Naturalist wonders help Surf and Protect nature

Across the county work is ongoing to roll back the tides of man-made and climate change impact on our nature and environment. And a South African born surfing enthusiast and passionate friend of the natural world is leading the charge to give Denbighshire wildlife hope again.

County Voice sits down with Senior Biodiversity Officer Liam Blazey to find out what fuels the passion to dig deep to support the nature we have across our county.

Born and raised on the South African east coast, Liam admits his early experiences with the natural world was influenced by his father who was a passionate naturalist himself.

He explained: “That really imprinted on me, when I was young with him and all the hiking and camping that we used to do outdoors. Then in my early teens I picked up surfing and spent lots of time out in the water surfing, I was very fortunate be in an area that’s one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, surrounded by amazing wildlife.” 

A unique encounter with a smaller animal helped really cement in Liam’s eyes how diverse and wonderful the natural world can be.

“I learnt to appreciate animals in a different way after an encounter with some Hermit crabs. We lived on an estuary adjoining the ocean and sometimes we saw the crabs battling each other for each other’s shells.

“After a while you noticed that the bigger ones didn’t always win, the smaller ones were more aggressive. Once they had their opponents shell they would climb into it to check if it fit. If it didn’t, they would fill it with sand to make it smaller on the inside. If it ended up being too small, they would empty some sand out. This was all done by rotating the shell either clockwise or anticlockwise. They were incredibly precise in their actions, it was fascinating!

He added: “Watching them made me realise there is a much deeper level to what we see. It made me realise from a young age that every single thing that lives on this planet has an interesting little life and the more you look at it, the more fascinating they get. Every single species.

The wonders of the natural world stayed with Liam from his early teens, through jobs including working as a Silversmith and selling electronics until he gravitated to training in Biodiversity during his early 30s, never looking back since.

Following this the UK tides then called for the surfing enthusiast who also honed skills for shaping boards.

Liam explained: “I used to re-shape old broken surfboards back home and was planning on going to Japan to try set myself up making surfboards, but I couldn't speak Japanese, so I thought my English isn't too bad... I ended up in Dorset and I was just taken with the people of the country, that's where I met my wife.

Graduating as a Doctor, Liam’s wife had her first placement up in North Wales and the couple embraced the natural world of Eryri ( Snowdonia) before Liam moved into supporting nature across Denbighshire.

On his move to his current post, Liam said: “This has been the best job I've ever had. It's been something I've wanted to do my whole life and being able to enhance nature in an area where my children are going to grow up, I’m thankful to be given the opportunity to do it.”

Protecting our nature from the impacts of global climate change has become more important in the modern world with many people stepping up to try and make a difference as Liam has.

Looking back on his career so far, Liam said: “Just do it, it doesn't matter if you are in your  30s 40s, or even your 50s, you can change your career path. I can't recommend it enough, you know, it's been the best thing that I've ever done. The job satisfaction is really high.

He added: “I might smell like mushrooms and come home with weird insects crawling on me but its worth it. I have two children I take out with me and to see the joy in the eyes when I can take them to a meadow that we've created from scratch, you know? It's really special, so I would say go for it!”