Teladan

Website: https://thoodauthor.wordpress.com/

I am a Scottish naturalist, writer and artist who has been living in England for just over a decade. In Scotland, I taught myself ‘bushcraft’ skills , such as plant identification and fire lighting, and aided local conservation groups, notably the East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service. After moving south, I joined Butser Ancient Farm, internationally renowned for its Iron Age roundhouses, Roman villa, rare livestock breeds, bronze casting demonstrations and more. The most notable projects with which I helped include the construction of the Wickerman for the 2014 Beltain festival, followed by the carving and launching (with prehistoric tools) of the Mesolithic log boat Eurybia. Around this time I began honing my wood carving skills, crafting everything from utensils to flutes. I then continued volunteering at places like Queen Elizabeth Country Park, after which I began my nature conservation education in earnest.

At University Centre Sparsholt, a beautiful land-based college and university, I attained a BSc (Hons) Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (First) and, prior to this, a two-year Level 3 Extended Diploma in Countryside Management. These courses taught me how to work with and learn from the land by engaging with traditional rural skills (e.g., coppicing, hedge-laying, livestock and deer control), habitat restoration methods (e.g., for the management of woodland, heathland, grassland and coast), species/habitat monitoring techniques (e.g., Phase One Habitat, National Vegetation Classification and standard recording methods for most British taxa), and, finally, ecological principles and applications (e.g., wildlife biology, landscape ecology, legislation, etc.). Significant events over those five years are many. Most notably, I stayed for three weeks at the remote Creag Meagaidh NNR, during which I surveyed dotterel in the uplands, reared Highland cattle, and skinned deer. At the end of my degree, I did my dissertation on the effects of woodland fragmentation on carrion beetles (Silphidae). I then worked as an ecological consultant, travelling across the south of England to record bats, reptiles and undertake habitat mapping projects. My last role involved translocating Great Crested Newts.

Writing stories and essays had been my other major passion since childhood. Having always had an affinity for the humanities, an early major project of mine was the website ‘Oakenwise’ (2013), which received contributions dedicated to areas such as polytheism, ancient music and off-the-grid living. My writing, which often centres around the need to regain a connection with nature and the past, has been published in outlets such as The Ecological Citizen, RELIQUIAE, Elsewhere Journal, Amethyst Review and Sci Phi Journal. Most recently, I completed an MA Res thesis (Distinction and University of Buckingham Davis/Drew Prize for 2024) on the subject of Earth-centred sacrality in the fantasies of Lord Dunsany and J.R.R. Tolkien. I also run a video project called ‘Thitherword’, which is dedicated to book reviews and discussions about nature and literature. I have also practiced drawing, sculpting, and animation throughout my life. Finally, I enjoy singing and reciting songs and poems, one important example of this being the ‘Tolkien Memorised’ project (2017-present).

I am currently an Associate Editor for The Ecological Citizen (TEC) and Rewilding Successes (RS), as well as a regular contributor to the Earth Tongues blog. As part of the core TEC team, I review and edit papers, handle all social media posts, create bespoke videos (The Ecological Citizen), undertake general administration duties, and more. I will be editing my own edition of TEC in 2026 (Vol 9 no 2 (August 2026)). For RS, I help contact organisations for stories, write interview questions and construct posts for publishing.