My name is Joey Wong and I’m a guest blogger on work experience at RSPB Cymru in Cardiff. For the next week I will be asking various people working in RSPB Cymru a few questions about their roles and what they are currently working on.
The first of my interviewees was Gareth Cunningham, he is RSPB Cymru's Marine Policy Officer. The sea around our coast provides us with a unique environment that is a place of beauty and leisure. It is also an important habitat for wildlife. Garethworks to protect these environments in Wales allowing us to have a diverse range of not only birds but also a range of marine wildlife. Gareth's role within RSPB Cymru is to implement the Marine Act whilst working with other organisations such as the Countryside Council for Wales and Wales Environment Agency as well as the Welsh Government. He looks at areas that have endangered species and what can be done to protect them and improve the situation. Many ways of employing these policies including talking to anglers about what they can do individually.
Recent projects include designated Marine Conservation Zones across the whole of UK. Gareth talked about the bird species of the islands along the Pembroke coast. Mentioning guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and gannets all inhabitants of RSPB Ramsey Island. Current projects on and around the island involves collecting data from a few different species of birds including the Manx Shearwater by tagging them. These tags can record the bird’s migration route, measure speed of a birds flight and also the depth of which the bird dives. Data from this is used to recognise areas where birds are feeding. This is important when plans such as offshore wind farms are developing that can potentially harm marine wildlife can be revised and prevented. He is also hoping to gain funding for tagging the birds for a third year.
For more information about RSPB Ramsey Island please visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves