Week 3 was very exciting as it was our first chance to visit our partners The Crown Estate (TCE) in London. We began by meeting the six other interns on the marine futures internships who were all lovely, before being warmly greeted by some of the internship support staff. Next, we had the “enjoyable” task of getting all our TCE IT set up. Once IT setup had been completed, we got checked into our hotel before heading out with the other interns to explore London and spend some time getting to know each other.

We started the second day with a tour of the building. The building itself is so cool and like nothing I’ve experienced before and the people who work there were all so welcoming. In particular, the view from the 7^th floor balcony is incredible. You can see loads of London landmarks including the London Eye and Big Ben. After the tour we began our introductions on each of the sectors within the marine team at TCE as well as meeting all the program leads/support from the four internship programs. These introductions were really informative, and it was great learning about what part TCE has in not only helping the UK reach net zero targets but also in helping restore nature. We finished the workday by taking part in the marine spatial planning game which is held every year for the interns. It’s a great way to help understand just how complex it is planning how we will use our seas to not reach net zero as well as benefit nature and people. We rounded off the day by heading to play spike ball in the park followed by a walk back through London to the hotel, stopping off for some great pizza along the way.

Our third day was spent learning about Academic to Business writing. Most of us interns came from a university background and so it’s great learning how we can tailor those skills to make sure our writing is impactful in our new business setting. Finally, our 4^th day was filled with more sector introductions as well as some talks on top tips for using different IT programs and an introduction to GIS (a program used for mapping.) Once these talks were over, we said our goodbyes to the other interns and headed back up to Lincolnshire.

Overall, this was a great trip and really settled us into the internship. It was great getting some first-hand experience with one of our major partners and meeting the other interns added a sense of community to our internship. We both can’t wait to head back to London for our next trip with TCE!

Josh

At the start of week four we were back in the office for a couple of days before heading off to Scarborough on Tuesday evening for an action packed few days at the ReMeMaRe (Restoring (seagrass) Meadows, (salt) Marsh and (biogenic) Reef conference. That evening the organisers had kindly arranged an early careers event, giving us the chance to meet other young professionals who are at a similar point in their career. It was interesting to hear about the paths they are taken and the exciting projects they are working on. I also had the pleasure of meeting one of the conference chairs, Dr David Tudor. He was very welcoming and was more than happy to discuss the roles he has undertaken for various important industries and organisations including, the MMO and Ocean and Coastal Futures.

The following day the main conference began. Coming from a more social science background, I found it particularly interesting to see how much value was being placed on community habitat restoration projects. The conference was split into 6 key topics: SOURCE TO SEA, VALUING AND ENABLING RESTORATION, EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES, RESTORATION IN ACTION, RESTORATION SCIENCE, and CULTURAL HERITAGE. We’re both incredibly grateful to have learned from such a diverse range of speakers, each offering valuable insights into the challenges and solutions involved in protecting the estuarine environment in a sustainable way. Josh and I were particularly inspired by Jon Dickson and his presentation on sunken wood as a missing coastal ecosystem. After first winning us over with a SpongeBob themed title the presentation explained the potential of marine wood as a natural and historical habitat for a variety of species including mussels, oysters and cuttlefish.

Our amazing time in Scarborough wrapped up with us having a lovely meal with the Wilder Humber coastal restoration team. This was particularly meaningful for me, as I will be working closely with them for my individual project. More on that in the next blog!

Ryan