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Katie Goldsbrough, is a woodland officer, ecologist, conservationist and bat carer. She's passionate about the outdoors, something that started in childhood.
At uni she studied for a BSc in Zoology and a MSc in Wildlife Conservation at Anglia Ruskin University.
While there, Katie's awareness of the plastic tree guards used when saplings are planted became heightened. Rarely documented or removed and often left to degrade and fragment in situ, Katie's solution to their use was to found Plot That Plastic as part of the Forest Plastics Working Group. Encouraging participation in citizen science, the group gathers data about where plastic guards have been used and it advocates for planned plastic removal and waste compliance.
Besides all that Katie is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) and Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), and she hosts the SustainabiliTREE Podcast.
In addition to her love of trees, Katie has a great fondness for bats and is both a bat ambulance driver and bat carer. She explains that the UK hosts micro-bats, tiny in comparison to the types found elsewhere in the world and much more cute as a result.
Recording just ahead of May's national bat survey in the UK, Katie was very keen to share her wisdom and passion for these tiny mammals. She volunteers for Essex Bat Group as a bat ambulance driver and carer, helping to rehabilitate injured and grounded bats back into wild. Besides that, she hosts bat-focused education events and bat walks show just how wonderful bats are.
On maternity leave while we were recording Katie offers insights into her career in ecology and conservation, talks about the world she wants to pass on to baby daughter Wren. In common with all ProGRESS's guests, Katie offers lots of helpful advice to people who want a career like hers, plus advocates enjoying your job rather than enduring it.
Forest Plastics Working Group (plot that plastic)
Bat Conservation Trust National Bat Helpline
Ranger Katie Instagram
Essex Wildlife Trust
Anglia Ruskin University Zoology degree
The Institute of Chartered Foresters
The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
The SustainabilitTREE podcast (opens as YouTube link)
Season 4 Episode 2: Dr Bushra Schuitemaker, Zoologist, microbiologist and award winning communicator
Season 4 Episode 4: Divya Kumar, Community engagement manager, Earthwatch Europe
Season 1 Episode 5: Sarah Kessell, CEO of The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales
Season 3 Episode 11: Helen Walsh, designer, writer and conservation sector communications expert
Season 3 Episode 3: Stuart Mabbutt, aka The Wildman, Part 1
