I've been a nature enthusiast since primary school. We had a brilliant teacher who took us outside on warm spring days and taught us the names of the plants, animals and birds. Growing up on a Donegal farm I was surrounded by so much biodiversity that I took for granted until I moved away and lived in a city for 15 years. Since returning, I've been taking full advantage of opportunities to delve deeply into the natural world that surrounds us. My absolute favourite thing to do is find a new stretch of road, or patch of woods, and explore for hours.

I’ve been recording birds and moths in Donegal for over 25 years and, in recent years, have branched out to other groups - pretty much anything that flies or crawls! I survey two squares in the county for the annual Countryside Bird Survey, and co-ordinate Irish Wetland Bird Survey counts on Donegal Bay. Living close to the Blue Stack mountains, I love walking, wild camping and recording nature in some of the wildest and most remote parts of the county.