My route to Chartership: Archie Ruggles-Brise

Independent rural estate manager and consultant Archie Ruggles-Brise MCIWEM C.WEM shares his route to becoming a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager

I started by studying Applied Biology at University and was lucky enough to secure a graduate role at the local water company, Northumbrian Water. This was great as it allowed me to gain experience across the business, being involved in projects on replacing lead pipes to repairing and optimising water and wastewater treatment works.

From there I moved to run a newly founded environmental charity and drew up the first community-based catchment plan for the Tyne. When my wife and I decided to relocate to my family home in Essex I took up a role with The Rivers Trust, working on policy and helping local volunteers start their own trusts.

I did this alongside an increasing role in my family farming and estate business, running our diversified businesses (including weddings, holiday lets and rental properties). I am now in overall charge of the estate, leading our transition to an environment-first business. I’m increasingly working as a consultant in support of other industries as they increase their environmental ambitions and activity to land green finance.

Pictured above: Beaver wetlands at the Spains Hall Estate

Choosing a Chartership

I decided to apply to become a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager as I felt it was important to judge myself alongside others in the various industries I work with.

I also wanted to test myself to establish whether my varied and non-traditional career had provided me with experience and expertise of a suitable level to speak confidently in policy and practice discussions. It was also something I had been encouraged to aspire to from my earliest days at the water company, but I had never got around to it!

I knew I was ready to apply after speaking with some close friends and colleagues who I knew had been through the process and who knew me and my work.

Preparing my application

The application process felt very intimidating. And, with my day job being so busy I struggled to find the time to dedicate to it.

The application required specific approaches to formulating answers, which took time and effort to get right. I couldn’t have done this without the help and guidance of my mentor, Chris McArthur.

If I were to do the process again, I wouldn’t be so daunted by the application form. I also wouldn’t leave it so long to start working on my application.

The achievement now gives me the confidence to rely on my knowledge in professional settings.

Preparing for the professional interview

My mentor helped me enormously. We did practice interviews, rehearsed key points and explored details of my experience that I could bring to light. I wouldn’t have even started the process without the encouragement, support and above all belief that I could achieve Chartership from my mentor

On the day I felt mainly excited. I was a little nervous but by the time the interview came around, I felt well-prepared and confident in my knowledge.

For my project presentation, I focused on my work developing and delivering a natural flood management project that involved beavers. It was a project I knew intimately, and one that I was used to communicating. Plus, it had a lot of interesting policy and practice implications that I hoped the panel would be keen to explore.

Pictured above: Beavers at the Spains Hall Estate

The panel's interest in my work with beavers was fascinating, we seemed to go down a bit of a beaver burrow with that topic!

My top tips for getting Chartered

1. Believe you can do it

2. Find a mentor

3. Don’t be put off by the application form

Next steps

I regret that I didn’t apply for Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) at the same time as C.WEM. I still hope to achieve that qualification in the future.

I’m now working to expand my consultancy work to try to share the learnings I’ve gained from developing a landscape-scale ecological landscape plan and delivering it.

I’m also working hard to ensure our exemplar land use model works financially as well as ecologically and, above all, secures our local water resilience for generations to come.

Want to become a Chartered member? Find out more here.

This article was first published on Tuesday 23 July 2024.