Learning About Nature Has Made Me Way More Excited to be Outdoors

Publish Date: Wednesday December 17, 2025

My name is Samuel Eszenyi, and I was a 4th year Geography student at the University of St Andrews when I started my summer internship with FCCT in June 2025. I am originally from Virginia, but I feel very at home in Scotland.

After so many years of studying the landscape around me for my undergrad, I was very interested in getting to know a bit about the people who steward the nature that surrounds us in Fife. I thought it would be important for me to understand the real-world side of land management/conservation work for the future, since I just began my Masters in Marine Ecosystem Management this Fall, also in St Andrews.

Awesome

Spending the Summer working around Fife with FCCT was awesome because I was given the chance to get to know all the conservation officers and spend time with each of them. I got to understand their specialties and the work they do for Fife. I got to see so many places near and far that were totally off my radar. And learning about the nature and wildlife from super enthusiastic and knowledgeable people has made me way more confident and excited to be outdoors!

On top of that, interacting with volunteers and learning about the lives of locals ended up being very important to me. Hearing stories from people who have been here for decades, and learning about how much more important the local community is for conservation than one may think, felt like a very eye-opening moment for me.

Understanding

Another special part of the experience was participating and helping out at the Bioblitz in Burntisland. To me, this used to be just a stop on the train to Edinburgh. But after spending hours logging the diversity along the coast, it has definitely moved up on my list of favorite places around Fife.

Overall, I had a great summer working with FCCT! From cutting down Giant Hogweed in the sun to doing bird surveys and tree planting, I definitely have gained a really comprehensive understanding of how management works here in Fife. And I’m excited to carry on the things I’ve learned wherever I go.

Picture shows Samuel (rear, left) with our Conservation Officer, Dominic Rye (foreground) and other volunteers cutting Giant Hogweed on the Moonzie Burn.