Meet Wilder Ouse Officer Harriet Trueman

Harriet Trueman

Wilder Ouse Officer 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I have lived in and around Sussex for about 10 years, finding now that I officially call it ‘home’.

I have always been intrigued by the natural world, growing up with a botanist mum didn’t necessarily make it easy to fall into the conservation sector, but it was certainly a privilege. Much to her dismay, I never did remember the Latin names for all the plants she would attempt to teach me. 

I started to recognise my privilege in access to nature in my undergraduate degree, Psychology, where I researched how impactful time spent outdoors during childhood is. This not only highlighted how disproportionate access to nature is but ignited a desire to engage and support communities in accessing what had been so easily handed to me. 

Nothing makes me happier than sharing a bird spotted with passers by or with young people! My masters in conservation at Sussex University, expanded my ecological knowledge and allowed me to explore a career in conservation while still maintaining an ethos of nature is for everyone.

And your role with the Trust?

My current role as the Wilder Ouse Officer means I work within the River Ouse catchment. I work with landowners, land managers and communities to support them in nature restoration via nature-based solutions. By this, I mean we work to share knowledge and deliver landscape scale biodiversity improvements such as hedge planting, pond and scrape creation and meadow creation. Not only this, a big part of what we do is natural flood management. 

Leaky dam creation is not only fun, but fundamental in slowing down the flow of water, meaning it lowers downstream flood risk. Our funders, Lewes District Council and Wealden District Council, have made this scale of nature restoration possible, and we are estimated to have held back 27.1 million litres of water via natural flood methods since 2017. Alas, this was mainly work done by my brilliant predecessors and our volunteers, I cannot take credit! I am, though, excited to continue their great work across the Ouse Catchment.

Where is your favourite wild space in Sussex?

Sussex is an incredible landscape, and I always find myself so lucky to be a 10 minute drive from the South Downs and five minute walk from our coast. Having a favourite place almost seems impossible, it changes with the seasons. Woodlands, as clique as this sounds, will always hold a special place in my heart. Not only because of the wildlife they support, but for selfish reasons. The smells, colours and noises benefit my mental wellbeing immensely and for that reason, woodlands such as William’s Wood will always be high on my list.

What did you have for breakfast?

As interesting as I definitely am, my breakfast, is not. Porridge. If I am honest, I don’t even really like it, I just eat it.

Tell us something about yourself most people don’t know

I am an open book, without many secrets. I love dung beetles, which is slightly niche, but I talk about them enough for it not to be unknown. I would say, not many people know I paint, my medium is mainly watercolour. I paint for close family and friends but never go any further. Maybe one day.

More about the Wilder Ouse project here