TEAM WILDER
TEAM Welcome to Team Wilder, where we share the stories of local people coming together to take action for wildlife. Arun Curson, Marine Champion
Arun taking part in an intertidal survey.
As Wildlife Trust volunteers go, few are more inspiring than 14-year-old, aspiring marine biologist Arun Curson. The teenager became interested in marine wildlife aged six when he started rock pooling and became obsessed with identifying the creatures he found. He has since become the Trust’s youngest ever marine champion. He joined his first intertidal survey at the age of 10 and impressed so much with his knowledge and enthusiasm that he’s now a reliable regular (usually the surveys are for over 16-year-olds). So far, he has completed intertidal surveys at Lepe, Keyhaven and Calshot
near his New Forest home. He hopes to join a survey on the Isle of Wight this summer. Outside of the surveys, Arun encourages his friends to do beach cleans, quizzes seafood restaurants over their sustainability and is developing a website to educate children about sharks. When he’s older, Arun is aiming for a degree marine biology followed by a master’s in teuthology – the study of cephalopods – and would love to become the first person ever to witness a colossal squid (his all-time favourite animal) in the wild!
Lucy Tipper, Environmental Art Campaigner Hampshire-based artist Lucy Tipper is campaigning for wildlife through her nature-inspired illustrations. After hearing about the proposed developments that would destroy legally protected nature sites at Tipner West in Portsmouth, Lucy wanted to give a voice to the wildlife that calls it home through her art. She collects natural resources, such as seaweed, plant materials and water, from Tipner West before using an environmentally-friendly process to dye the paper for her illustrations. Lucy, whose professional name 16
is Tangled Muses, said: “Tipner has been a pleasure to work with; it’s history, wildlife and tranquillity captured my imagination. “The views and wildlife have inspired me each time I visit and it’s my hope that the spirit of Tipner West has poured into the images. “Development will always be inevitable as people need homes; however, it’s my belief that we should prioritise making it sensitive to the wildlife that already calls it home.” See Lucy’s incredible series of artworks, Voices of Tipner, at her website: tangledmuses.co.uk
Wild Life | Summer 2022
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04/07/2022 11:49
