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Leo Hargreaves

Nextdoor Nature Officer
Leo Hargreaves
What employment sector do you work in?

NGO Sector

How long have you had a green job for nature?

2.5 years

Salary Range

£25,001 – £30,000

Please describe the work that you do.

I work with communities to connect more people with nature and build the movement of people taking action for nature. This includes sharing green skills and community organising skills through workshops and courses, kickstarting and supporting local community projects around nature and wildlife, developing new ways to connect more people with nature, working with other organisations to bring nature into the work that they do.

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

Likes: I love the vision building side of my job – I get to meet new people, learn more about them, and come up with creative ways for us to work together. I love learning new things and feeling connected with nature, so in this job I love being able to share skills and help others connect with nature too. I love learning about new methods of developing projects, and it’s so exciting to see a project go from an initial idea to something real that gathers momentum and grows!
Dislikes: sometimes the logistics of juggling many different projects can become overwhelming, and my social battery gets drained if I am meeting with lots of people without proper breaks to recharge.

What inspired you into this career? 

My love of nature and learning, and a passion for working with people to make social change happen.

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

Sometimes people do not take this area of work seriously – they see it as something that is a nice add-on to conservation projects or social justice work, rather than something that significantly changes people’s lives and can protect our planet.

What education/training did you have?

BA Fine Art Sculpture
City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma Horticulture in the Workplace

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

Get lots of different types of experience, so you can get an idea of what types of work interest you.
Look for opportunities to learn from others and connect with people, and be creative – the field is constantly changing and we are facing huge challenges, so there are real opportunities to try new ideas!
Take time to stay connected with your reason for doing this work – for me this means remembering to take the time to enjoy and connect with nature myself.

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Tags: England, NGO sector, Community and volunteer engagement, Environmental educator, Media and communication roles, Project manager, Career changer, Unrelated first degree

Date profile submitted: 06/02/2025

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