Luke Alexander Jones

Having studied and worked with Durrell & The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation in the field on my PGDip in Mauritius I gained valuable experiences in endangered species recovery initiatives and the challenges of conducting research projects in small island ecosystems.

Since leaving Mauritius I worked as a Lecturer and Education Officer at West Midland Safari Park, where I developed modules in "Wildlife Ecology & conservation" & "Managing Volunteers". I also gained valuable experiences in communicating the importance and value of wildlife and wildlife conservation to a whole myriad of audiences from primary & secondary school students all the way through to the general public. Much of this work was conducted in the form of public outreach sessions to schools or practical led "Discovery Sessions".

Having been recruited to the Mountain Chicken Research Project (MCRP) as a Research Assistant I am finally able to combine the knowledge from both of these experiences into one role.

It is my role to coordinate Durrell's activities here on the ground in Montserrat. Ensuring that phase 1 of our reintroduction initiative is executed successfully and modified as needed in preparation for the beginning of phase 2. This will include establishing the native live-feed colonies, conducting the environmental manipulations described in the research section of this grant. As well as coordinating outreach initiatives for the project in the form of regular project updates on our social media sites and website, as well as outreach to local schools and community engagement in the project.

July 2018