Darren was a member of the Estate Ranger Team for a number of years before moving across to become the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust's first Education Ranger in 2018. He returned to the Estate Ranger Team in September 2020 as the Trust responded to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

When I was young I used to collect all sorts of wildlife in jars and then try and get people to pay for the privilege of viewing my jam jar zoo. Slow worms and grasshoppers were synonymous with my early childhood. I even tried to translocate the slow worms when we moved, from my garden in Hampshire to my new house in Cornwall – my Dad put a stop to that.

I’m a qualified veterinary nurse, but changed career paths not long after becoming qualified. 

I volunteered for Cornwall Wildlife Trust reserves team after studying Zoology at Leeds University and then worked in Scotland for a bit before returning to the South West in 2008 to start working for The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust; I have been with the Trust ever since. 

For the majority of my time with the Trust I have been an Estate Ranger, but during 2018 and 2019 I changed roles to became the Education Ranger. Sadly, this was one of the roles effected by Covid-19 and I am now back with the Estate Ranger Team. 

I love to do a bit of snorkelling and rock pooling in my spare time; the sea around Scilly is full of life and the visibility is often excellent. I also spend quite a lot of time in my garden making it as wildlife friendly as I possibly can. 

The thing I love best about my job is opening people’s eyes to the wonders of the natural world; I enjoy the way people look at things differently when you explain it in a certain way.

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I love: Listening to water

I hate: Smoke, when you’ve just hung your washing out

My favourite place in Scilly: Gugh

The animal I’d most like to see in the wild: Silverback Mountain Gorilla