David discusses a day in the life of a Project Environment Scientist within our Water team. David studied a Bsc. Environmental Science at the University of Limerick.
What sparked your interest in working as an Environmental Scientist?
Prior to attending the University of Limerick, I travelled around Australia and New Zealand for a couple of years working in different locations and jobs. It was while I was working in the outback and subsequently travelling around New Zealand seeing the beauty of the environments that I was in and how important they are that I realised the need for people working in the environmental sector and how important a role they were going to play in the years to come.
Can you describe your typical day?
On any typical day, I could be working on a range of different projects. I spend about 70% of my time in the field over the year. This can vary from taking surface water samples from abandoned mines to groundwater sampling around the country and monitoring the groundwater levels in turloughs and other monitoring sites.
What types of projects are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a number of different projects; I sample groundwater for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Groundwater Monitoring Programme. I am involved in the environmental monitoring of historic mine sites and currently help run the monitoring programme for the Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) GroundwaterCLIMATE monitoring programme. I am also involved in a number of smaller sampling projects.
What specific tools or equipment do you use onsite?
I use a variety of equipment and multi-parameter probes such as YSI for monitoring levels of pH, conductivity, temperature O2, etc in water. I use groundwater pumps such as peristaltic pumps, bladder pumps, wasp pumps and hydrasleeves which are important in groundwater monitoring. I also measure the velocity of rivers and streams using flow metres. We have a large amount of equipment for every type of sampling situation.
What are some of the most interesting projects you’ve worked on?
Currently, I am working on the EPA groundwater monitoring programme. I have been working on this project since 2018 sampling over 270 groundwater sites three times a year around the country and as part of a team. The EPA compiles all of this data on their website and is published every three years as part of the Water Framework Directive. If you would like to see a video of what I do daily in this project, check out the video below.
What do you enjoy most about your role at MKO?
I get to do a lot of fieldwork which suits my skills. I like travelling around the country and visiting different locations.
What advice do you have for someone aspiring to pursue a career as an environmental scientist with MKO?
It’s a great place to work. As an environmental scientist, you get to experience so many different projects from wind energy, environmental monitoring of mine sites, groundwater monitoring and preparing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), there is something for everyone. MKO is very encouraging and supportive in career development, providing additional training to enhance your skills.
What are the most important skills required for your role?
Having all the practical skills needed for different jobs in the field is very important, although one of the most important is having good problem-solving skills as inevitably problems arise all the time and being able to think on your feet and adapt to different situations is very important to get a job done.
What is the most exciting thing about the future of Environmental Science?
One of the most important skills is being good at problem-solving, as inevitably problems arise all the time and being able to think on your feet and adapt to different situations is important to get the job done.
