Ecology Personal Statement Example

Despite how cliché it is, I have always had a deep love for wildlife and the environment, from merely climbing the trees behind my house to being in awe at the beauty of landscapes such as the Lake District. Because of my love of the world around me I want to be able to protect it for future generations to also enjoy as much as I have and I believe the best way for me to have the opportunity to do this is to take your course.

Growing up enjoying David Attenborough’s documentaries has exposed me to the harshness of the world for many species and may partially be one of the reasons as to where my interest for this course came from. This interest has continued to grow with me from me spending hours in the woods behind my house at a young age to my Easter hiking trips in the Lake District or Snowdonia.

Through studying geography in A level I have developed my analysing, reasoning and writing skills through the need for essays to be detailed yet written fast paced as well as through learning to question why events occur. Psychology has taught me similar with critical thinking skills, reasoning and writing skills as I have learnt about why different behaviours occur which has helped me to explain my own behaviour as well as how the world around me works. Lastly, biology has helped me develop my problem solving skills as well as increased the interest I already had in the world around me as I learnt more about its complexity.

Additionally to in school experience, I have participated in many extra-curricular activities such as my part time job at dominos where I am mainly put in charge of the front which has helped me to develop skills such as teamwork and problem solving, especially in stressful environments, but have also worked on my communication skills, which was previously a struggle.

I have also completed NCS where my group focused on restoring the gardens of an old peoples home to make a more colourful and likeable environment for the residents. After which I was nominated for Change Makers, which is a longer term version of NCS where only two per group can be nominated to join because of the leadership and teamwork skills I displayed.

Furthermore, I am in the process of completing my silver Duke of Edinburgh award where I have been further building a myriad of skills such as resilience and commitment, especially as it has been during COVID and teamwork and responsibility, as I was the map reader and organiser of my expedition group.

I have also had work experience in a riding stables where I was feeding and grooming 20 horses as well as getting experience with animals and their behaviour which is good as I may also want to work with them in the future. Moreover, I managed to get a week work experience working with CRT in their Hereford location, a small charity working to protect and promote the countryside through working with farmers to create sustainable farming, where I learnt how to do a variety of surveys such as bumblebee and vegetation surveys, giving me a first-hand experience in a possible pathway to go down after my degree.

My interest in the outdoors is reflected in the hobbies I have, such as kayaking and hiking showing I have resilience and perseverance to reach my goals despite weather or difficulties. For example I have climbed around 70 of the 214 Wainwrights of the Lake District and aim to climb all eventually. Additionally I am working towards my grade 7 piano exam, further showing my ability to persevere.

While I have no qualifications in it, photography in the outdoors brings me joy, which is one of the main reasons why I want to take this course as I want to be able to impact and help the wildlife and environment that I enjoy for future generations to have the same positive experiences with it.