Hi, I’m Cara.

Growing up in a home where taking in and caring for injured wildlife was common, my passion for nature began at a young age. My mum raised me to have respect and compassion for all life no matter what. I even recall being fascinated watching ants as a small child, and building a little house for them in the garden. and I kind of can’t believe it took me this long to figure out this is what I should be doing. 

During COVID, like many of us, I began to question everything and took a full 360; setting out on a new career in conservation. I began focusing on using my existing skills to get into the nature sector. I began writing articles on conservation stories and became a regular contributor at Ubuntu Magazine, a free conservation publication, where I have grown my knowledge, connected with conservationists across the globe and enhanced my writing skills. My latest articles include: ‘The Art of Coral Reef Restoration’ and ‘A Sanctuary for Humpback Whales: Hervey Bay’s Role in Marine Conservation’. 

After a decade long career I never really resonated with, here I am at thirty studying my first degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Science, and I have honestly never felt more like I am on the right path. My journey to becoming a conservationist has been an unconventional one, but I am driven by my passion for the natural world. 

When not at uni, I keep pretty busy and have recently become a Director of a conservation site in Aldington, where we have an ancient woodland, wildflower meadows, gardens and orchards to create habitats for local species. I am involved in conducting surveys, helping maintain the habitats, event hosting, and voting on important decisions we make about the organisation. 

As you can probably tell by now, wildlife and biodiversity is my thing. Whenever I have free time I am often out for a stroll in some wild place or another, if you are on campus early enough you may even find me in the gardens staring up at a tree or into a shrub watching something that has caught my eye. I have recently gotten into bird watching, my favourite birds are long-tailed tits, which honestly are the cutest things, but I do believe they are secretly absolutely feral and all the other birds know it too. 

I love being a student, especially being slightly older. I try and be very involved with university and take on every opportunity I can, including being a student ambassador and course rep, which is why I am so very excited to now be a part of CCCU’s Student Green Office. 

Over this next year, I hope to get a CCCU swap shop up and running, where students and staff can leave any unwanted goods and people can help themselves to what they need for free, to help support a circular economy while also providing necessary items for those who need them. I would also like to spend a good amount of time in the greenhouse building up my green thumb skills, and perhaps organise a few citizen science surveys on campus too. 

By Cara Blackburn, SGO Projects Officer