Immaculately dressed with a sleek brown bob, it’s hard to imagine Claire Raisin spending four years climbing trees in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but thousands of miles from the shores of Mauritius her extensive conservation experience is now playing a vital role in the work of an environmental charity in Wales.
Claire is the director of Size of Wales, a charity which works with indigenous communities on forest projects in Africa and Latin America. Earlier this year, the charity raised £2m to protect an area of rainforest equivalent to the size of Wales, as a national response to climate change.
“It feels great to know that Wales was the first country to do it,” says Claire. “We’re a small nation but we’ve actually got pretty big aspirations and we’ve made a big difference.”
Experience in the field
Hailing from the quiet village of Headley, in Hampshire, Claire first arrived in Cardiff at 18 to study ecology and environmental management. She later went on to do a Masters in Kent before successfully applying for a PHD in conservation genetics working on the Mauritius parakeet.
“I’ve always been enthusiastic and passionate about conservation and environmental sciences in general and I absolutely loved my PHD,” says Claire. “I spent four months a year climbing trees, catching parrots and basically living in a log cabin in the middle of the Mauritius national park which was just fantastic, I’d go back definitely.”
Time for a change
In 2012, Claire found herself heading back to the Welsh capital and bunking up with a friend from her undergraduate years before taking on the role of partnership manager at Size of Wales. She became director of the charity in April this year. “It is not a 9 to 5 job but I’ve never had a proper 9 to 5 and I don’t quite know how I’d cope with it to be honest,” she laughs.
Claire’s main responsibilities involve communicating with the forest projects overseas and with the Charity’s corporate partners in Wales. “Lots of the other people involved in the campaign when I started came from a very charity focused background and I have managed to bridge the gap a little bit I suppose between the scientific side and the charity side of things,” she says.
Looking to the future
Having reached its initial fundraising target, Claire now hopes the charity will continue to inspire people to make a positive difference to the environment. “Climate change can seem like a huge, daunting, horrible prospect,” she says. “It is really important that people know that they can make a difference and that the things we do over here really do have an impact overseas.”
But, as she jokes about the chaos of doing up her first home – and the white paint in her hair – Claire hints that she might not be destined for life in Cardiff forever. “I’m kind of at my happiest when I’m wearing field clothes and I haven’t brushed my hair for a few days,” she says. “This role is fantastic but maybe five or ten years down the line I would like to see myself in a similar role but ideally based overseas.”