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Lee Copplestone

Community Organiser
What employment sector do you work in?

NGO Sector

How long have you had a green job for nature?

2 years

Please describe the work that you do.

My role is to use a community organising approach to listen to the community and encourage them to take positive action for nature. I do this using door-knocking, Parklets, Listening Posts and House Meetings. I help communities to network and build their groups to become self-sufficient in the work they do to help nature and wildlife. The range of activities includes litter-picking, wildlife surveys, reporting sightings, monitoring habitats, campaigning and improving spaces for nature.

What do you most like about your job? Any dislikes?

I enjoy being outdoors and bringing people together to help wildlife and nature. My job is varied with a good balance of activities including indoor and outdoor work, meetings, networking, events, planning, documenting, reporting, recording, writing and administration. I work across the age range with individuals and groups from community centres, schools, care settings, universities, libraries and faith centres.

What inspired you into this career? 

From a young age, I always liked wildlife, particularly birds. I didn’t start off my career doing work connected to nature. As my interest in wildlife grew I decided to change track. My first job in the environment sector was in 2000 working with RSPB and after that I worked for Keep Britain Tidy for several years. I joined Warwickshire Wildlife Trust to take on new and challenging role as Community Organiser.

Have you faced any challenges in progressing your career so far? 

I’ve been very lucky to have an opportunity to change the direction of my work. I think a major challenge for me was not having started off in the environment sector, I didn’t have a good grounding in all the issues like my other more experienced colleagues. It takes a while to find your niche and discover where your skills can be applied in a role that suits you best.

What education/training did you have?

I don’t have any formal qualifications relating to the environment or conservation but I’ve done a lot of training since joining this sector. I recently did a qualification in Community Organising.

What advice would you give to someone coming into the profession? 

There are a huge range of roles on offer in the environment sector ranging from practical work managing habits to digital marketing and catering. There are people-based jobs as well as technical roles. You don’t have to be an expert in wildlife to work for a wildlife charity. You may have transferable skills that are relevant. You could try doing some volunteering to find out what kind of work you would enjoy most.

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Tags: England, NGO sector, Environmental educator, Conservation worker, Community and volunteer engagement, Career changer

Date profile submitted: 22/01/2025

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