When the urge to follow my true nature drowned out the fear I knew I had found my task

“Where there is fear there is your task” Carl Jung

Last September (2024) I made the decision to become a sole trader and start my own business. I wanted my work to work for my young family, and knew I wanted to work part-time to make that happen. And so True Nature Ecology was born.

Over the years I have worked in many sectors: research, statutory bodies, eNGOs, and ecological consultancy. When I worked in the UK as Conservation Officer for SW England for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT), I was following my true nature, and I loved it, and I thrived there. I had emerged a bit broken and battered from the research sector and working for BBCT was a breath of fresh air and a dream come true.

When my husband and I returned from the UK I fell into ecological consultancy, I worked for one of Irelands top ecological consultancies and whilst I learned a lot there and got to work within a great team, it didn't feel like a natural fit. Then I became a mother to our wonderful daughter Meabh, and this has been without a doubt my greatest role to date. I took over a year out with Meabh and when she was two I was ready to follow my true nature work-wise again. I joined An Taisce and became project lead for the Ponds for Biodiversity strand of the EU LIFE funded Legacy4LIFE project, and started to feel aligned again. I stretched myself in the role and grew. I learned so much there, got to work with wonderful passionate people, and fell in love with ponds all over again (I had always loved ponds as a child). I got to be really creative in the role and it felt so good.

After the An Taisce project finished up I had the privilege of travelling around Spain for 7 months, with my family, in a campervan created by my talented husband Miles Newman. It was a wonderful experience and solidified our little unit of 3 so beautifully. It also gave me time to regroup and think about what I wanted the future to look like. When we returned home to Ireland in August 2024 I knew I only wanted to work part-time on work that was truly meaningful to me, work that let me harness my true nature. Work grounded in curiosity, creativity, kindness, authenticity and compassion, with integrity at its core. So here it is- True Nature Ecology www.truenatureecology.com, because when we follow our true nature amazing things unfold, the path unravels before us, we become aligned, things start to flow and the amazing thing is that the right people emerge in your life to help you on your way.

Thank you to my wonderful family and friends for giving me the courage and confidence to take this leap, particularly my endlessly supportive husband.

Big thanks also to Hannah O'Kelly (Wicklow Biodiversity Officer), Wildacres Gilly Taylor Brian O'Toole, Justin Ivory of LAWPRO, and An Taisce Aisha Devoy for your business to date, and for joining me on this journey 🌱