Cork woman finds her calling exploring the natural world

Whether it’s a shield bug in a gorse bush or a spiny starfish in a rockpool, Ann Haigh is on a mission to explore and celebrate Ireland’s native biodiversity.

A vet by trade, for years she was never quite fulfilled in her varied and successful career path. Something was missing.

Last year, Cork’s answer to David Attenborough ed the National Biodiversity Data Centre, finally finding her calling in the job of her dreams.

Growing up in West Cork, Ann was always close to nature, and with strong academic ability, veterinary science was the obvious choice for this wildlife enthusiast.

“I worked in the traditional small animal practices after I graduated from UCD,” she said.

While she enjoyed her experiences in this role, it was not her true calling.

“I was doing that job and never felt entirely settled in it. I loved, certainly, working with the animals, and I loved dealing with the people, but, it never really sat with me. So, I kept changing different practices, you know, I went to Australia for a bit, working over there, and then I sort of saw the opportunity to diversify within veterinary, so I moved into the animal health and nutrition industry and became a technical adviser.”

While this role also played to her considerable strengths, there was still something missing.

“I still didn’t kind of get that sense that I was really where I wanted to be…I think I still had it in the back of my mind ‘who’s looking after the wildlife?”

Her pursuit of her ion led her to complete a full-time Masters in Wildlife, Health and Conservation as a mature student in 2014.

After this year away from employment, she swiftly returned, climbing the corporate ladder over the course of ten years, achieving considerable success as the research and development lead for a pet nutrition company. It was an experience she truly enjoyed, and yet, the void remained.

“I had the still burning urge. Obviously, I’d done the wildlife master’s and was really interested in nature conservation wildlife. So, I said to myself, let’s just do it in my spare time.”

With her two boys (now aged eight and seven) more mobile and the arrival of covid restrictions, she embraced volunteer roles and local exploration of biodiversity with her sons.

“It narrowed your sphere of exploration, and I really found my groove I would say around 2020. You know, we just started going out in nature. I started up lots of volunteer things like biological recording.”

To say that Ann is active as a wildlife volunteer is an understatement.

Before she ever started her role at the National Biodiversity Data Centre, she was active as a citizen scientist and recorder for the National Biodiversity Data Centre, with species identification skills across a broad variety of genera. She also volunteers for Earthwatch/Freshwater Watch, Clean Coasts & Flossie and the Beach Cleaners, Moths Ireland, Seal Rescue Ireland, and Daubenton’s bat survey.

Together with her family, her latest success story was helping to rescue a seal earlier this month that is now recuperating at the Seal Rescue Ireland centre in Wexford.

Haigh highlights the importance of this citizen activism for all.

“This data is important as it is then used by scientists and policymakers to inform conservation. Everyone should consider contributing to the biological records at the national database. It’s very easy, and there are lots of for new citizen scientists.”

She is generous with her time and shares her local biodiversity and wildlife expertise, giving talks, guided outings, and workshops for various community groups as well as schools, including her boys’ local school.

Haigh is the founder and manager of Ilen River Nature Matters, a river conservation group active in Skibbereen. This group partakes in biodiversity monitoring and recording, and water quality evaluation through monitoring aquatic macroinvertebrates.

Ann reflects on how the community initially didn’t have the most positive associations with the river.

“The river really is an undervalued, underappreciated thing. And in Skibbereen, even just in of how it’s used, like within the town, like all the houses face the other way from it. There’s been a lot of negative perception with it, with flooding.”

Through this work, her local community has come to better understand, value and celebrate the Ilen and its inhabitants. It now boasts an active local community group on Facebook and WhatsApp, a riverside walk, and signage for walkers to connect with and learn more about its inhabitants, as well as water quality testing and evaluation through monitoring aquatic macro-invertebrates.

As a scientist led by empirical data, Ann’s only regret is not measuring the societal impact and shift in the river’s perception from before the group’s inception to now.

She is a great advocate for taking a moment to observe nature and sees it as much more than an exercise in scientific observation.

“It’s a type of mindfulness as well. You’re not worrying about anything. You’re just staring at the gorse bush… I’m trying to get people to get involved for their own health and just for their own excitement. To have that moment where you go, ‘Oh, look!’ And I think it doesn’t matter whether you’re eight or 80 really, to get that ‘oh!’ moment.”

Through her Instagram and Facebook social media posts on the platform she founded, Wildlife and Ireland Learning & Discovery (WILD), she opens people’s eyes to the natural world that often goes unseen and unnoticed, fostering a group sense of responsibility, care, and stewardship.

Based on the high number of followers and engagement, it is clear that her work is having a meaningful impact. Underpinning it all is Ann’s drive to find out and learn more about Ireland’s biodiversity, to share and communicate about it, either to provide data to other scientists or to inspire wonder.

While her social media feeds are full of vibrant, colourful and captivating imagery from nature, her focus goes far deeper than aesthetics. She is endlessly curious about all the species she encounters.

“What’s it doing there? Why is it there? That sort of biological interaction of the species with the environment and how everything is adapted is so mind-blowingly suited for what it does and where it is and all of that kind of science as well. So that’s my bag.

“I know other people go out, and it’s the art and kind of the art side of it. And the beauty, I mean, there is intrinsic value and beauty obviously there as well, but for me, it’s the science that lights me up.”

Less than a year ago, Ann finally took the leap, making her spare time ion her full-time focus, leaving the world of animal nutrition behind to the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

“I came to 2024, and I said, ‘Look, maybe it’s time now to merge the worlds of my hobbies and my career’.”

The rest is history, and today, Ann is finally in a career sweet spot known as Ikigai, a Japanese concept blending ion, talent, purpose, and fulfillment.

She speaks with great excitement about an work project, and it is clear that her ion and expertise are an incredible asset to the National Biodiversity Data Centre team.

“One of the tasks I have to do is a catalogue of Ireland’s non-native species. It was done once in 2017, but it is due for an update. Obviously I’m going to be checking loads of data sources, collaborating with experts, trying to find out all this information to compile a big list... that’s exactly what I love.”

As 2025 has gotten off to a rocky start, I have to ask how she remains positive.

“I gain hope from seeing like-minded people and other people doing great inspirational work. They’re in policy, or they’re doing research, or they’re making changes.”

She humbly concludes, “I’ll just do my little bit, which is insignificant in the grand scheme, but you never know, everybody doing a little bit…”

To find out more on how to do a little bit for citizen science, see https://biodiversityireland.ie/projects/citizen-science/

Check out Wildlife and Ireland Learning & Discovery (WILD) on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/w.i.l.dlife/