Environmental Science graduate from The University of Southampton, focusing on sustainable management of the environment, environmental pollution, environmental impact assessment, conservation and ecology.
For my dissertation/thesis I conducted research on the sustainability of the surfing industry with a focus on the impact of wavepool technology. I carried out a sustainability assessment on the proposed wavepool development “The Wave-Bristol”. A large part of this analysis included a public opinion survey on UK surfers and the impact the development could have on their surfing habits. From this I was able to calculate valuable carbon footprint statistics to show the predicted changes in distance travelled by surfers. This showed the likelihood that wavepools could potentially reduce the amount of pollution attributed to travelling to and from surfing beaches. My overall conclusions showed that the development had a good chance of becoming a highly sustainable project. However the true impact cannot be discovered until construction is complete and the project is up and running. I look to continue this research to collect accurate data on the projects overall sustainability and its impact on the UK surfing industry. If you want a full copy of my work then please get in touch.
I have spent the last 2 years working for a start up surf tourism company, helping out with organisation of trips to Portugal and also advising on strategies to improve sustainability. I looked into ways to reduce unnecessary travel, organised beach cleans and created joint projects between visitors and local communities and businesses.
As a keen surfer and environmentalist I aim to combine my passions to create a surfing industry that is more environmentally and socially aware and keeps the pristine surfing locations in a sustainable manner for future generations to come.