Are New Graduates Rewilding-Ready?

This post is greater than 6 months old - links may be broken or out of date. Proceed with caution!

By Chris D’Agorne, Comms Lead at Ecosulis

Workers weeding and re-planting on a river bank — Ecosulis employees work alongside subcontractors on a river restoration project, planting out native species to restore lost biodiversity (Chris D’Agorne / Ecosulis)

Rewilding is a multi-disciplinary profession with a wide range of jobs available, from graduate ecologist to landscaper, data scientist to grazier. At Ecosulis, as a rewilding consultancy, we partner with higher education institutions across the UK to kickstart the career of graduates in the environmental sector. But it’s a competitive market out there, with new environmental graduates in high demand from large consultancies and construction companies.

There’s an enthusiasm for rewilding in many graduates - they describe it as being part of a long term vision that will make a real difference to the planet. This helps to differentiate rewilding jobs from those in other sectors - we’ve often found that graduates are more focused on values and mission than remuneration. This helps to attract skilled graduates to a sector that might otherwise struggle to compete against larger players.

Group of students on a field skills training day walking through foliage and woodland — On a ecology field skills training day, interns and employees head out to a local stream, guided by an expert from Bristol University (Chris D’Agorne / Ecosulis)

Attracting skilled graduates who are looking for a position at a mission-led company isn’t just a matter of running the company well and ticking all the boxes. It’s also important to talk about values at events, to describe the mission on your website and write about your ethical stance in job adverts.

Our Recruitment Manager, Josh Plaister, says:

“In recent years there’s been a noticeable uptick in graduate understanding of rewilding. People are talking more about the topic and writing their dissertations about species reintroductions, habitat restoration and creation. This has led to a surge in demand for jobs that align with this mission - it’s seen as something positive - something which helps the planet - something that’s worth spending your career working towards.”

It’s not really possible to generalise about the skills of people coming into the rewilding sector, as there’s such a broad base of knowledge required, and so many different opportunities available. In most cases, we find that graduates have the skills to hit the ground running, but we also run a structured internship programme to fill in the gaps.

Man in high-vis on a raft clearing debris from a river — Clearing bankside vegetation to mimic the actions of a beaver (a species not found in this location), which will enhance biodiversity at this large pond system (Chris D’Agorne / Ecosulis)

Our internship programme is designed to upskill graduates in topics that are impossible or impractical to address in a higher education context. For example, working directly with clients, or with senior leaders in the business. The interns are involved in multiple projects and visit sites across the country, with exposure to the wider company rather than specialising early-on in one specific role. This allows them to find a niche which is most suitable for their skillset, building on their existing experience and understanding.

Internships are a valuable way of building out knowledge and experience within the rewilding sector, given the lack of specialist higher education courses at present. The field is also evolving rapidly, and an internship allows graduates the opportunity to catch up with the latest developments in ecological monitoring technology, land management techniques, habitat creation and scientific advances.

Internships are useful for getting graduates up to speed in any niche sector, but especially so in rewilding, where many of the jobs involve practical approaches, which are easiest to learn in a hands-on context. For example, landscapers may be expected to understand a vast range of approaches to habitat management, from hedge-laying to tree planting, coppicing to fencing. These are crafts that are traditionally associated with farming and land management roles - perhaps not typically thought of as skills required for environmental positions.

Young man in high-vis out in a field checking geotags on an electronic device — Checking geotagged locations against a site plan on a peatland restoration project, designed to enhance upland carbon and restore lost biodiversity (Chris D’Agorne / Ecosulis)

Rewilding is an unconventional sector that encompasses a broad range of roles. As it continues to develop, we’re beginning to understand the number of jobs rewilding will create, from desk-based positions like data scientist, to field-based roles like grazier (managing livestock). Investment is flowing into nature-based solutions, of which rewilding is an important element, and it’s more than likely that further positions will become available as rewilding continues to grow rapidly.

It’s encouraging to see the enthusiasm in graduates for rewilding and the uptick in rewilding-themed dissertations. We hope that this inspires higher education institutions to create more specialist courses and opportunities, such as field-based learning, in the future. This will enable graduates to continue developing the sector, entering the workforce with relevant skills. At Ecosulis, we’re excited to be guiding the career development of the next generation of rewilders - it’s a responsibility we take extremely seriously and, we’re proud to be a part of the global rewilding movement.

Find out more about Ecosulis at https://ecosulis.co.uk

First published in CJS Focus on Land and Habitat Management in association with the Landscape Institute on 5 June 2023. Read the full issue here