News & Views

I’m writing this blog entry to give an overview of my work experience placement with James Blake Associates Ltd. (JBA). In June 2025, I spent two weeks with the ecology department at JBA. At the time, I was two years out of my undergraduate degree in Zoology, and although I had pursued a handful of both volunteering and paid opportunities which had generated some interest in a potential career in ecology, I was yet to make any tangible steps towards a career. Cue JBA.

For any aspiring ecologist, it only takes a handful of application feedback emails to realise that experience is the most vital tool in the armoury when trying to establish yourself in the profession. Undertaking work experience with JBA was an absolute pleasure, and the wonderful close-knit environment of the firm allows you to develop your skills in a short space of time. The ecology, landscape and arboriculture sub-divisions are highly collaborative, which allows for efficiency and joined up thinking that makes it easy for a project to be completed in a swift manner. I know it can often seem a hollow cliché when companies talk about how friendly their office is, but at JBA that statement rings vehemently true. People take an interest in you, look out for you and try to help you straight away, and I’ve no doubt that the kindness of everyone in the office is what makes their collaborative approach work. Put simply, it’s just a lovely place to be.

Throughout my two-week placement, I gained experience of five different surveys (reptile survey, reptile translocations, Great-crested newt eDNA sampling, dusk bat emergence surveys and static bat detector surveys). From the first day in the office, I have been comprehensively “shown the ropes”. The different survey methodologies (procedure, optimum conditions, interpretation of results) were explained to me, and I was provided with ample resources to solidify that understanding prior to surveys. Their record keeping is extensive, which just shows their extremely successful track record, and the number of projects undertaken with repeat clients. From an experience point of view, it also allows you to learn report writing technique by reading the similar or relevant reports of various projects gone by, understanding the context of surveys on the site from the biodiversity net gain (BNG) assessments and Preliminary Ecological appraisal (PEA) reports.

Despite entering this placement with aspirations of working in Ecology, I also got experience of the roles and responsibilities of a landscape architect, as I sat in on a landscape visual impact assessment (LVIA). This opportunity furthered my understanding of the planning restrictions and legislative obstacles involved in the design of a prospective new build, which helps when interpreting masterplans and baselines prior to conducting surveys and appraisals. Not only that, at an early stage in your career, where possibly you may still have yet to figure out exactly which career path you want to pursue, an opportunity which opens your eyes to different aspects of the industry may help set you on the right path and point you towards opportunities to gain experience and skills earlier on which make you a stronger prospective hire, which is undeniably a silver bullet in today’s environmental sector.

JBA has an extensive track record of taking on keen, hungry students and young professionals through work experience placements and seasonal contracts. Furthermore, they recognise potential and invest in a clear developmental pathway, meaning the supervisors and team leaders you are learning from every day were in your shoes at some point. So, if you are passionate about anything remotely related to ecology or want to get a head start on your peers, JBA provides a brilliant opportunity to do just that. As I mentioned, and I am happy to emphasise again, they are a brilliant team of lovely people, so it will do you no harm to drop them a keen and polite email and remember to keep an eye on their careers page.

Will Singer
Former Work Experience at JBA
Seasonal Field Ecologist, JBA