https:\/\/newcastle.sharepoint.com\/:x:\/s\/SNESInduction\/EWTQV_TkbS5PlVISpE21eyEBmGLAbCvmH-pvWpjc8i9BKw?e=LqAuA2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n We are starting on Monday 16th September 2024. Is there something I can be doing in the meantime??? What other preparation can I do? Reading material?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are my suggestions: Please feel free to add comments and suggestions if you have read something good or want to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in case you are wondering what happened to my posts – we are still having fun in the field, but I have reached my capacity for photographs, so I need some serious overhauling!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hi all, this is reading for if you want to join us on MSc Conservation and Ecosystem Management from Sept 2024. Please also feel free to contact me at helen.adamson@ncl.ac.uk Looking forward to seeing you all Here is the induction … Continue reading
<\/strong>We will have an introductory session on RStudio – but you might like to have an advance look: https:\/\/bookdown.org\/ndphillips\/YaRrr\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Keep up to date by following e.g. Natural England and Defra on social media<\/strong>, but also Northumberland National Park, National Landscape (formerly AONB)s and other organisations
2. Read reports <\/strong>like the 25 Year Environment Plan – its updates and State of Nature (you don’t need to read every word, of course
3. If ecology <\/strong>is new to you, or you want a refresher, try https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/science\/biology\/ecology
4. If you are feeling a bit anxious about stats or R<\/strong>, then https:\/\/bookdown.org\/ndphillips\/YaRrr\/
5. If you haven’t done much in terms of species ID<\/strong> I suggest the Collins books (the black ones) for wild flowers (Streeter et al) and for birds (Lars Svensson) and by all means use Apps (e.g. Seek) to help you – but start to look at plant families – and start to record sightings on iRecord. If you are a beginner in a habitat or group of species, then the FSC pull out guides are great. https:\/\/www.field-studies-council.org\/product-category\/publications\/?fwp_publication_type=fold-out-guide – I am not too proud to use them; they can be extremely helpful.
6. If you really want to – you can start to ‘play’ with GIS<\/strong> – QGIS is free software which you will use, but you will also use ArcGIS which the Uni has the license for. This is really only if you fancy having a look, GIS comes alive when you have your own data. You can find beginner tutorials on YouTube.
7. The Knepp and Carrifran rewilding books<\/strong> are good reads if you haven’t read them
8. The first module is forest and woodland ecology. This book is a good introduciton, but don’t feel you have to spend a lot of money. You will have the library at your fingertips when you register: Ecology of Woodlands and Forests: Description, Dynamics and Diversity (Thomas and Packham).
9. If you are coming from a different discipline, have a look at some journal articles<\/strong> in a topic that you are interested in. Use google scholar to search. DO NOT allow yourself to be overwhelmed – but do skim read them<\/strong>. Some will be better than others and easier to follow. In google scholar you can search for e.g. red squirrel conservation, or hay meadow management or ancient woodland indicator species – whatever you are interested in. You can limit to papers e.g. since 2017. Look at the abstract and glance through the structure, read the conclusion … just get the feel for them a bit<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/helenadamson\/files\/2024\/09\/20240816_171432_026_saved-577x1024.jpg\")
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