doing a PhD, and just generally have a platform to vent my frustrations and get giddy when things aren’t going too bad.

Public outreach, career progression, and jargon

I feel like what I do for a ‘job’ is interesting, and exciting. I also know that I have friends who love to ask me what I’m doing and hear about all the things that are going on in the ‘Ecosystem Services’ world. The research I am doing is not just something that is restricted to a lab and to people that know the ‘jargon’, I’m studying the way that the whole world functions, and how everything in it is connected and reliant on everything around it. THAT IS SO EXCITING. Whether you want to admit it or not, I am doing exciting work, and I am so lucky that I get to do it, it would be selfish not to share.

Inspiration

A very close friend of mine began writing a blog (which I wish she would continue) and whilst reading it I could really see her in it, and I got excited about it and decided I wanted to do it, but I’m no fun as I don’t have a cute little baby whilst progressing in my career for a massive global corporation. But with the amount of people who ask me what I do, and the amount of people I want to keep updated on what I do, I decided that this was going to be what I do.

I have recently attended an ‘Early Career Researchers’ conference, hosted by BESS, the NERC funded programme that sponsor my studentship. At the conference I was surrounded by other PhD researchers at different stages of their PhD’s, it was an amazing atmosphere (something I will definitely go into another day) and one of the talks suggested building up our public profiles and blogs were one of the ways...so here I am...Aloha!!

Soon...

I’ll tell you all about my PhD...and a little about me...