Laura Park

Having been raised on the coast and around the ocean my entire life, I grew up rock pooling, snorkeling, and kayaking off the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales or in more exotic locations such as Malta or the USA. I realised early on, as a six-year-old sitting with my dad watching National Geographic documentaries, that I wanted to centre my career and lifestyle around the marine environment.

This absolute love for the ocean at such a young age motivated me to volunteer at my local aquarium, undertake a Nuffield Research Project at Bangor University, and to move on to study BSc (Hons) Ocean Science and Marine Conservation and further MSc Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth. My Summers and free time during university were filled with working on youth boards of non-profits in the USA such as World Ocean’s Project and EarthEcho International, which allowed me to participate in international conferences, create an ocean festival, and host a short documentary for Marine Stewardship Council, all whilst sneaking in time to go for a swim whenever possible.

Following on from my higher education and other short-term contracts in different parts of the world, I knew that my passion lay within marine mammal research and, therefore, I joined the OSC team as a marine biologist in 2022 where I gained experience working both on and offshore on a range of different projects. I am both an experienced MMO and PAM operator as-well-as being proficient with ADDs. Most recently I became the Research Assistant aiding in the publication process, developing the MMO/PAM Handbook, and completing a wide variety of other research tasks. Working at OSC there is never a dull day working with equipment, preparing reports on a tight deadline, or out on the big blue mitigating for marine mammals.

As far as favourite animals go, I am afraid I’m as mainstream as they come and have the biggest passion and a significant place in my heart for Orcas.

In my spare time… you’ll find me by the water.