At a young age I developed a passion for the natural world and have worked in the field all my adult life. At first I volunteered with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust thinning out young woodlands with a bow saw. I later gained a Royal Forestry Certificate in Arboriculture.

I studied for a BSc in Wildlife Conservation at Seale Hayne (Plymouth University) and then began my professional career working in Dartmoor National Park SSSI for English Nature, as a Warden for Yarner Wood Nature Reserve. As a self-employed contractor, I had woodland management contracts for English Nature (now Natural England), RSPB, the National Trust, Dartmoor NPA and private landowners.