September Profile: Fenna Whitaker

I grew up in the Lake District and most of our time as kids was spent hillwalking, camping, climbing…pretty much anything that involved being outside was fair game. So I think making a career out of wandering around outside was somehow always on the cards!

When I left school, I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I wanted to do.  I spent a few years working in education support roles, which I really enjoyed, but I gradually realised I wanted to spend more of my time outdoors and doing something practical.

I started volunteering with various wildlife and conservation organisations across Cumbria and Lancashire and then later moved north up to Scotland and picked up some bird survey work. One of the more unusual jobs involved surveying bird flight paths and airfields, looking at how birds and aircraft use the same space and what could be done to reduce the risk of bird strikes.

I then had the opportunity to spend some time as a residential volunteer with the Scottish Wildlife Trust on their Handa Island reserve. Living and working somewhere so wild and remote was brilliant. It gave me a much better understanding of what conservation work could look like as a career, rather than something I enjoyed doing in my spare time.

Not long after, I was offered an apprenticeship with Forestry and Land Scotland as a Wildlife Ranger in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs. My dad had done some deer stalking, and I had followed along behind him on a few occasions, so I had grown up with an understanding of deer and deer stalking but this was the first time I was learning how to do it professionally.

The majority of my day-to-day work was around deer management, this involved stalking, culling and larder work. There were plenty of early starts and long days, but I really enjoyed it. I was lucky to have a great mentor while I was there. He had over 40 years’ experience and was hugely generous with his knowledge and time. I learnt an enormous amount, both about the practical side and how to approach the job properly.

I was also the only female ranger among around 60 rangers, I definitely felt that I had something to prove, although most of that pressure probably came from me. Over time, I realised that I didn’t have to do everything the same way as everyone else. If someone was doing something one way, that didn’t necessarily mean it was the best approach for me. I learnt to find different ways of doing things, to ask for help when I needed it and not to worry so much about proving that I could do it.

I have since moved back down to England where I'm now an Area Ranger for the National Trust in North Yorkshire, and I’m responsible for managing the deer herd at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal. I feel really lucky to have found a job that combines lots of the things I enjoy: working with deer, being outside and doing something practical.

I definitely never planned to work with deer; it was something I gradually found through following what interested me. As a woman coming into deer management, I was aware I was entering an industry where I wasn’t seeing many women represented, but I was really fortunate to have people around who were willing to teach me and take me seriously.