This International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are featuring Trish, who manages the closed landfills at Devon County Council’s Waste Management Department. These sites are now places of natural beauty and incredible biodiversity. Trish uses science every day in her role, a field she was inspired to pursue from a young age. Here is her story:
“My interest in science started when I was young. When I was 15, like most teenagers I wasn’t sure about the career path to take. I loved the outdoors and nature, often going on walks with my dad, and it wasn’t until an outdoor pursuits leader asked me about what I wanted to do that I began to consider my own interests. In that moment, I realised I had an interest in biology and started thinking about a career in science – precisely what, I wasn’t sure!”
Trish’s time at school:
“After finishing school, I attended college and took A-levels in Maths, Biology, and Geography and an O level in Chemistry to improve my science qualifications. To me, it was a natural choice to then pursue a degree in Environmental Science. Although in the 1980’s, unlike today, these courses were few and far between! I was fortunate in securing a place at the University of Sunderland and thoroughly enjoyed the diversity the course offered and naturally the field trips which were numerous! I continued to follow my interests without a clear career path in mind, knowing only that I wanted a job that involved the outdoors, science, practical work, and problem-solving.”
Trish’s time after education:
“Upon graduating, I found it challenging to find paid outdoor work related to science. I continued working in the pub trade, having spent 3 years whilst studying, working behind the bar. After a few years, I received two job offers at the same time: one from Inland Revenue and another for an administrative role in waste management at Lancashire County Council. I researched waste management and felt it was more aligned with my interests than Inland Revenue!”
Trish’s beginnings at the council:
“At the council, leading on from an administrative role in waste management, I explored various other roles, including waste regulation, closed and open landfill monitoring, lab work, and managing closed landfills. I particularly enjoyed my initial administrative role in waste as it gave me an amazing insight into the world of waste and opened up a wealth of career opportunities! In my next role, I worked on operational and closed landfill sites as a sampling technician and was responsible for taking landfill gas and water samples, analysing and reporting results. Each site was unique, and the monitoring data collected was essential to demonstrate safe management of landfill gas and leachate. I worked my way up to an Environment Manager role managing various teams in the County’s own scientific laboratory. I retained my involvement with waste in managing a small team at the laboratory that managed the redundant landfills in Lancashire. After a few years, I moved to my current role in Devon, and with this I return to my roots and work within the waste management team, but this time I am responsible for a small team that manage and coordinate waste treatment and recovery of Devon’s local authority collected municipal waste and of course I continue to manage closed landfill sites, but this time in Devon!”
Trish’s reflection:
“I’ve been in this role for almost 10 years and love it. Every day is different, with fresh new challenges presented. This can range from planning waste inputs to optimise bunker levels of energy-from-waste plants, to managing and maintaining our closed landfill site pollution control infrastructure to ensure they work efficiently and safely. The combination of science, engineering, and problem-solving in an outdoor environment is why I enjoy it so much. Science and the outdoors have always been my passions, and now they are part of my job.”
Her advice:
“My advice to anyone considering their career path is to pursue what you enjoy. You never know where your interests might lead you. If you are thinking about a degree like mine, it certainly gave me options and time to find my niche. In the end, waste management found me rather than the other way around. The interests I pursued gave me the skills I needed for this field without me even realising it. Even today, I continue to gain new skills and hope to keep on learning.”
For more on waste management careers check out: Careers Advice – Zone
For resources on science head to: Science & Geography Resources – Zone
