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CEnv Profile | Claire Wansbury, Fellow and Technical Director, AtkinsRéalis

Claire Wansbury CEnv | Awards Finalist/Winner CEnv profile

Claire Wansbury CEnv was a finalist in the 2023 Awards and ultimately won our 2023 Environmental Professional of the Year Award. In this profile you’ll gain an insight into Claire’s career, thoughts on the CEnv registration and how being a finalist has impacted her career.

What does an average day look like in your career?

Earlier in my career, an average day was either in the office, in which case it was dominated by report writing, and in the early days even creating habitat maps using coloured pencils, or out on site.  In the field, every day is different, as even on the same site you see different wildlife every time you visit.  These days I am much more office based, dividing my time between meetings, reviewing report and advising others on their projects, and contributing to work winning. So, it is different but still an interesting mix.

What are the top three key knowledge areas that are crucial to your role?

There is so much to learn as an ecologist, but key areas for me are habitat and species identification skills, writing skills, and people skills.  However much we know as individuals, one of the most valuable talents in writing and speaking about our area of expertise is being able to explain issues, and discuss their potential solutions and opportunities, with non-specialists.

What part of your job do you find the most exciting?

I love the fact that in ecology there is always something new to learn.  It can simply be learning about a species I’m not familiar with, or exploring novel approaches like Biodiversity Net Gain, or even finding out about new science.  Even in the UK, where we are truly data-rich but nature-poor, we are still discovering new species we didn’t know lived here, or even ones that have never been seen before.

I also love to see where I know I have made a difference, whether it is supporting a colleague or directly on our projects. Sometimes our greatest achievements are the invisible ones – the habitat losses that have been avoided because the design team worked together to find a better solution.  Others are more positive, like looking forward to seeing the finished version of the UK’s first ever heathland green bridge, which is under construction now thanks to National Highways.  My colleagues did an amazing job designing it and it was great being part of that team.

How has achieving CEnv registration impacted your work?

It gives a professional credibility in our field and raises the profile of the environmental profession. We also see examples where clients require senior project team members to be Chartered.

As an award winner, how has that recognition helped you?

It was such an honour to win, and seriously cool!  It still feels a bit weird to have a CV that describes me as an ‘award-winning ecologist’, but in a really good way.  We all need to take time to celebrate our achievements, and it is so easy to forget to do so.  I like the fact that the SocEnv includes such a wide range of professional disciplines, but all working towards a goal of a more sustainable future for people and our planet, so the award is such an accolade.

It also gives me wider visibility, and greater opportunities to speak out.  We cannot solve the biodiversity loss emergency while ignoring climate change.  Similarly, all environmental professionals need awareness of where they can make a difference for nature, climate and social value, and to speak out to encourage others to gain that same level of understanding.

 

Why would you encourage others in your sector to aspire to become a CEnv?

Chartership is a badge of credible professionalism.  It certainly helps us stand our own among other professions.  We are still relatively young professions compared to others like civil engineering, but I look forward to a time when working towards Chartership is a standard expectation in everyone’s career progression, as it already is for Chartered Engineers and Chartered Landscape Architects.

For Ecologists who are CIEEM members, we have the choice of CEnv and CEcol, or, like myself, both.  I would always encourage ecologist to consider, and ideally aspire for, both.  While we are a specialist discipline, in our work ecologists must consider, and should also advocate for, all aspects of wider sustainability.

Explore more in this AtkinsRéalis video

Claire is featured in CIOB's 'The Nature of Building' series in their partner video where AtkinsRéalis is discussing Building Resilience Through Biodiversity Net Gain.

Profile correct as of October 2024.

 

Claire’s CEnv registration

Claire Wansbury is registered as a CEnv via membership of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)

CIEEM CEnv registration

Useful links:

Chartered Environmentalist Routes to CEnv CEnv Employer Champion | Atkinsrealis

Meet more award finalists: