We caught up with Freshwater Habitats Trust engagement officer Georgia Staszynska to find out about her green career journey and what advice she’d give to others looking to get into the environmental sector.

Georgia originally studied Psychology at university and then a Masters in Zoo Conservation Biology. She then worked in engagement roles, combining interests in the environment and behavioural psychology, these included education officer at a zoo and an outdoor learning leader at a youth charity. Her next step was an internship with conservation charity Plantlife, through the Groundwork New to Nature scheme – read about how this programme also kickstarted the green careers of our former National Park Interns Josh and Hayley here.

Having always lived in the New Forest and wanting a conservation career, Georgia sought out local volunteering opportunities at RSPB Franchises Lodge and mentorship with Wild New Forest. This experience led to her current role at Freshwater Habitats Trust, a national environmental NGO.

What’s your favourite thing about your current role?

‘We’ve been running a lot of early careers development training events through the Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme, and I love getting to do these because I’m also early in my conservation career.

‘I’ve had some incredible opportunities to be able to learn from local experts and so, not only is that something that I’m grateful for and find so valuable, but it’s also rewarding to know that I’m able to provide opportunities for others because I know how important it is for me. I understand the value of that and so to be able to give that back to other early career conservationists as well is great.’

Which stage of your career journey so far has had the biggest impact on where you are now?

‘The internship was incredibly important as it’s really hard to get an early career role that is fairly paid and where you’re not expected to already know everything. Roles will be labelled as early career a lot of the time, but you’re expected to come along with the level of knowledge that you just simply don’t have when you’re early in your career. So, I think these New to Nature internship roles were fantastic for providing that kind of stepping stone.

‘I wasn’t expected to have any pre-existing experience, although I did have some, and I don’t think I would have had the confidence to apply for my current job if I hadn’t done the internship at Plantlife.

Your current role is supported through the YouCAN scheme. What has that enabled you to achieve?

‘It’s been a huge opportunity for personal growth and development and deepened my understanding of conservation within the Forest. I now have so much more confidence in skills like botanical identification and a deeper understanding of freshwater ecology and conservation.

‘I’ve developed some really important relationships and built a network of early career conservationists and experts who have been in the field for a long time, which is really valuable when I’m looking for advice.’

We’ve had these great examples of intergenerational exchange, where they’ve come in with their wealth of expertise and wisdom about the Forest and our early careers attendees have come in with excitement and curiosity.

How important have partnerships and Team New Forest been to your green career journey?

‘Very important. I couldn’t do my job without the partners that we work with, they play a key role, for example, when it comes to delivering early career training sessions. I often leverage the expertise of our partners, who are specialists in their field and can offer a more in-depth insight, whether it’s on dragonflies and damselflies or heathland plants. Collaborating with partners means that I can offer a more dynamic and diverse range of sessions for our early careers network and ensures that each session goes beyond what I could deliver independently.  

‘It’s fantastic because I found that the people who have come and delivered these events have really understood the value of what we’re trying to do and the opportunity to give back. We’ve had these great examples of intergenerational exchange, where they’ve come in with their wealth of expertise and wisdom about the Forest and our early careers attendees have come in with excitement and curiosity.

‘I think partnership working is a thread that pretty much weaves through everything that we do and is so important. We all have the same goal at the end of the day to conserve and protect the New Forest, so hopefully by working together we can achieve that.’

Watch: In May 2025, The Parks Foundation held a Celebration Day in the New Forest for their Young Adult Rangers, supported by Georgia Staszynska from Freshwater Habitats Trust.

This isn’t the first time you’ve been interviewed by the NPA?

No, we spoke at the New Forest National Park Volunteer Fair in 2023.

At the time you told us you were keen to get more experience in wildlife surveys and that it seemed volunteering was the best way to get that experience. You were also surprised about how popular the Fair was and said that it was easier to talk to someone in person than wading through a lot of information online. How does it feel hearing that back nearly three years later?

‘It’s crazy. It feels like it was only yesterday, but it also feels like that was so long ago and so much has happened since then. And I think, gosh, I’ve learnt so much since that point.

‘It’s really nice to be able to hear that and to feel the growth from where I was at that point and know that yes, I did get experience in wildlife surveys, and I think that played a really big role in getting me to where I am now.

‘It’s funny to hear how surprised I was about the Fair being popular, because obviously I’ve since gone back and had a stall there for FHT and it’s very busy and very popular. I’m not surprised anymore because there are so many opportunities in the Forest, which I obviously didn’t know about then, but now I do. It’s unsurprising that it would be such a popular event.’

How did it feel going from attending the Volunteer Fair to later hosting a stall?

‘Very strange. It’s a bit of a full circle moment as I have a FHT leaflet that I picked up from them in 2023 and then last year I was that person on the stall offering the same advice and opportunities that I was looking for a couple of years ago.

‘I think that it was really pivotal for me and so I understand how important it is for some of those attendees. The advice that they’re getting can really shape the start of their conservation journey.’

How important has volunteering been for your green career journey?

‘It’s challenging because I really do understand that volunteering in many ways is a privilege, to be able to have the time to volunteer, and not everybody is in a position where they are able to dedicate time to volunteering. But for me, I think it’s been so important, not just because of the experience that I gained from volunteering, but the building of networks I think is incredibly important and the confidence that you gain too.

‘It’s also important to remember that there are so many different types of volunteering. If you are somebody who doesn’t have lots of time to devote to these things, there’s lots of ad-hoc opportunities where you can come along for an evening or an afternoon, or as often or as little as you want to, and hopefully that makes it a bit more accessible. That’s our aim as well with YouCAN, to make volunteering accessible so that other young people can get this experience regardless of their personal situations.

What’s one piece of advice you would give someone looking to get into a green career?

‘Just get out there. It’s so important to reach out to people, connect with local people and organisations. Tell them you’re interested, ask what opportunities there are and questions you might have about the area or what they do.

‘Unfortunately, it does come back to that kind of old phrase of it’s who you know not what you know. But it’s also important to get out there and learn too.’

Georgia’s role at the Freshwater Habitats Trust was made possible thanks to National Lottery Players and supported through the YouCAN scheme and the Species Survival Fund, as well as the Environment Agency as part of the Water Environment Improvement Fund.

The New Forest National Park Volunteer Fair is run by the New Forest National Park Authority and takes place in January. To find out about volunteering opportunities in the National Park click here.

There are also volunteering opportunities specifically for 18–30-year-olds, through the YouCAN scheme, find out more here.

To find out more about the New Forest Green Careers Network (formerly Early Careers Network), click here.