Firstly, I would like to say hi to all of you SAMARCH blog readers. This’ll be a series of blogs written by me and my colleagues during our placements with the SAMARCH project.

My name is Ossi Turunen, I’m a 20-year-old student starting the 2nd year of my BSc Ecology & Wildlife Conservation course at Bournemouth University. My biggest interest is in aquatic sciences, freshwater ecology and parasitology.

Last spring Professor Genoveva Esteban contacted me and asked if I had found myself a placement to complete my first year studies and offered me a three-week placement with the SAMARCH project. I checked out the SAMARCH website and as I kept reading about the project I found myself getting more and more interested and exited.

During my summer break I have read this blog and looked more deeply into the project; I cannot wait to start my placement in the end of August!