October was the second month of MWT's Rosie's Internship program. Exciting opportunities surrounding education, conservation work, and engagement have been plentiful. Each of the interns have written about their month and the projects they have been getting stuck into.

Isabel Crichton - Communications Intern 

This month has been another whirlwind of outdoor activities and fun events. From the Erica McAlister talk, where we learned about the importance of flies in our ecosystem, to getting to know some of MWTs Nature Reserves, such as Ballachrink.

My knowledge of our Island’s mushrooms was greatly expanded on the Fungi Foray led by Nev Kilkenny, a Field Mycologist and Research Associate at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. With the Isle of Man Fungi Group, we explored MWT Creggan's Nature Reserve to discover the plethora of incredible mushrooms, some rare, some colourful and beautiful. As a big fan of mushrooms, this was a great opportunity to learn more about our local fungi and build upon my identification skills.

This month, Emily and I got to work on the Autumn/Winter 2026 Magazine with MWT's Comms and Marketing Lead. This helped me build upon my writing, graphic design, and layout skills. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Words & Spaces, the printing company we use for the magazine. We got to see behind the scenes of how professional printing works and the different methods used to print sustainably.

Emily Aston - Engagement Intern

My second month with Manx Wildlife Trust has been just as exciting and full of learning as the first. Having a deeper understanding of the team and projects has meant being able to fully throw myself into the areas I am interested in. 

A new round of Green Social Prescribing started in October, and I have loved seeing the effect of activities focused on fostering connections with nature. Having direct feedback on how important feeling connected to and time within nature has helped with individual’s health and wellbeing journeys has been very rewarding, and I am looking forward to getting increasingly involved with the facilitation of these activities in the upcoming sessions. I’ve also enjoyed getting involved with the planning of our new lecture series: ‘Pint of Nature’. The aim with this is to hopefully bring in a new audience by creating informal, fun spaces for any unconventional nature topics to shine. 

It has been a busy month on the communications side of things as well. The MWT Autumn/Winter 2026 Magazine is in its final stages, but I enjoyed the opportunity to play around with the design and learn about formatting. Part of this was a visit to Words & Spaces, the company who print MWT’s newsletters and magazines, which now means having the ability to visualise the printing process and fully understand sustainable print choices. 

Mia Woodcock - Terrestrial Intern

This month has been an absolute whirlwind of opportunities to get involved in, from terrestrial and marine conservation to education and community engagement.

One of the highlights of the month was having the privilege of attending a conference in Devon focused on the Temperate Rainforest Restoration Project. It was an incredible experience to learn more about Britain's lost rainforests, hear from experts involved in their restoration, and see the ambitious work being undertaken across the UK to bring these habitats back. What struck me most was the long-term vision behind the project. Temperate rainforest restoration is something that will take place over many decades, with benefits that will be passed down through future generations. It is a truly inspiring project to be involved with, and I would like to thank The Wildlife Trusts and Manx Wildlife Trust for the opportunity to attend.

Following on from this, it has been fantastic to gain hands-on experience helping to conserve the Isle of Man's own temperate rainforest habitats. I've spent time working alongside the woodland team helping to monitor, manage, and develop Manx Wildlife Trust nature reserves. Taking part in the Thursday morning woodland volunteer group has been a particular highlight this month. The enthusiasm and dedication of volunteers never fails to impress me, and I would encourage anyone with a spare morning to get involved and spend some time in nature.

Marine conservation has also featured heavily this month. I was lucky enough to return to the Calf of Man to assist with pond clearance work. It was certainly a muddy day, but a very rewarding one. The visit also provided an opportunity to catch up with the seal team and take part in another survey to monitor how this year's seal pups are progressing.

Another standout experience was participating in BRUV (Baited Remote Underwater Video) surveys focusing on the Western Irish Sea Mudbelt. It was a day unlike any other, with sightings of nearly 200 common dolphins, a basking shark, and three minke whales. While the wildlife encounters were unforgettable, these surveys also play an important role in improving our understanding of marine ecosystems and helping inform future conservation efforts.

Alongside conservation work, I have enjoyed getting involved with a variety of educational activities. This included supporting Laa Feie Manninagh (Manx Wild Day), teaching children about biodiversity and the natural world around them. I also contributed to STEM Fair projects focused on microplastics and helped lead rock-pooling activities, encouraging people to explore, learn about and engage with their local environment. These experiences reinforced just how important hands-on learning can be in helping people develop a lasting connection with nature.

A particular highlight on the engagement side was attending Pint of Nature. Events like this bring together people from all backgrounds to share ideas, stories, and perspectives about the natural world. They create space for conversations that might not happen elsewhere and often reveal unexpected connections between nature and everyday life. One discussion on the role of nature in video games sparked a surprisingly lively debate, demonstrating how nature can be explored and understood through a variety of different lenses. It was a brilliant reminder that engaging people with conservation isn't always about formal education. Sometimes, it starts with a conversation.

Reflecting on the month, what stands out most is the incredible variety of work taking place across the conservation sector. From restoring rainforests and surveying marine wildlife to educating young people and engaging communities, every activity contributes to the shared goal of helping people connect with and protect the natural world. As always, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I've been given and excited to see what next month will bring.

