Sherece Kesner

Coastal & Marine Ecologist

Please describe the work that you do.

I am a Coastal and Marine Ecologist with Adonis Blue, the consultancy arm of Kent Wildlife Trust. It is a fantastic role with many opportunities for development.

I support Kent Wildlife Trust by running their citizen science programme ‘Shoresearch’. My main focus within Adonis is looking at coastal restoration and how we can achieve it using sustainable finance mechanisms. We collaborate with eNGO’s and universities with the common goal of restoring functioning ecosystems.

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

I love the breadth of work my role covers; one week I will be out on a local farmer’s field flying our drone to gather high-resolution habitat data, the next I will be on the shore where I grew up carrying out intertidal species presence/ absence surveys.

I find myself collaborating and communicating with many stakeholders across the county which is a real privilege to share in their knowledge and experience. My next goal is to find out how we can incorporate some apex predator surveys into the work we do because I am mad about sharks (and all the benefits they bring to creating a healthy ecosystem)!

What inspired you into this career?

During my college years, I was given the opportunity to go to South Africa, I had grown up watching documentaries about the wild landscapes there so I felt this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. It was there I learnt what conservation was after seeing my first rhino mother and calf (the mother had her horn shaved in the hope of protecting her from poachers). My mind was set, I was going to be a conservationist- I went to university and studied animal conservation and biodiversity. This was when I realised there was a hell of a lot more known about terrestrial landscapes than there was the marine environment! Right, I thought I will put my efforts into marine conservation, so I set off for my master’s in marine conservation and studied the seals in the Moray Firth (this was a dream come true!).

I grew up by the seaside so the love of nature and wildlife was always there. Whenever I am at the beach, I am inspired and most of all I feel fulfilled! You cannot ignore nature and its calling.

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

Yes! Getting started was one of the biggest challenges I have faced. After university, I tried several jobs and was hunting for a job in marine conservation for a little over a year before stumbling across the Coast Explorer Internship (funded by The Crown Estate) which gave me my ‘in’ into coastal and marine conservation.

I am now very lucky to have a managing director who truly believes in my abilities and the vision for seascape scale restoration. It can be hard to find that person/ team who sees your potential.

What education/training did you have?

Here is what I had before securing my internship:

BSc Animal Conservation and Biodiversity from Uni of Greenwich (studied at Hadlow College)
MSc Marine Conservation from Uni of Aberdeen
MMO marine mammal observer
PADI open water diver

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

Always ask questions, volunteer yourself to help colleagues, ask your manager for the training you want and think about how it will benefit them/ the company beforehand.

Map out your strengths, weaknesses and areas you would like to work on, you need to have an idea of the direction you want to go.

Keep yourself motivated and passionate- passion should not be underestimated in ecology roles. If your company allows you to take a volunteering day each year, use it!

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Tags: England, Private sector, advisers, conservation workers, data and mapping, ecologists, project managers, researchers, using drones, marine roles