Bethan (Beth) Govier

To someone thinking about support from Bramshott Educational Trust: do it and don’t look back. I am so glad that I was supported during my placement year – it gave me an amazing, life changing experience

Beth applied to the BET with a desire to work with ‘wild’ animals. As part of her undergraduate degree at Harper Adams University she spent a year working at Jersey Zoo looking after reptiles; where her love for the native Sand Lizard began. BET was able to help Beth fund her numerous trips back and forward to Jersey during her placement, without which her incredible journey would not have been possible.

By chance, one of the Herpetology keepers at Jersey Zoo contacted Beth after she had completed her masters and asked her if she would like to become a warden of a nature reserve on a small remote uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean! Naturally, she jumped at the chance!

Round Island is approx. 40km off the north coast of Mauritius and only accessible by boat or helicopter. Working in such an environment had its challenges – from battling with ferocious weather conditions to fixing generators. Over the 2 years Beth learnt many new life skills, becoming resilient, resourceful and entrepreneurial too. It was whilst Beth was on this tiny island studying her beloved lizards that she met her Australian fiance.

Beth is now studying for a PhD at the Lizard Lab at Macquarie University in Sydney and carrying out research on black rock skinks to further understand their cognitive abilities. She is loving life in Australia and looking forward to completing her PhD, getting married and to working with an NGO in wildlife conversation in the future.