Charlie Clarke - Terrestrial Intern

The end of October marks the end of my second month as a Manx Wildlife Trust intern. Thank the heavens there is still 6 more months, as I am having a blast. This month’s intern blog features my ramblings on topics like invasive trees, inspiring women, peatlands and storytelling!

Working alongside the woodland team, I have completed a range of tasks: working in our tree nursery prepping seeds; assisting the creation of a mindfulness glen; and going to battle with more invasives! Last month I battled Sitka Spuce at MWT Glion Darragh Nature Reserve, this month – Cherry Laurel at MWT’s Cronk y Chule. Cherry Laurel is native to Asia and was first introduced to Britain in the 19th Century. It is a tall, evergreen tree that forms dense thickets – all of which out-compete native Manx Flora. 

Cronk y Chule Nature Reserve had us navigating 7ft gorse in search of Cherry Laurel. The mission at this site, was to find the Cherry Laurel, and clear a path to it – simple, right? Not quite. Along with navigating a maze of 7 ft gorse, we were often confronted by a sudden drop, or a mini cliff, as we deemed them. Once we had forged the way to the Cherry Laurels, through this vast ocean of gorse, someone would come along with the chainsaw and cut the tree down. We would then hammer Eco-plugs into the stump, (hopefully) preventing any regrowth, and plant some wonderful native trees around the stump. Native oak and Rowan were our trees of choice on the day.

I also help at MWT’s Billown Nature Reserve with the woodland team. Here, I build fences. Not much more to be said about that. Don’t wear your good field gear at Billown – the barbed wire will make quick work of it. Building fences may not seem like something that is in the job description for an ecologist – but fences are a very useful tool for restoration/conservation!

You want to conserve an area of grassland and allow for wildflowers to grow? Build a fence and protect it from sheep. You have just swum through a sea of gorse to plant some native oak trees, and you are worried something may come and eat them? Build a fence and protect them! Plus, it is good fun and helps clear the mind when you are bashing in some heavy wooden stakes into what is basically a quarry.

This month I also had the fantastic opportunity to represent RE-PEAT at a peatland symposium hosted by the Common Knowledge Centre in County Clare, in the West of Ireland. RE-PEAT is a youth‑led environmental collective focused on peatland protection, cultural engagement, and advocacy, through which I help with educational content in Ireland surrounding our natural ecology, mythology and history. At this fantastic symposium I got to meet so many wonderful people working on peatland restoration across Ireland. Not only did I make some very strong professional contacts – but also new friends, bound by our love for Ireland and peatlands!

I was enormously proud to witness my incredibly inspiring friend and fellow RE-PEAT volunteer Lucia represent RE-PEAT and speak about the 5 day ‘Peatlands in Practice’ camp that we organised this past summer. Lucia was sitting in between Kate Flood and Anja Murray. Kate Flood is a name that has popped up many times during my peatland work, and for good reason. Her work integrates social science, ecology and the humanities, allowing for a holistic exploration of the relationships that bind people and peatlands. She works towards finding ways in which we can build collaborative networks to manage peatlands sustainably in the future – needless to say, a very cool person. I was first introduced to Anja Murray, when I picked up a copy of her book ‘Wild Embrace’ while perusing the charity shops of Galway City. If I had a time portal to a younger version of me, I would give him this book and probably tell him to wear more suncream. Alongside writing books I like, Anja Murray is an ecologist, environmental policy analyst and broadcaster, AND is super nice and great craic.

Other than seeing these incredibly inspiring women all on the same panel, the symposium consisted of more talks, more panels, breakout discussions, group work, and a substantial amount of focaccia. On the second day, I had the pleasure of joining a peatland dam building workshop, led by Feildhim Harty – this had me fangirling hard. He taught me how to build a dam, we discussed beavers in Ireland, or lack-there-of, and we ate more focaccia.

I love so many different aspects of ecology, and the different avenues that it allows me to explore. It provides me the opportunity to work outdoors, learn about the world around me, teach others about the beautiful things I see/do and meet some awesome people that do some cool work. But a trend I am seeing time and time again, is that the coolest people on this planet, are those that work to conserve and restore peatlands. Peatland people – peatple, if you will – in my experience, are extremely curious, passionate, grounded, and creative. And for this reason, among many more, I can see myself sinking deeper into this line of work (bog pun was intentional).

I worked alongside Sarah Mercer, Head of Engagement and Sustainability of Shuttleworth Botanical Gardens, to organise and host our cultural storytelling event. The event was held on the ancient Celtic festival, Samhain (Laa Souney in Manx), and marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. We gathered underneath an ‘Ancient Elm’ where we told stories and poems that related to Celtic mythology, folklore, nature, history, and our connection to these themes, as well as how they are themselves, connected. It was a beautiful evening and will stand out as a highlight of my time on the Isle of Man. I told stories about Irish mythology, peatlands and stout, my granny, changelings, and a story about why everyone should have a story to tell.

This second month has allowed me to find my routine, develop some roots and find new avenues in which to express myself ecologically, and creatively. For the next month I hope to continue this trend, further develop the roots I have already established, while expand my horizons further, take on new roles and opportunities and continue to make the most out of my time here in the Isle of Man!