The Essex Coastal Challenge!
Hello! My name is Lizzy. I have always been interested in Wildlife but there were two events that cemented my love of sea creatures. The first would’ve been the first time I saw the movie Jaws – I’m probably the only child in the world who cried when the shark died! The second was watching The Little Mermaid in 1989.
I developed a keen interest in all things ocean whilst still retaining my admiration of the natural world. I appeared in the local news for going out one evening at age 13 to save toads from being squashed on the road – I’m sure people driving past thought I was crazy. For my 15th birthday present my parents bought me Diving lessons with PADI which I loved albeit in the extremely cold waters of Norfolk Gravel lakes! I then had a part time role through school holidays at The Sea Life Centre where I got to look after all the livestock.
On a holiday back in 2003 with my now husband I finally got to experience diving in the Red Sea and just fell in love with being underwater and seeing all the colourful fish, although still no sharks. After that, all holidays became about the snorkelling and diving until the children arrived. I joined the Shark Trust from the formation of the charity and now spend much of my free time trying to educate people about sharks, why they are so important and why we should appreciate their beauty. I also have an affection for lobsters – not to eat may I add! Every room in my house has been taken over by sealife in one form or another.
My job for the past 20 years, although flexible around the children never allowed me to get out into the countryside, I was predominantly at a desk selling doors. The firm ceased trading last year and, although sad, it gave me the opportunity to stop, take stock and try something new. I had never been out of work, so I gave myself a month of thinking what about what I wanted to do. It had to be flexible as my daughters are still at primary school but most importantly I wanted to love what I do and work for a company I believed in. All my friends suggested I look for a role at Colchester zoo or for Essex Wildlife Trust – where I had been a member for over 15 years.
I kept my eye out for jobs at Essex Wildlife Trust and as luck would have it my perfect role popped up on their website! Assistant to the Legacy officer. Luckily, I knew a little about the role as their Senior Legacy officer had children at the same school, so this made the interview a little less daunting. Fast forward to November 2019 and I had my first day at Essex Wildlife Trust and loved it. I am finally working around people who have the same affection for Wildlife that I do, and I get to discuss ideas on how to help daily. My job is helping to deal with the kindhearted people who have a left Essex Wildlife Trust a gift in their will. Occasionally we even act as executors for their estates too, so the job is extremely varied.
In June we took part in the 30 Days Wild campaign which helps you reconnect with nature. I love doing this every year with my children (7 & 9). It is an annual event amd you can find out more about it here.
The pandemic we find ourselves has meant that some staff have had to be furloughed and has forced us to cancel all our events for the short-term future. Now that we’re able to go out for longer and visit the coast my colleagues and I have come up with a way to engage the public whilst fundraising for our charity. For the month of August, we will be launching our Essex Coastal Challenge which I am very excited about as I am a keen runner.
The Essex Coastal challenge is a virtual challenge where you can choose your distance to run, walk or cycle in exchange for a medal and regular updates and information, videos and photos of our beautiful Essex coastline.
The Essex coastline is 350 miles so our suggestion is that you can challenge yourself to do something with these numbers e.g. run 350 miles over August as a team, run 3.5miles each week or perhaps even cycle 35 miles! Signing up is free and you can either fundraise through our campaign on Justgiving or make a one-off donation to help us achieve our goal of raising £17,500. Details of how to sign up before August 1st can be found here!
I do hope some of you reading this will take part with your families! My girls and I are going pledge to raise £35 each by running 35 miles during August. We will also go and visit the coast as much as possible to remind us of the wildlife that can be found on a beach trip.
“We can bring the coast to you! Throughout Challenge Month, learn all about Essex’s stunning coastline with Essex Wildlife Trust. We’ll take you on an incredible virtual journey through this precious place of wonder, a section at a time. By the end of the month, you will have explored the entire coast in all its beauty”