New year, new ecologist!!?

It’s that time again, time to put the old you away and pull a shiny new you out of the wrapper. So, for ecologists I thought I would put together some new year resolutions to guide us through the brave new world of 2013 – well, January at least.

1. Make your writing clearer. Those field notes are of no use whatsoever if you can’t read them only two days afterwards. One housing development can be fiendishly like another in these situations.
2. Get those records off to the Biological Records Centre. Then hassle them to make sure they get put on to the database.
3. Wipe down your desk to get rid of the hobnob crumbs, beard hairs and other detritus from the past year. Research has shown that ecologists desks are a focus for the MRSA bacteria.
4. Polish your equipment. Need I say more?
5. There are no bad guys, just different opinions. Be a good consultant.
6. Keep your reference library up to date, and don’t ever disregard evidence where it’s available.
7. Never leave your clipboard on top of the car. And never forget any equipment anywhere ever.
8. Be more communicative, chat is a friend winner and people influencer.
9. Improve your ID skills in an area that you know nothing about currently. One day fungus gnats will be flavour of the month.
10. Make the most of the winter evenings, you know it’s going to be busy in the summer!

Finally, take a breather every now and then to enjoy nature. Remember, this is the reason you came to ecology, isn’t it?

Rob