I don’t think I was prepared emotionally for yesterday’s graduation ceremonies.
Undergraduate tutees and dissertation supervisees: Shania, Rebecca, Alex, Rhiannon, and others like Rob (mature student whom I encouraged to do a degree while sitting on a hill voluntary botanising 5 years ago) and Tom (who was at school with my eldest son, and – having just had a year in work – told his classmates how important the Excel skills I was teaching are).

Then there was my tutee Rohan; Me: “I hardly ever saw, you Rohan, how are you?” – he did really well though and Rohan: “I knew where you were if I needed you!” Which to be honest, why would he want to spend time with a middle aged woman if everything is fine?

And Ian (MBiol) who I met on the bird ID field trip when he was in stage 1 – he got 100% and I got 74% (I was ostensibly a demonstrator, but was there to learn!) and now he posts the best wildlife pics ond Twitter (follow him! – see below). There is a chair and computer in KGVI Lawn cluster where we did stats that will remember Ian for some time, I think!

And beautiful Rafef (MSc Conservation and Ecosystem Management) who wrote her first essay in English with us (rather than Arabic), and has been such an enthusiastic, dedicated, hard working and kind of the CEM students, graduating a bit later than the others for personal reasons, but that meant I had her and her husband to myself for our celebratory meal afterwards.

What an amazing day and I’m so pleased we won’t lose touch.

Ellie graduated from our #MScconservationandecosystemmanagement degree back in my first year as DPD – in 2019. I’m sure there will be some early blogs with her in. And now she is with Natural History Society of Northumberland at the Natural History Museum (Hancock) on campus. I’m not sure who is most happy about this, Ellie, NHSN or me! She has such a gift for enthusing and engaging people and is so creative – I know she will be brilliant.

Would love to have a day out with HoYin on Lindisfarne looking for orchids – perhaps if I work ridiculously hard today and tomorrow, I will allow myself out?

Our students are encouraged to show their work off on social media – not just because it makes my blogging a lot easier! Ho-Yin is tagging all the relevant organistaions, BSBI, Butterfly Conversation and is working with the Natural History Society of Northumberland too and getting his work out there and his face know.